Question:
I have been active in CISM for 5 years in eastern Pennsylvania (Montgomery
County specifically). I have taken advanced Mitchell courses. I also lecture
on Stress and CISM in Emergency Physician circles and of course our local
emergency services.
Answer:
I have been involved with CISM since 88, took Mitchell basic,
advanced, and advanced topics. Pulled a nasty on him while
vidoetaping a training exercise. I was role playing, but he thought I
was in serious trouble. Talk about double takes! Anyway, I also work
with EMS and in-house hospital ER folks and do some stress management
and education on the side. It is a great system, saves lives and
careers. Casn be very effective with a good group of trained peers.
Also, as the education process spreads, there may actually be less
need for actual full fledged debriefings as more and more people will
be able to defuse each other earlier. If you know the systen, you can
do some of this by yourself, and if that doesn't work, you know where
to go for additional help before the stress gets out of hand.
I am a paramedic and co-director of our Regional CISD team that covers Western Masschusetts. My training is
Jeff Mitchell based and have been doing it for approximately 5 years. It might be interesting to get a
prospective from you as our particular team has had real retnetion probelms when it comes to our mental health
people, I'm not sure what that is although I sometimes have my suspicions. Our team consists of a heavy EMS
membership and have clergy involved as well. We are a moderately busy team that works with other teams in our
state. Let me know any feelings or interest you might have in reference to CISD.
