Healing the rescuers
4/22/12 Oklahoma

Garfield County Sheriff Bill Winchester said emergency responders have learned over the years it’s important to have critical incident stress management sessions after a highly traumatic call — a session where those who dealt with the emergency can deal with the emotions they pushed aside during the crisis. “It’s kind of a time for them to stop, take a breath, and say we’re done with this scene and it’s time to move on, but this is what we can expect,” Lillie said. “The debriefing was a couple of days later.” About 90 percent of emergency workers will experience critical-incident stress at some point in their careers, Lillie said. “Out of a single incident, about 30 percent will do fine, about 30 percent will have moderate critical-incident stress, and for about 30 percent, it will be severe,” Lillie said. The stress can manifest itself as sleep disturbances, flashbacks, inability to concentrate, anger, impatience, withdrawal, second-guessing their actions during the incident, agitation, excessive use of alcohol or tobacco, fear the next call will be like that one, and possessiveness toward people they love.The stress is a normal reaction to an abnormal event, Lillie emphasized.“If it’s not treated, it will lead to post-traumatic stress syndrome,” Lillie said.The Northwest Oklahoma Critical Incident Stress Management team brings three peers, a chaplain and a mental health professional together to meet in an incident debriefing with the emergency responders.“We have several stages we go through during the debriefing,” Lillie said. “The first is their initial response to the incident — what they did, what they saw.”

 

Leader effectiveness in the implementation of CISM

….the survey contained numerous positive comments regarding the CIPS Program, which could serve as a model of CISM standardization in organizations that routinely react to critical incidents….

In conclusion, the current CIPS Program meets the basic tenets of CISM methodology and could be used to further the attempts of the Military Police Corps--and the Army in general--to reduce suicide rates within our ranks. However, the Webster University survey of Military Police Corps leadership indicates a need for more effective CISM. Leaders at all levels could surely benefit from additional instruction in developing effective peer support programs related to CISM

“In the immediate aftermath of a disaster or crisis, therapy takes a backseat to meeting clients’ basic needs and offering a sense of safety and stabilization”

ICISF leadership has developed a brief statement of goals and objectives reaching into 2014. This plan includes communication and organizational improvements designed to address organization needs identified both internally and by our customers and stakeholders.  Questions about the plan should be sent to our Executive Director, Donald Howell, via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at 410-750-9600. Click here to view the plan document.

‘An Exploration of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Emergency Nurses following
Hurricane Katrina’

The research identifies if the nurses perceived satisfaction with measures administrators took to provide Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM). To combat burnout, absenteeism, emotional difficulties, and health problems in nurses, administration must offer adequate crisis management for those affected by a traumatic event in the workplace. Data were captured through a cross-sectional research design using self-reporting questionnaires.

  

Critical Incident Stress Management Team: Crisis Awareness & Intervention for Public
Safety Professionals

In any event, the impact on those left behind can be devastating and sometimes overwhelming. That’s where a Critical Incident Stress Management Team (CISM) comes in. Even though formal CISM programs have been around for years (my team just marked their 23rd anniversary), field personnel are still sometimes reluctant to participate in defusing or debriefings.

 

CISM in a Nutshell - For those that may not have any experience with CISM, it’s a group of individuals trained to support public safety personnel who have been involved in critical incidents and assist them in mitigating long-term effects of stress. It’s facilitated by a mental health professional and is successful mainly due to its peer-support system.