CISM News
May is national mental health awareness month and National Military Appreciation month. We also acknowledge International Firefighter’s Day, National Police week, and EMS week. We have so many military and first responders keeping us safe, we owe it to them all to support their mental health, as well as our own.
Breaking silence: Shattering the taboo of mental health
Supporting Veterans This Memorial Day
Editorial: We Should be There for First Responders
During National Police Week, we wanted to provide upcoming training, resources and organizations that are dedicated to honoring America’s law enforcement community.
Upcoming ICISF Training – view event calendar or on the Virtual Training page for up to date information.
- Our Core Courses – Assisting Individuals in Crisis & Group Crisis Intervention (click on date to register)
- Understanding Suicide: Effective Tools for Prevention, Intervention and Survivor Support (click on date to register)
- De-escalation Skills for the Front Line: A Practical Approach (click on date to register)
- Line of Duty Death : Preparing the Best for the Worst (click on date to register)
- Resilience Training: Psychological Survival Skills for Before, During and After Crises (click on date to register)
ICISF Resources – you can view all of our other resources by visiting our website
- The ICISF Podcast Series – available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Overcast and Anchor
- ‘Unspoken Questions’ Law Enforcement Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Transparency (Video)
- Reaching Rural Police: Challenges, Implications, and Applications (Video)
- Utilizing CISM as a Community Policing Model (Video); CISM Live Series Interview (Video)
- First Responders: Resilient Minds for Chaotic Times (Video)
- First Responder’s: Finding Music Within the Noise (Video)
- After A Critical Incident (PDF)
- Traumatic Critical Incident Stress Info. Sheet for Spouses, Families, & Significant Others (PDF)
The Principal Organizers of National Police Week
Learn more about what each of these organizations are doing in honor of National Police Week.
- National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (https://nleomf.org/) – Produces the annual Candlelight Vigil | 202.737.3400 | [email protected]
- Fraternal Order of Police (https://fop.net/)/Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary (FOP/FOPA) – Organizes the Peace Officers Memorial Day Service at the U.S. Capitol | www.policeweek.org
- Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) (https://www.concernsofpolicesurvivors.org/) – Holds the National Police Survivors’ Conference | 573.346.4911 | [email protected]
Strategic Partners affiliated with Law Enforcement
Learn more about each of our strategic partners, their mission and additional resources offered for Law Enforcement personnel.
Strategic Partner
100 Club of Arizona
The 100 Club supports all city, county, state, federal and tribal public safety agencies, fire services, probation, corrections, parole and law enforcement departments who provide for the safety of the citizens of Arizona.
Additional Resources
Peer 100 Wellness Program – The 100 Club of Arizona’s Peer 100 program addresses the wellness challenges in the public safety profession for officers/firefighters and their families.
The Call Podcast – ‘The Call’ is a storytelling podcast that brings you tales from behind the badge. Join us as we immerse ourselves in stories told by the men and women who have answered the call to public service.
Strategic Partner
1st Responder Conferences
1st Responder Conferences is committed to the emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being of the public safety work force and work with leaders in the public safety profession to make this possible. We recognize that first responders are our greatest asset and we feel it is our responsibility to create a climate that supports good health and resiliency.
We are dedicated to promoting awareness at our conferences surrounding the difficulties of the profession and inspiring conversations that minimize the stigma associated with the stresses our first responder’s experience. We provide education, mental health tools and resources for agencies, individuals, and family members. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for all who dedicate themselves to protecting and serving others.
Crisis Response Canines
The mission of Crisis Response Canines is to provide strength, comfort, and emotional support to individuals, families, communities, and first responders experiencing intense traumatic emotions in the aftermath of critical incidents.
Strategic Partner
First H.E.L.P.
It is the mission of First H.E.L.P. to reduce mental health stigma through education, advocate for benefits for those suffering from post-traumatic stress, acknowledge the service and sacrifice and support the families of first responders we lost to suicide, assist first responders in their search for healing, lead policy makers and legislators toward necessary change, and to bring awareness to suicide and mental health issues within public safety.
Strategic Partner
Lighthouse Health & Wellness
Lighthouse Health & Wellness was designed to provide first responders and those that support them anonymous access to existing health and wellness programs, along with a growing library of the latest educational health and wellness information and tools that have been tailored to the unique needs of those working in public safety.
Their mission is to ensure that every public safety agency in the nation is able to provide its employees and families with sustainable, confidential and anonymous access to first responder focused health and wellness resources. As such, the Lighthouse Health & Wellness portal is and always will be provided at no cost to our nation’s first responders and those that support them.
News & Blog
Read more articles & updates from the Lighthouse Health & Wellness.
Strategic Partner
PTSD911: A Documentary Film
Emergency first responders are suffering from post-traumatic stress in record numbers, but they are often afraid of losing their job if they ask for help; this must change.
PTSD911 is a documentary film about real people: normal, average human beings who have chosen to work in professions that require above average heroism, fortitude, and resolve. These men and women have jobs that require a willingness to face things that most of us can’t even imagine, yet maintain a high level of dignity and professionalism. First responders in fact repeatedly see and experience things that most of us will never see, causing compound issues related to post-traumatic stress injuries and disorders.
PTSD911 is produced and directed by Conrad Weaver, winner of a 2020 TIVA-DC Peer Gold Award for his 2018 film, Heroin’s Grip. Conrad also received a 2015 Mid-America Regional EMMY® award for his 2014 documentary, The Great American Wheat Harvest.
Strategic Partner
Warrior's Rest Foundation
Warrior’s Rest Foundation’s mission is to equip peer support teams not only with the crisis intervention techniques but also provide education content to empower the teams to initiate conversations within their respective agencies and departments that will minimize the impact of a tremendously difficult career field.
National Teacher Appreciation Week
This week, May 8-12, 2023, we acknowledge and honor teachers, educators and school administrators. The ICISF offers several courses and resources for these professions to assist with maintaining resiliency and managing school crises.
ICISF Courses
- Assisting Individuals in Crisis & Group Crisis Intervention in Colleges and Universities
- Live Training: May 15 – 17, 2023
- Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) in the College and University Setting
- Refer to Live Training page for more details.
- Resilience Training: Psychological Survival Skills for Before, During and After Crises
- Live Training: June 19 – 20, 2023
Books
- The Resilient Child: Seven Essential Lessons and Practical Tips for Building Happiness, Success, and Social Intelligence; By: George S. Everly, Jr., PhD, ABPP, CCISM
- Supporting a Grieving Workforce; By: Beth L. Hewett, PhD, CT, CCISM, CEOLS, Richard Ottenstein, PhD, CEAP, CTS
Videos
- Pandemic Crises As It Affects Schools (CISM Live Series)
- A Counselor’s Response to the Unthinkable (The Marjorie Stoneman Douglas School Shooting)
Handouts & Articles
- How Do College Students Perceive University Crises? Cognitive Processing of Crisis Management
- Fairytales: A Novel Way of Educating Children About Psychological Health
- (PDF) School Shooting Resources from the PAR Foundation
- (PDF) Suicide Awareness & Prevention Resources
- (PDF) Staff Support
- (PDF) Methods to Maintain and Enhance Resilience
- (PDF) Children Stress & COVID
With wars continuing to wage on, along with the turbulence in the world, not only is the active duty soldier’s mental health affected, but their spouse’s and children’s mental health are too. April is the Month of the Military Child in the United States, which gives good reason to pause and reflect on the effects of worldwide conflict on our mental health.
Stress seen as major cause of Indian military fratricides, suicides
The Military Mental Health Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight
Counseling Military, Vets and Families: Get the Skills You Need
Military Spouses’ Needs, Hardships Are Focus of New Initiative
State Rep. Dale Zorn proposes help for military kids under ‘Purple Star’ program
It has been over one year now that the war has raged in Ukraine. The effect on the soldiers’ mental health is dramatic, and as we have learned from the U.S. veterans, there will be lasting issues for those who have participated in the war. Additionally, the refugees will bear the pain of the war as they are displaced and families are ripped apart. Here are some insights to the lingering effects and how we can support those impacted.
The mental health first aiders fighting back in Ukraine
Two decades on, trauma from America’s war continues to haunt Iraqis
The silent toll of war: Ukraine’s growing mental health crisis
‘We bottled it up’: Marine veteran reflects on mental toll of Iraq War 20 years later
All Asylum Seekers Need Access to Mental Health Care
Rebuilding futures: How UNHCR is empowering Syrian refugees through mental health support
Critical incidents affect the long term mental health of those in workplaces with frequent exposure. Here are some ways we can support each other.
First responders in crisis need your help: Here’s what you can do
H2F – The Value of Life: “If sharing my experience can save one life”
Responder Health and Youturn Health Partner to Provide Mental Health Support for FirstResponders
Protecting the mental health of first responders
‘Helping those who help us:’ New peer support program tackles mental health for first responders
The Inextricable Link Between Military Life and Mental Health Issues
First responder peer group encourages mental health support
As the war in Ukraine continues, the concern for the mental health of the soldiers and the citizens grows. Around the world we see evidence of the scars of battle, not only physical, but emotional as well. One can only imagine the terrors that linger in the minds of those who have faced war head on. Let’s give our attention to those soldiers, and how to understand and support their mental health and battles with PTSD.
- The Inextricable Link Between Military Life and Mental Health Issues
- Awareness of PTSD – photo set, of Israeli leaders and celebrities with wounded veterans, is to generate awareness
- War Leaving Invisible Scars for Ukrainians, Under-Secretary-General Tells Security Council, Noting One Fourth of Population Will Develop Mental-Health Condition
- VOICES: Trying to come home in the dawn of every new year
- Mental health and military Veterans — An invisible battlefront
- Treatment for combat-related PTSD advances with method shown to be fast, effective
- Warrior PATHH Helps Veterans Create a Brighter Tomorrow
- 5 Effective Ways to Support Someone with PTSD
Many people say their mental health dips during the holidays. By being mindful of your emotions, connecting with people, setting boundaries and practicing a healthy lifestyle, you can improve your mood this season. Self-care starts with conscious decision-making, especially during busy holidays. By owning your own experiences, you have the opportunity to engage more meaningfully with those around you, and to let go of traditions that may be too stressful. Create a dialogue with family and friends to communicate what you are thinking and feeling ahead of time, and explore together what can be done differently. This will help you to experience the most peace from the joyful season.
Three Ways to Approach the Holidays with Meaning and Mindfulness
What Does It Mean to Be a Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Practitioner?
Mayo Clinic Q and A: Holiday stress and mindfulness
Staying mindful of mental health during the holidays
Holidays passing you by? Follow these tips to help you slow down this holiday season
10 self-care activities that help reduce stress—and cost little to no money
How Self-Care Will Make Your Holidays Feel Better
If You Are Grieving This Holiday Season, These Self-Care Tips Can Help