About CISM

Critical Incident Stress Management

 (Video Courtesy of Victoria Ambulance and Police, Victoria BC.  Do not call phone numbers at end of video.  Refer to phone numbers on this website for assistance.)
Stress in EMS
This is a video myself and 3 others have done for Uni. The topic is Stress on Emergency Service Personal.

What is CISM? 

A range of services strategically implemented to target specific needs at specific stages of a critical incident. Services include one to one support, small group support, large group support and referral to a higher level of services. Skilled peer team members work to alleviate stress as it is encountered on the job and to allow you to stay on the job.  CISM has become standard operating procedure for most first responder agencies. All responses are CONFIDENTIAL.  

What is a critical incident?

Anything you say it is …  includes such events as:
  • injury to a first responder
  • officer involved shooting
  • first responder suicide
  • death of a child
  • death of a coworker
  • mass casualty incidents
  • line of duty death
  • significant loss of property or apparatus
  • prolonged exposure to a traumatic event
  • excessive media pressure
Any incident that overwhelms an individual or a department’s ability to cope as usual is a critical incident.  When you are on a call, the moment you think…”this one is different”….you should begin to think about activating the CISM team AND alert dispatch.

Who we are

We are a dedicated group of police, firefighter, ems, corrections, and nursing peers, chaplains, and mental health professionals that have specialized training and experience responding to critical incident stress.  We volunteer all our time and support. 
 
National and International Support Network
We are a part of a national peer support network, the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF).  ICISF has teams across the nation and internationally that are ready to respond to any type of incident. We will respond to a request for support from one first responder on third shift, or an event as big as Katrina or 9/11.  We are a recognized team in the Northeast region of ICISF which serves Maine to Delaware.  It is not uncommon, as we are a small state, to get requests from all over the state, and from surrounding states for services.  We can always help to activate mutual aid teams in your area.  When in doubt, call us and we will assist in any way possible to link you to services. You have a nation of peers available for support.
 
Services are confidential and privileged.  This is not an investigative process nor an operational critique.  The only records we keep are location of request for services, number of CISM staff involved and number of participants that attend an intervention.  Across the nation statutory regulations have set precedent making CISM communications privileged.
 
We offer CISM services because we have seen it work time and again to return first responders to full service after a critical incident.  When implemented correctly, CISM saves departments, careers, families, marriages, and lives.