Stress and the
Public Safety Personal
Public safety providers in Central Pennsylvania face stressful events every
day. The work they choose to perform can be emotionally difficult, physically
draining and a threat to their personal safety. Yet this same work is seen as
extremely rewarding, sometimes exciting and a method for fulfilling some
personal needs.
The work still presents the public safety provider with a
constant low to moderate level of stress and an occasional dose of high level
stress.
Recognizing
Critical Incident Stress
Critical incidents may produce a
wide range of stress symptoms, which can appear immediately at the scene, a few
hours later or within a few days of the event.
The more symptoms experienced, the more powerful the stress
reaction can be. The longer the symptoms last, the more potential there is for
permanent harm.
When to request
the CISM Team
You should feel free to call the
CISM Team about the need for services any time you or one of your fellow workers
are having difficulty dealing with an incident or when the nature of the
incident suggests that intervention might be useful.
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Main
Objective!
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The
main objective of a debriefing is the restoration of human dignity and self
worth to people who are experiencing normal reactions and normal symptoms of
distress because they were exposed to a highly abnormal event - a Critical
Incident to them.
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Critical Incident
Stress Debriefing
When a CISD is conducted you should expect
2-4 team members to be present. The teams consist of peer support and mental
health personnel. All members of the team have been trained in the CISD process
according to national standards. This consistent approach will be helpful if
future debriefings have to be provided for large scale disaster situations where
regions are asked to assist neighboring regions.
A CISD is a group interaction where a team of trained people allow
public safety providers to talk about their thoughts, actions and reactions to a
stressful event. A CISD is not group therapy and is not a critique of the event.
The information shared in a debriefing is strictly confidential. A CISD is a
time to learn what are normal expected behaviors and feelings following a
stressful event and to receive assurance that you are experiencing a normal
reaction to an abnormal event.
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Critical Incidents
A critical incident is any situation faced by the public safety providers
that causes them to experience unusually strong emotional reactions which have
the potential to interfere with their ability to function either at the scene or
later.
Some examples of critical incidents include: suicide, loss by death of a
public safety provider, serious injury of an emergency provider, media interest
in the event, prolonged events, injury or death of children, mass casualty
incidents, threats to public safety provider's safety and natural disasters.
Get involved!
The Susquehanna Valley Critical Incident Stress Management Team is looking for
interested people who would like to become members of this important and vital
link to the public safety community.
Basic Critical Incident Stress Management Course
International Critical Incident Stress Foundation Homepage
Please contact Cheryl Walter
with questions regarding the CISM Team.
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