Employee Assistance Program
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing


Critical Incidents, such as the death or serious injury of a co-worker or resident, have a severely adverse effect on employees.

Despite the best professional efforts of staff, situations occur which may cause employees, regardless of rank, years of service, or gender, to experience unusually strong emotional reactions that have the potential to interfere with their ability to function. These situations are referred to as critical incidents.

Examples of Critical Incidents include:

* Hostage or riot incident
* Serious injury or death of co-worker     
* Incidents involving use of force		 * Resident suicide or death
* Catastrophic accidents
* Agency Negative Publicity

The impact of a Critical Incident often goes unrecognized even after common stress reactions appear. Physical and emotional stress reactions are considered normal and usually will diminish in time. However, very intense or prolonged reactions may have seriously adverse effects on employees' well-being.

A CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS DEBRIEFING promotes a more rapid recovery from incidents and aids normal integration back into work and home routines.


THE SERVICE

CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS DEBRIEFING (CISD) is a confidential service using trained facilitators to help employees manage stress reactions to work related incidents occurring on or off-premises. The debriefing involves a confidential, non-evaluative discussion of the involvement, thoughts, reactions and feelings resulting from an incident. It serves to reduce the stress impact resulting from exposure to a critical incident through a venting of feelings along with educational and informational components. It is not a form of therapy or treatment. Typically a debriefing takes place within 48 - 72 hours of the incident and lasts two to three hours. Additional follow-up to the debriefing can be arranged, if needed. A CISD debriefing is not an operational critique nor a formal inquiry.

The OHIO EAP CISD Team was created to assist State of Ohio employees who are experiencing normal symptoms of stress brought on by normal reactions to abnormal situations or events. The CISD Team is composed of licensed and certified professionals from the State of Ohio Employee Assistance Program.


BENEFITS

Staff benefit from a CISD because it:

  1. Reduces stress and feelings of isolation and abnormality resulting from a Critical Incident.
  2. Prevents the onset of delayed psychological reactions and promotes well-being.
  3. Provides peer support and education about stress reactions.
  4. Improves coping skills for future incidents.
STRESS RESPONSES

Some normal stress responses to Critical Incidents that may indicate a need for outside help include:

* Changes in sleep patterns     
* Intestinal upsets
* Anxiety
* Flashbacks, nightmares
* Difficulties concentrating		 * Changes in eating habits
* Mood swings
* Depression
* "Startle" reactions
* Feelings of anger or guilt


SUPERVISOR'S ROLE / WHAT TO DO

All supervisors/managers are responsible for recognizing situations appropriate for a CISD debriefing in order to initiate and support such a process at their work site. If you or someone you know has experienced a Critical Incident, contact your supervisor or the personnel office at your facility or agency to discuss the situation. They, in turn, will contact the OHIO EAP to determine if a debriefing is appropriate, and if so, to schedule one.

Although a CISD usually works most effectively with a group, individual assistance is available on request. If in doubt, call the OHIO EAP 1-800-221-6327, TOLL FREE statewide. We will assist you in getting in touch with agency personnel authorized to invite an OHIO EAP CISD Team to your work site.

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This page last updated: March 5, 2001
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