TY - JOUR
T1 - Disaster mental health: A critical incident stress management program (CISM) to mitigate compassion fatigue
AU - Jones, Norma S.C.
AU - Majied, Kamilah
N1 - Racker H: Transference and Countertransference. New York: International Universities Press, 1968. Johnson-Jimenez EK: Utilization of disaster mental health services by workers following a terrorist attack. Dissertation Abs Int. 2004; 65(7-B): 3711. McCaslin CR: Life events and distress in American Red Cross Disaster Relief staff. Dissertation Abs Int. 2003; 64(8-B): 4050.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - This article presents a critical incident stress management program (CISMP) that is designed to anticipate and mitigate the emotional impact of external and internal critical incidents upon individuals and groups who deliver disaster recovery services. This comprehensive program provides for immediate and sustained responses to assist disaster workers in effectively minimizing the emotional detriment of stressful incidents, resulting from interactions with disaster victims. Disaster workers have the potential to experience compassion fatigue as they listen to the disaster survivors’ stories of pain and losses, and work long work hours over extended work periods. The program is a structured, peer-driven, clinician-guided, and supported process designed to provide interventions to address disaster-related mental health issues. Emphasis is placed on individual peer support for immediate action, and specialized individual and group support, assessment, and referral is provided by a stress management clinician. Peer partners participate in a training program, which includes: (1) an overview of stress assessment and management; (2) critical/intervention orientation; (3) identification and utilization of peer support techniques; (4) event preplanning, event briefings, defusings, and debriefings; (5) protocol for responding to an incident; and (6) basic information on workplace violence.
AB - This article presents a critical incident stress management program (CISMP) that is designed to anticipate and mitigate the emotional impact of external and internal critical incidents upon individuals and groups who deliver disaster recovery services. This comprehensive program provides for immediate and sustained responses to assist disaster workers in effectively minimizing the emotional detriment of stressful incidents, resulting from interactions with disaster victims. Disaster workers have the potential to experience compassion fatigue as they listen to the disaster survivors’ stories of pain and losses, and work long work hours over extended work periods. The program is a structured, peer-driven, clinician-guided, and supported process designed to provide interventions to address disaster-related mental health issues. Emphasis is placed on individual peer support for immediate action, and specialized individual and group support, assessment, and referral is provided by a stress management clinician. Peer partners participate in a training program, which includes: (1) an overview of stress assessment and management; (2) critical/intervention orientation; (3) identification and utilization of peer support techniques; (4) event preplanning, event briefings, defusings, and debriefings; (5) protocol for responding to an incident; and (6) basic information on workplace violence.
KW - compassion fatigue
KW - critical incident
KW - stress management
KW - disaster workers
UR - https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2009.0026
U2 - 10.5055/JEM.2009.0026
DO - 10.5055/JEM.2009.0026
M3 - Article
VL - 7
JO - Journal of Emergency Management
JF - Journal of Emergency Management
ER -