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Authored by John W. Desmarais 18-Dec-1998Modified by Lt Colonel Fred BlundellTX-129 Fort Worth Senior Squadron

For Local Training Rev 5.0 02-Jan-2014

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This Training Slide Show is a project undertaken by Lt Colonel Fred Blundell of the TX-129 Fort Worth Senior Squadron, Fort Worth, TX for local use to assist those CAP Members interested in advancing their skills. The information contained herein is for CAP Member’s personal use and is not intended to replace or be a substitute for any of the CAP National Training Programs. Users should review the presentation’s Revision Number at the

end of each file name to ensure that they have the most current publication.

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CISM Defined

Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) may be defined as a group discussion about a traumatic event, or series of traumatic events

CISM is solidly based in crisis intervention theory and educational intervention theory

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Purpose

The process is designed to mitigate the psychological impact of a traumatic event, e.g., plane crash, natural disaster, serious incident or accident

It serves as an early identification mechanism for individuals who may require professional mental health follow-up subsequent to a traumatic event

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No one in emergency services is immune to critical incident stress, regardless of

past experiences or years of service

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What is it?

Critical Incident Reactions– Happen after intense, unusual, or

abnormal eventsAircraft Accident SiteFatalitiesNot finding a missing person or aircraft

– May not appear right away– Reactions are normal

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Reactions are classified as

PHYSICAL

EMOTIONAL

COGNITIVE

BEHAVIORAL

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Reaction Types

PHYSICAL– Nausea– Fatigue– Headaches

EMOTIONAL–Denial–Fear–Depression

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Reaction Types(Continued)

COGNITIVE– Nightmares– Sleep Disturbance– Memory Problems

BEHAVIORAL–Antisocial–Withdrawal–Restlessness

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Critical IncidentStress Debriefing

Meeting

Non specific expectationsConfidentialDiscussionReviewResources AvailableReferrals

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CISM TeamMakeup

Medically qualified personnel– A psychiatrist, psychologist, social

worker, mental health nurse, or 7-level mental health technician. The team chief will be a mental health professional

• Peer Representative:– A non-caregiver advocate for

involved individuals who will bring to the team expertise in CAP benefits and personnel issues

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CISM Team(Continued)

Chaplains– An emergency services qualified

mission chaplain.

Medical– A physician, senior medical

technician with trauma experience or intensive care experience, or nurse with trauma or intensive care experience

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CISMSupport Requests

During, or immediately following each rescue or disaster relief mission, a review of the need for CIS intervention should be made for all personnel participating in the mission whether or not the mission was concluded successfully

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CISM SupportRequests

(Continued)

If the mission is closed or suspended and a member(s) experiences the need for a critical incident stress intervention or observes the need in another member(s), he/she should express that need directly to the incident commander or wing commander

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CISMSupport Requests

(Continued)

Incident commanders or unit commanders will pass requests for CIS intervention to the wing commander, as proper CIS support will often require support long after a mission is closed or suspended

It should also be noted that personnel not at the front-line of a mission might require CIS intervention just as much as the ground team dealing with a crash site

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Critical IncidentStress Tasks

All members of the emergency services team should be conscious of the problems that could occur from being involved in stressful missions

and seek help as necessary

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QUESTIONS?

ALWAYS THINK SAFETY!