What Is Critical Incident Stress Debriefing?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHistoryPhasesWhen to Use CISDEffectiveness

Table of ContentsView All

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Table of Contents

History

Phases

When to Use CISD

Effectiveness

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Individuals who were exposed to the event can talk about their experiences and feelings in a safe environment. The goal of this process is to provide peer and professional support immediately following an incident, which may reduce therisk of developing trauma symptomsor other mental health issues.

Licensed mental health professionalswith training in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing to facilitate groups immediately following a stressful or traumatic incident.Groupscan have multiple facilitators if there is a high number of participants.

CISD Requirements

It is required that all group members have experienced the same stressful event and must be rested and emotionally regulated enough to participate in a group.

Critical Incident Stress Debriefing is intended for use as one of many resources offered to people who have experienced a stressful or traumatic event.

History of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing

Dr. Jeffrey Mitchell developed CISD in 1974 as a way to offer support to people who experience highly stressful events in their jobs.

Dr. Mitchell developed this intervention with inspiration from his work as a paramedic andfirefighter, but this technique can be used for any group who has experienced a traumatic event, such as a shooting,natural disaster, or work-related crises.

Goal of CISDDr. Mitchell’s goal with CISD is to reduce both short and long-term impacts of traumatic events, including mental health symptoms (such aspost-traumatic stress disorder), substance dependence, relationship conflicts, and sleep disturbance.

Goal of CISD

Dr. Mitchell’s goal with CISD is to reduce both short and long-term impacts of traumatic events, including mental health symptoms (such aspost-traumatic stress disorder), substance dependence, relationship conflicts, and sleep disturbance.

Phases of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing

Although the process is flexible and can be tweaked based on the needs of the group, CISD is generally structured in seven phases or steps. These steps are:

Preventing Trauma Symptoms From Appearing Later

One goal of the group is to work through emotions participants are experiencing in the aftermath of the event while simultaneously arming them with skills to move forward and prevent trauma symptoms from emerging later on.

Facilitators additionally aim to educate participants about trauma and mental health so they can make appropriate choices for ongoing support. CISD groups leave participants feeling safe, validated, and hopeful for the future.

When to Use Critical Incident Stress Debriefing

CISD is intended for use immediately (within 24 to 48 hours) after the incident occurred. Its purpose is to provide support and resources to people who experienced a traumatic event as soon as possible.

However, for CISD to be effective, participants need to be well-rested and in an emotionally stable headspace.If someone is still in a state oftraumatic shock, they are not ready to participate in CISD.

After a stressful or traumatic incident has occurred, individuals should receive any necessary medical attention as well as any appropriate individualcrisis interventionand support. If needed, they can sleep or rest. Once they are ready, they can participate in CISD.

CISD groups should occur after the event has finished when members are physically safe. Facilitators should have an understanding of what occurred before starting the group.

Effectiveness of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing

CISD is intended to be used as one of many resources and supports for people who have experienced trauma. As such, it is difficult to research the specific impact of CISD as other variables are typically present in addition to the group. However, studies have been conducted to measure the effectiveness of CISD.

CISD Reduces Burnout and Trauma Symptoms

A review of 15 studies showed that non-mandatory CISD improved coping and reducedtrauma symptomsin healthcare workers in emergency settings.It has also been shown to reduceburnoutandcompassion fatiguewhile reducing employee turnover in healthcare settings.

Additionally, CISD can improve both physical and mental health outcomes for military personnel.

When implemented at the appropriate time and with qualified, trained facilitators, CISD can be an important resource for groups who have experienced a traumatic event.

What Is Critical Incident Stress Management?

6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cantu L, Thomas L.Baseline well-being, perceptions of critical incidents, and openness to debriefing in community hospital emergency department clinical staff before COVID-19, a cross-sectional study.BMC Emerg Med. 2020;20(1):82.Mitchell, J.T. (n.d.). Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD). Trauma. Retrieved fromhttp://www.info-trauma.org/flash/media-f/mitchellCriticalIncidentStressDebriefing.pdfMitchell, J. T. (September/October, 1986). Critical incident stress management. Response, 24-25.Smith, Mary M., “Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: An Integrated Review” (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3483.https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3483Davis, Rachel A., “Critical Incident Stress Debriefing for Nurses in Emergency and Critical Care Departments” (2020). MSN Capstone Projects. Paper 6.http://hdl.handle.net/10950/2603Lin MW, Tsai CW, Hsu CC, Kao LC, Tai YM, Yang SN. Critical incident stress debriefing for frontline military rescuers in a helicopter crash disaster in Taiwan: A preliminary report. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2020;34:128-33

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cantu L, Thomas L.Baseline well-being, perceptions of critical incidents, and openness to debriefing in community hospital emergency department clinical staff before COVID-19, a cross-sectional study.BMC Emerg Med. 2020;20(1):82.Mitchell, J.T. (n.d.). Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD). Trauma. Retrieved fromhttp://www.info-trauma.org/flash/media-f/mitchellCriticalIncidentStressDebriefing.pdfMitchell, J. T. (September/October, 1986). Critical incident stress management. Response, 24-25.Smith, Mary M., “Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: An Integrated Review” (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3483.https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3483Davis, Rachel A., “Critical Incident Stress Debriefing for Nurses in Emergency and Critical Care Departments” (2020). MSN Capstone Projects. Paper 6.http://hdl.handle.net/10950/2603Lin MW, Tsai CW, Hsu CC, Kao LC, Tai YM, Yang SN. Critical incident stress debriefing for frontline military rescuers in a helicopter crash disaster in Taiwan: A preliminary report. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2020;34:128-33

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Cantu L, Thomas L.Baseline well-being, perceptions of critical incidents, and openness to debriefing in community hospital emergency department clinical staff before COVID-19, a cross-sectional study.BMC Emerg Med. 2020;20(1):82.Mitchell, J.T. (n.d.). Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD). Trauma. Retrieved fromhttp://www.info-trauma.org/flash/media-f/mitchellCriticalIncidentStressDebriefing.pdfMitchell, J. T. (September/October, 1986). Critical incident stress management. Response, 24-25.Smith, Mary M., “Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: An Integrated Review” (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3483.https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3483Davis, Rachel A., “Critical Incident Stress Debriefing for Nurses in Emergency and Critical Care Departments” (2020). MSN Capstone Projects. Paper 6.http://hdl.handle.net/10950/2603Lin MW, Tsai CW, Hsu CC, Kao LC, Tai YM, Yang SN. Critical incident stress debriefing for frontline military rescuers in a helicopter crash disaster in Taiwan: A preliminary report. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2020;34:128-33

Cantu L, Thomas L.Baseline well-being, perceptions of critical incidents, and openness to debriefing in community hospital emergency department clinical staff before COVID-19, a cross-sectional study.BMC Emerg Med. 2020;20(1):82.

Mitchell, J.T. (n.d.). Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD). Trauma. Retrieved fromhttp://www.info-trauma.org/flash/media-f/mitchellCriticalIncidentStressDebriefing.pdf

Mitchell, J. T. (September/October, 1986). Critical incident stress management. Response, 24-25.

Smith, Mary M., “Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: An Integrated Review” (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3483.https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3483

Davis, Rachel A., “Critical Incident Stress Debriefing for Nurses in Emergency and Critical Care Departments” (2020). MSN Capstone Projects. Paper 6.http://hdl.handle.net/10950/2603

Lin MW, Tsai CW, Hsu CC, Kao LC, Tai YM, Yang SN. Critical incident stress debriefing for frontline military rescuers in a helicopter crash disaster in Taiwan: A preliminary report. Taiwan J Psychiatry 2020;34:128-33

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