The International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc. (ICISF) provides leadership, education, training, consultation, and support services in comprehensive crisis intervention and disaster behavioral health services.  Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) is a method of helping first responders and others who have been involved in critical incidents that leave them emotionally and/or physically affected by those incidents.

In a study by the Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS, 2017), 44.5% screened positive for clinically significant symptom clusters consistent with one or more mental disorders, which is significantly higher than previous research had shown.  The study revealed that when comparing the data between paramedics and firefighters, the study found higher rates of PTSD (24.5%), depression (29.6%) and panic disorder (10.3%) among paramedics.  The results also indicated that rates for these same mental health measures were lower for paramedics when compared to corrections officers, where PTSD (29.1%), depression (31.1%) and panic disorder (12.2%) were all higher.

Our CISM model of peer support has been used throughout the US and the world. It is based on providing pre-incident education and training to those who care about, and often put first, their colleagues and communities in times of disaster and crises.  This process also helps people prepare to continue to perform their services or in some cases return to a normal lifestyle after encountering a critical incident.

By supporting ICISF each month, not only are you supporting the first responders that encounter critical incidents every day, you are also helping ICISF to create new programs and training in Critical Incident Stress Management with the latest research and experience from those that respond worldwide.