Strategic Partner Content
First Responder Relationships/Family/Parenting
If your loved one has been involved in an emotion-charged event, it’s often referred to as a critical incident. S\he may be experiencing stress responses to this event. Stress response to a traumatic or critical incident may occur at any time during their professional career, and no one is immune regardless of past experiences or years of service.
Important things to remember about critical incident stress (CIS):
- The signs of critical incident stress are physical, cognitive, emotional, behavioral and spiritual. Your loved one has received a handout outlining these signs. Please ask them to share it with you.
- Critical incident stress responses can occur right at the scene, within hours, or within days, even within weeks.
- Your loved one may experience an immediate stress or grief response, or a variety of stress response signs and\or symptoms or may not feel any of these reactions at this time.
- The effects of critical incident stress are completely normal. They are a normal response to a highly abnormal event. Your loved one and the other emergency personnel who shared the event may or may not be experiencing similar reactions.
- All phases of our lives overlap and influence each other: i.e., personal, professional, family, etc. The impact of critical incident stress can be intensified, influenced or mitigated by all of these.
The ICISF offers a variety of Education & Training programs and resources. We’ve included some of them below for you to view and learn more.
Managing School Crises: From Theory to Application
Designed to prepare school administrators and all educators for the inevitable crises that occur within schools and/or that effect those in schools, this training reflects the 3 most common phases of a crisis: pre-crisis planning, acute crisis response and post-crisis activities. Special attention is given to the most common pitfalls (those that pose the most threat to school personnel from a liability standpoint) associated with crisis response activities.Participants of this training are introduced to the CISM framework and specific intervention techniques that can easily be applied within the school setting. These intervention techniques are research-informed and widely recognized for their effectiveness. Participants will be given opportunities to explore the elements of effective crisis management through multiple group activities.
Assisting Individuals in Crisis and Group Crisis Intervention
This 3-day course combines ALL of the content of ICISF’s Assisting Individuals in Crisis & Group Crisis Intervention courses.
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”. Designed to present the core elements of a comprehensive, systematic and multi-component crisis intervention curriculum, this course will prepare 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 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.
Mindful Decontamination: Self-Regulating Techniques for First Responders
If first responders are expected to physically decontaminate when exposed to a dangerous substance, then our industry should also offer effective tools to mentally decontaminate. The mind/body connection is undeniable. Do you want to learn the importance of mental fitness? Providing effective self-regulating tools for first responder mental fitness is essential to a high-functioning organization.
ICISF Resources – Be sure to check out our other resources located in our online Crisis Resource Library.
- Children Stress & COVID
- How Does COVID-19 Anxiety Impact Children? – LifeWorks Group
- Traumatic Critical Incident Stress Info. Sheet for Spouses, Families, & Significant Others
- Emergency Planning for First Responders & Their Families
- Guidelines for Peer Support in High-Risk Organizations
- Hope (ICISF Quick Tips) Podcast series
- Pandemic Crises As It Affects Schools
The Resilient Child
Seven Essential Lessons and Practical Tips for Building Happiness, Success, and Social Intelligence
By: George S. Everly, Jr., PhD, ABPP, CCISM
“How many children suffer because they were never taught to handle the stress of competition, bullying, and the pressure to fit in? Stress, depression, and anxiety are epidemic amongst children today. More than any other life skill, resilience may be the most important and yet most frequently overlooked skill for children and teenagers to learn. This book is a practical guide to teaching them how to thrive in times of challenge, adversity, and even failure.”
Get Your Book Today: https://cismbookstore.com/catalog/book/resilient-child
The E-CISM Network, in collaboration with the #DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung, the Foundation Mayday, #EUROCONTROL, #ICISF International Critical Incident Stress Foundation and #Skyguide is pleased to announce the next European Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Conference.
It will bring together people working in diverse fields, like astronauts, hostage negotiators, firefighters, civil and military air traffic controllers, pilots, and researchers.
The hybrid European CISM Conference will focus on TRUST & CROSSBORDER COOPERATION.
The E-CISM Conference will take place at the #DFS Headquarters in Langen, near Frankfurt, on 13 and 14 March 2024.
Links for registration to virtual and in-person conference and the agenda can be found by visiting here
Firefighters, law enforcement officers, and other first responders are some of the most courageous people in the world. They work in unpredictable situations and face whatever dangers come their way, all in order to protect the lives and property of others. It’s no wonder that many first responders feel like they are invincible. But as we all know, everyone is human, and can experience depression. Keep reading to learn how depression in first responders can develop in addition to ways we can extinguish it before it has a chance to take hold.
What is Depression in First Responders?
First of all, what is depression? Depression is a mental illness that affects people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. It can be caused by a variety of different factors, including genetics or trauma; it can be difficult to recognize the signs in yourself or someone else because they are so varied.
The early stages of depression are characterized by extended bouts of sadness, irritability, loss of interest in daily activities, and changes in sleeping and eating patterns. You may also experience increased anxiety levels or thoughts about suicide. Read More
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San Luis Obispo, California |
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Co-hosted by
San Luis Obispo County Critical Incident Stress Management Team Endorsed by Cambria FD and FirstWatch
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| Twin Falls, Idaho |
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Co-hosted by
Twin Falls Fire Department and Twin Falls Police Department Endorsed by Idaho FOP
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First H.E.L.P. announces the “#SoWhat” campaign theme for 2022. This theme was introduced by First HELP CEO, Dr. Jeffrey McGill as an extension to the old saying, “it’s OK to not be OK.” “This is the other side of the coin like, #IWillTalk is to #IWillListen”. In a conversation with Jeff he said, “either one without the other is a half measure that accomplishes nothing.”
First H.E.L.P. researches how trauma and stress can affect first responders. Over the years, they have observed how stoic and resilient members of the community tend to weather troubled times more effectively. First H.E.L.P. insists that agencies have support plans and training in place to promote well-being and recovery. However, they are equally committed to ensuring that responders and their families are able to fight their way through hard times if these systems fail.
Our responders and their families cannot be passive actors in their own salvation or even prevention. The #SoWhat campaign is intended to provoke conversations about ways to develop more ready and resilient responders. Read More
As leadership in a public safety agency, you care deeply about the livelihoods of your team. After all, they bravely go out and address many of the most difficult crises in your community. Unfortunately, some of the traumatic experiences that first responders witness have been shown to take a toll on their mental health. While only a fifth of the general population have experienced PTSD and depression, about 30% of first responders have these conditions. These conditions are very serious, with consequences of many kinds, including suicidal thoughts.
Keeping your teams physically safe is always a top priority, but more and more agencies are working to protect the mental health of their teams as well. This work has created a valuable body of research that helps individual agencies learn best practices for supporting mental health, particularly through addressing PTSD, Anxiety, and Depression. Read More
#IWillListen was released to normalize seeking help among first responders, not only giving them permission to talk about their mental health but to let them know hundreds of people were willing to listen to their concerns. By lifting the veil and getting other first responders and their supporters to recognize the need for open discussion, we hoped to affect change in the first responder culture.
You help us each day as we move closer to these goals. Your hundreds of #IWillListen posters plastered the internet. Your willingness to step forward to help each other gave first responders the voice they needed. Read More
Co-hosted Spokane Police Department and Spokane Chaplaincy
Presented by 1st Responder Conferences in Partnership with First H.E.L.P.
Co-hosted by The Spokane Police Department and Spokane Chaplaincy
This training is for all 1st responders, police, fire, military/veterans, corrections, dispatchers, chaplains, retired 1st responders, spouses, professional staff, clinicians, spouses and all who work in the public safety field.
Other Resources
