Organizational Training

This 3-day course combines ICISF’s Assisting Individuals in Crisis & Group Crisis Intervention. The course is 27 hours (10-hour days, including 1-hour lunch break). 

It is designed to present the core elements of a comprehensive, systematic and multi-component crisis intervention curriculum. Further, it prepares participants to understand a wide range of crisis intervention services for both the individual and for groups. Fundamentals of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) will be outlined, and participants will leave with the knowledge and tools to provide several group crisis interventions, specifically demobilizations, defusings and the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). The need for appropriate follow-up services and referrals, when necessary, will also be discussed.

This course will describe how first responders can take proactive and responsive steps to adaptively respond to chronic stress and trauma. A discussion of the risk and protective factors that influence wellbeing is offered to assist first responders to understand their own experiences with trauma and stress and how to mitigate their impact. This will include a plain-language discussion of the neurobiology of trauma. Resilience research is applied to the unique issues of first responder work, generating practical strategies to promote resilience. This discussion will be fortified with practical exercises that assess current levels of resilience and map a resilience-building plan. 

In this course, I discuss the complementary roles of proactive resilience building (peer support) and critical incident response (CISM). Attendees will learn how to use peer support to inoculate co-workers from the impacts of daily stressors and traumas, further inoculating them from future critical incident stress. To achieve this, they will learn how to identify the common and uncommon signs of mental health issues affecting co-workers and how to have helpful conversations to support them. They will also learn how to manage unique challenges in the supporter role such as confidentiality, suicidality, disciplinary investigations, and healthy boundaries. Role-play exercises will fortify learning, allowing for immediate feedback to improve interpersonal effectiveness. 

This course begins with a description of how first responders’ nervous systems are slowly and systematically changed by their exposure to stress, trauma, and shiftwork, in both adaptive and unhealthy ways. Some of these changes include insomnia, difficulty with focus, decision-making, increased hypervigilance, and difficulty being still. Evidence-based strategies will be offered for counteracting and even optimizing the nervous system for improved performance, health, and longevity. Strategies include breathing, imagery, self-talk for enhanced performance, and the use of technology to improve bodily awareness and monitor improvements. Resources for additional training and support will be offered. Lastly, the course provides recommendations for introducing these strategies using language that increases buy-in from agency and peers. 

This program is designed to teach participants the fundamentals of, and a specific protocol for, individual crisis intervention.This course is designed for anyone who desires to increase their knowledge of individual (one-on-one) crisis intervention techniques in the fields of Business & Industry, Crisis Intervention, Disaster Response, Education, Emergency Services, Employee Assistance, Healthcare, Homeland Security, Mental Health, Military, Spiritual Care, and Traumatic Stress.

Designed to present the core elements of a comprehensive, systematic and multi-component crisis intervention curriculum, the Group Crisis Intervention course will prepare participants to understand a wide range of crisis intervention services. Fundamentals of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) will be outlined and participants will leave with the knowledge and tools to provide several group crisis interventions, specifically demobilizations, defusings and the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). The need for appropriate follow-up services and referrals when necessary will also be discussed.

This course is designed for anyone in the fields of Business & Industry Crisis Intervention, Disaster Response, Education, Emergency Services, Employee Assistance, Healthcare, Homeland Security, Mental Health, Military, Spiritual Care, and Traumatic Stress.