Assisting Individuals in Crisis Online Course

Course Description

Crisis Intervention is NOT psychotherapy; rather, it is a specialized acute emergency mental 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”. This program is designed to teach participants the fundamentals of, and a specific protocol for, individual crisis intervention. This course offers core knowledge for anyone involved in Peer Support and crisis intervention. This includes people in the fields of Emergency Services, Public Safety, Law Enforcement, Military, Disaster Response, Education, Employee Assistance, Healthcare, Homeland Security, Mental Health, Spiritual Care, and Business & Industry.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Understand the need for psychological crisis intervention (PFA).
  • Understand and differentiate the key terms and concepts relevant to the study of psychological crisis intervention/PFA.
  • Be able to assess the “psychological toxicity” of a critical incident/disaster.
  • Understand the nature and definition of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and its role as a continuum of care.
  • Understand the risks of iatrogenic “harm” associated with psychological crisis intervention and will further understand how to reduce those risks.
  • Review research relevant to the practice of psychological crisis intervention.
  • Be better able to recognize common psychological and behavioral crisis reactions.
  • List the putative and empirically-derived mechanisms of action in psychological crisis intervention.
  • Understand the steps in the SAFER-R model of individual psychological crisis intervention/ PFA.
  • Understand how the SAFER-R model may be altered for suicide intervention.

Requesting This Online Course:

 

Testimonials

“Using the articles [in this online course] personally written by Dr. George Everly was very helpful due to his higher level of knowledge and passion for the subject. These articles conveyed his heart for the CISM program; the importance of using the process correctly; and the background and history of the program.”
“In general I enjoyed my online learning experience, especially the quizzes at the end of each module and Dr. Everly’s videos. I really enjoyed the online course, it was a great refresher course for me and I did learn new information!”
"Really happy with the online skills training. The instructor, Victor Welzant, was excellent in facilitating useful discussion and participation and sharing his knowledge and experience. I also really appreciated my interactions with other course participants. As a counsellor, I appreciated that the course included people who work as counsellor as well as a number of first responders and others. Thanks for making the skills part available in these short live sessions. It made taking the course workable for me and my work schedule!"
“I appreciate the massive amount of reference materials and notes within the online and print materials. It really showed me that this online course and its supporting materials have been developed with reference to science based best practices.”
"It has been proven time and time again, that having a simple to remember model for dealing with crisis, helps those who are facilitating have a much easier time to recall information. I could see this being true in the skills practice [of this online course]. It was good to have so many people from various backgrounds, and how that added to the richness of the session. It was outstanding! Many thanks, and I look forward to maybe taking some of the other advanced courses."
“The self-paced learning of this online course was very beneficial to my availability. I have a very sporadic job where I may have to leave the computer/course and come back to it later or another day. I really appreciated the ability to leave and come back when available.”
"I just began this venture into the Peer Support Group / CIT and the skills portion of this online course definitely put me on the right path. Everyone involved gave great suggestions and answered every question. Excellent job all around!!!"
“I appreciated the online course most certainly relevant during today's pandemic world. The video of an intervention was extremely valuable.”
“Very pertinent material that encouraged critical thinking. Also, many aspects of communication were revealed that are not normally evident in relationship building.”
“I think the strongest features are the “what not to say” sections. I have had some employees involved in the stress team that have zero training, and they hit every one of those. I also think the emphasis on improper and inadequate training warning was great and just what my department needs to see where they are causing more harm to their employees.”
"I loved Victor's sense of humor [in the skills portion of this online course]. It's a shame that we were not all together in a room because he would have seen and heard us laughing. I felt a bit tired Friday afternoon after a long week, I could have been a bit more involved and laughed at Victor's excellent jokes if it would have been on a Wednesday or even Thursday. Overall, I was lucky enough to be in both live trainings this week and I REALLY enjoyed them both. THANK-YOU!!!"
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Certificates and Continuing Education:

General Contact Hours: 

10 Contact Hours: 1.0 General CEUs from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Dept. of Emergency Health Services Professional and Continuing Education (PACE). Based on a formula of 1 Continuing Education Unit for every 10 contact/classroom hours.

ICISF Certificate of Completion:

After the completion of this ICISF course, with verified full attendance, participants are eligible to receive an electronic ICISF Certificate of Completion including General Continuing Education Units. Participants are required to complete a course evaluation prior to receiving this Certificate of Completion. 

Completion of ICISF courses and receipt of an ICISF Certificate of Completion does not attest to competence in the field, nor does it provide certification in the field of CISM. 

Profession Specific CEUs:

If you are seeking continuing education requirements for a specific profession, contacting the relevant state licensing board is the best way to ensure you have the most up-to-date and accurate information. They can provide you with specific details regarding whether a Certificate of Completion from a particular course or program will be accepted towards your continuing education requirements. 

If the ICISF course you attend is offered through:

ICISF Speakers Bureau Program: It is up to the Sponsoring Agency to apply for profession-specific Continuing Education Units (CEUs) if they choose to do so. 

ICISF Approved-Instructor led Program: While our Approved Instructors have the authority to teach specific ICISF courses, it is their responsibility to apply for profession-specific Continuing Education Units (CEUs) if they choose to do so. 

** Please check with your state licensing board prior to registration to see if they will accept the Certificate of Completion as a means for continuing education.

*PLEASE NOTE: These hours are only applicable towards courses offered at Virtual Trainings, Conferences, Online Courses, and the World Congress.

Learn more on our ICISF Continuing Education Information page.