Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM). CISM debriefings help to mitigate the impact of a traumatic event and to further assess the need for outside services in order to expedite the recovery process.  CISM provides support after a traumatic incident or events. There are 7 core components to help address the different phases of a crisis situation (Mitchell and Everly, 1996 ). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The summarized 7 core components of CISM from Table 1 (Everly and Mitchell, n.d.) :

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1. Pre-crisis preparation. This includes stress management education, stress resistance, and crisis mitigation training for both individuals and organizations.

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2. Disaster or large-scale incident, as well as, school and community support programs including demobilizations, informational briefings, “town meetings” and staff advisement

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3. Defusing. This is a 3-phase, structured small group discussion provided within hours of a crisis for purposes of assessment, triaging, and acute symptom mitigation.

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4. Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) refers to the “Mitchell model” (Mitchell and Everly, 1996) 7-phase, structured group discussion, usually provided 1 to 10 days post crisis, and designed to mitigate acute symptoms, assess the need for follow-up, and if possible provide a sense of post-crisis psychological closure.

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5. One-on-one crisis intervention/counseling or psychological support throughout the full range of the crisis spectrum.

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6. Family crisis intervention, as well as, organizational consultation.

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7. Follow-up and referral mechanisms for assessment and treatment, if necessary.

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If you would like to schedule a debriefing or would like more information on debriefings please call (386) 301-3355

 

References

Everly, G.S. & Mitchell, J.T. (1997). Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM):A New Era and Standard of Care in Crisis Intervention . Ellicott City , MD : Chevron.

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Everly, G.S. & Mitchell, J.T. (n.d.). A Primer on Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM). 

The International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. https://icisf.org/a-primer-on-critical-incident-stress-management-cism/

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Mitchell, J.T. & Everly, 0.5. (1996 ). Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: An Operations Manual . Ellicott City , MD : Chevron.

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