CISM Course Outlines

Individual Crisis Intervention and Peer Support

What Will I Learn?
Crisis intervention is not psychotherapy, rather it is a specialized acute emergency health intervention which requires specialized training. As physical first-aid is to surgery, crisis intervention is to psychotherapy. Thus, crisis intervention is sometimes called "emotional first-aid." Most crisis intervention is don individually (one-to-one). This course is designed to teach participants the fundamentals of, and a specific protocol for, individual crisis intervention.

Who Should Attend?
Interested participants would include both:
1. Emergency services, military, and business / industrial / school / hospital peer support personnel without formal training in mental health, and
2. Mental Health professionals who desire to increase their knowledge of individual crisis intervention techniques.

Course Outline: Days 1 & 2
1. Concept of CISM as a comprehensive crisis intervention program.
2. Understanding the role that individual crisis intervention plays in a comprehensive CISM program.
3. Basic terms and concepts relevant to the study of crisis, traumatic stress, and crisis intervention.
4. Selected crisis communication techniques.
5. Psychological reactions to crisis and trauma, including common psycho-pathological conditions.
6. SAFER protocol for individual crisis intervention and its role in comprehensive CISM.
7. Practice int he use of the SAFER protocol.
8. Common problems encountered while working with individuals in crisis.
9. Question / Answer

 

Group Crisis Intervention

What Will I Learn?
2-day course teaches participants about a wide range of crisis intervention strategies including:
- pre- and post-incident education
- "significant other" support services
- on-scene support services
- demobilizations after large-scale incidents
- small group defusings
- Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)
- Crisis Management Briefing (CMB)

This course specifically prepares participants to provide demobilizations, defusings, debriefings, and CMB's.

Who Should Attend?
- Law Enforcement, Corrections, Military
- Fire and Emergency Medical Services
- Educators and School Administrators
- Nurses, Doctors, and Hospital Administrators
- Mental Health Professionals
- Clergy
- Human Resource Personnel
- Employee Assistance Professionals
- Crime Victim Advocates

Course Outline: Day One
- Stress: general, cumulative, critical incident
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- High risk populations: emergency services, military, other
- Critical incidents: death, injury, terrorism
- Fundamentals of CISM
- Core intervention tactics
- Demobilization
- Defusing of small groups and Defusing demo

Course Outline: Day Two
- Crisis Management Briefing and demos
- Essentials of CISD
- Assessing the need for CISD
- Factors which enhance the CISD process
- CISD demo
- Question / Answer

Responding to School Crises: An Integrated, Multi-Component Crisis Intervention Approach

Overview: Educators worldwide struggle to establish and manage School Crisis Response Teams in response to the escalation in frequency and scope of campus emergencies in recent years. Community CISM Teams have much to offer, albeit much to learn about the unique milieu of schools. Similarly, schools can benefit from CISM techniques and strategies, as well as the expertise of local CISM Team members.

This course develops a common language and approach that fits within the broad goals and specific needs of school crisis management. Working together in multi-disciplinary teams, we explore organizing principles, develop specific skills, and culminate in a large incident planning simulation. Group Crisis Intervention is recommended as a prerequisite but not required, as an overview of techniques will be provided.

Course Objectives:
- Become familiar with the effects fo traumatic stress on learning and the school milieu.
- Develop a working knowledge of the specific goals of crisis response.
- Review the specific skills necessary to mitigate the effects of a crisis.
- Develop an understanding of the unique role and needs of building administrators.
- Demonstrate through a large group simulation the ability to resond to and manage a school-based crisis.

Course Outline: Day One
- Crisis at School: the Need for CISM
- CISM goes to school: how schools react to crisis; children and staff reactions to trauma
- Rapid assessment for crisis teams
- Individual consultation

Course Outline: Day Two
- Group Interventions
- Modifications for Developmental Level and Context in the school setting
- Large incidents
- Self and Team Care
- Large-group simulation