What Does the Critical Incident Stress Management
(CISM) Network Do?

A CISM Team is a group of dedicated, sensitive, and specially trained professional who help emergency services personnel and their spouses deal with stressful aspects and occurances of their occupation. Team members include:

• Emergency Medical Services Providers

• Law Enforcement

• Firefighters

• Mental Health Personnel

• Dispatchers

• Disaster Workers

• Physicians

• Nurses

• Clergy

• Their Spouses

The CISM Team serves any emergency services personnel including any of those listed above and more!

The Team provides pre-incident education, emergency critical incident defusing and debriefing, referrals for individual services and family support programs.

Debriefing is a vital step in the human healing process. It allows emergency service providers to come face-to-face with their reactions to the trauma they have witnessed. In a safe, confidential atmosphere, participants are free to explore their feelings at the time of the incident, and afterwards.

Stress manifests itself in many ways. Everyone experiences some stress in their lives, and most view coping as a "part of life" or "part of the job." Therefore, it is extremely important that first responders recognize and accept that stress is a natural reaction of the mind when faced with a situation which overwhelms the normal coping mechanism.