Montgomery County Critical Incident Stress Management Team
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Montgomery County Critical Incident Stress Management Team |
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Specialized TrainingTo be an active member of the CISM Team, you must be trained in the Basic CISM course titled Group Crisis Intervention. In addition, to be fully versed in the basics of CISM, Individual Crisis Intervention and Peer Support is strongly recommended. We have chosen those courses as our basis for standardization. In times of disaster, or other mass events, supporting organizations must be trained in a similar manner in order to seamlessly integrate and provide mutual aid assistance. A newer requirement is FEMA NIMS/NICS training for similar reasons. A description of these courses follows:
Courses offered under the Auspices of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation: The Group Crisis Intervention training program is designed to present the
core elements of a comprehensive, systematic and multicomponent crisis
intervention curriculum. The two day course prepares participants to understand
a wide range of crisis intervention services including pre and post incident
crisis education, significant other support services, on-scene support services,
crisis intervention for individuals, demobilizations after large scale traumatic
incidents, small group defusings and the group intervention known as Critical
Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). The course specifically prepares participants
to provide several of these interventions, specifically demobilizations,
defusings and the CISD. The need for appropriate follow up services and
referrals when necessary is also described. Considerable evidence gathered to
date strongly supports the multicomponent crisis intervention strategy, which is
discussed in this course. ICISF Group Crisis Intervention Individual Crisis Intervention and Peer Support: Crisis intervention is NOT psychotherapy, rather it is a specialized acute emergency mental health intervention which requires specialized training. As physical first-aid is to surgery, crisis intervention is to psychotherapy. Thus, crisis intervention is sometimes called "emotional first-aid." Crisis interventions are typically done individually (one-on-one) or in groups. This program is designed to teach participants the fundamentals of, and a specific protocol for, individual intervention. The audience for this class includes both emergency services, military, and business/industrial peer support personnel without formal training in mental health, as well as mental health professionals, who desire to increase their knowledge of individual (one-on-one) crisis intervention techniques. More details about this course can be found at the: ICISF Individual Crisis Intervention and Peer Support
The federal government requires that all agencies that provide services in a federally declared disaster, or receive federal disaster funding, train all of the personnel in the following NIMS/NICS courses by September 30, 2006. The Montgomery County CISM Team, at their quarterly meeting on September 13, 2006, made a personnel rule change as follows: All team members are required to complete training in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) courses detailed below by November 30, 2006 to maintain active membership on the CISM team. A copy of the certificate must be provided. The requirement can be completed in in person courses, or more conveniently via an on-line course process through FEMA. If you already have completed the training through other agencies, you need to simply provide a copy of the certificate. Follow the link to access this information. Regular team members are required to take ISO-100 and ISO-700 Officers are required to take ISO-200 and ISO-800 (In order to run a regional CISM operation, ISO-300 may be required) (The only other course required of the overall Incident Command level staff is ISO-400)
Other courses: There are many other courses in this discipline that are offered regionally and nationwide throughout the year. Many are offered through the International Critical Incident Foundation: Descriptions and Calendar. Others are through the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic: Programs. Additional organizations include the: American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, Green Cross Foundation, and Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists.
Montco CISM no longer is part of the PA DCORT network. Therefore, the information that follows is for reference and is not required for membership on the Montco CISM Team. Courses offered by the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic under the Auspices of the Pennsylvania OMHSAS: Disaster Crisis Outreach and Referral Team: This two-day Disaster Crisis Outreach and Referral Teams (DCORT) Training is a newly designed preparatory course based on best practice and feedback from MHRTs, designed to provide disaster crisis outreach and referral teams with the essential skills needed to provide effective assistance to individuals and communities in crisis/disaster situations. The core competency based curriculum includes assessment, intervention and crisis counseling program skills, National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) training, and an overview of terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Photo Identifications will be issued for those identified by county Disaster Mental Health Response Coordinators as being county Disaster Crisis Outreach and Referral Team members. The Coordinators are the lead for coordinating disaster mental health response efforts in their respective counties.
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Send e mail to cismmontco_at_verizon_dot_net with
questions or comments about this web site.
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