Critical Incident Stress Management Techniques

The strategy for managing this potential stress on the responder is two-fold:

• Defusing - This is done the day of the incident, before the person has a chance to sleep. It is designed to assure the person or people involved that their feelings are normal, to tell them what symptoms to watch for over the short term, and to offer them a lifeline in the form of a telephone number where they can reach someone with whom they can discuss their emotions. Defusing is typically limited to individuals directly involved in the incident and is often conducted informally - sometimes at the scene.
• Debriefing - This is normally done in a formal setting within 72 hours of the incident and gives the individual or group the opportunity to talk about their experience and how it has affected them, brainstorm coping mechanisms, identify individuals at risk, and inform the individual or group about services available to them in their community. The final step is to follow up with them the day after the debriefing to ensure that they are safe and coping well or to refer the individual to professional counseling.

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