Dear CISM Practitioner,

In today's update, I wish to share with you a synopsis of an article to be published in the Fall 2005 issue of LifeNet, ICISF's member newsletter. The article, written by Deb Boehme, PhD, EMT-I, LPC, DOM, of New Mexico, discusses her involvement with the recent disaster response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

"Our New Mexico Disaster Medical Assistance Team (NM - DMAT) was deployed to both Hurricane Katrina and Rita. I had the opportunity to fill the roster on both as a mental health specialist and as an EMT. The experiences and challenges that our team faced will never be forgotten and the wonderful people that we connected with will stay in our hearts and minds forever. The full article to be published in LifeNet will describe how we utilized CISM for responders and civilians and their families affected by these two natural disasters. It was the experience of a life time! The article will be titled "Hurricane Blues Provide Valuable Lessons."      -- Deb Boehme, PhD, EMT-I, LPC, DOM

(Note from the Executive Director: This article will provide factual information about Early Psychological Intervention services which should prove enlightening given the misinformation provided in some recent publications on this topic. An advance copy of Dr. Boehme's article may be obtained by contacting This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

In addition, today we provide links to two articles. Topics include: reducing the risk of premature crisis intervention; and enhancing the CMB. The information in these articles is both timely and appropriate for those anticipating or considering deployment to the areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina. I urge you to read these articles and to share them with others whom you feel could benefit from the information.

The articles in today's update are being distributed with the permission of Chevron Publishing.

The following article is written by George S. Everly, Jr., PhD, FAPM, CTS, ICISF Chairman of the Board Emeritus. 
Five Principles of Crisis Intervention: Reducing the Risk of Premature Crisis Intervention

Click on the link below for the text of an article by Daniel W. Clark, PhD, Washington State Patrol, and Peter Volkmann, LMSW, Town of Ossining, NY Police Department.
Enhancing the Crisis Management Briefing

Coming Soon: We are in the process of setting up a web-based archive of previously sent Hurricane Katrina email updates. A link to the archive will be provided in a future email update as soon as it is available.

Further updates will follow as more information is obtained.

Donald Howell, Executive Director
International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, In.
Ellicott City MD 21042-2272
http://www.icisf.org
410/750-9600
Fax: 410/750-9601

KAT-05-07