The most obvious aspect of critical incident stress debriefing is that it addresses the immediate stressor. In many instances, survivors are confronted with a critical incident within the workplace and are faced with managing intense anxiety, trauma, and fear. These feelings can escalate into a full-blown crisis that has the potential to shut down a workplace permanently. Often, the first steps taken by employees are to try to contain these feelings, but in the course of doing so, they may inadvertently block performance and communication - both necessities for good workplace communication and a healthy work environment. This can have long-term, detrimental effects on workplace productivity and create a need for costly modifications.
Through critical incident stress debriefing, survivors are able to gain insight into the critical factors that created the trauma, as well as the cognitive and behavioral changes that followed the event. This information is critical in assisting them in crafting effective strategies for addressing the issues. It is also essential in assisting them in making necessary changes in their work performance and in their interpersonal interactions. This includes learning practical skills such as social skill training, assertive communication, and stress management, all of which can aid in reducing the negative effects of workplace stress.
A critical incident stress debriefing involves two main objectives. First, the health professionals will gain an understanding of the critical incident and its impact on the employees involved. Second, they will develop a protocol to assist the employees in addressing their fears and concerns about post-traumatic stress. The process typically includes the development of a working definition of the critical incident, an explanation of its role in the workplace, providing advice about handling the post-traumatic stress, as well as the benefits derived from the post traumatic stress. A professional debriefer will also assess the progress of the process to determine if all steps are having success.
During critical incident stress debriefing, health professionals will be able to gather information from trauma survivors regarding post traumatic reactions. Most likely, they will recount their physical responses and their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors during the emergency. They will discuss how they coped with the reactions, their thoughts and feelings regarding the ordeal, how they avoided certain thoughts and behaviors, what role they played during this ordeal, the time they waited before acting, their interactions with others, the number of injured people, the sequence of events leading up to the critical incident, the post-traumatic stress symptoms they experienced, and their overall experiences of the trauma. The goal is to capture as much detail as possible and to create a document that can be used by other critical incident responders and health professionals in the future.
After the critical incident stress debriefing, the survivor will be debriefed regarding any improvements or setbacks they have experienced since the traumatic event. In many cases, the PTSD victim will have developed new reactions to the traumatic event or will not experience the flashbacks and intrusive memories of the event. The survivor may also choose to take medications or engage in therapy. In some cases, the survivor may not have developed PTSD symptoms or may have experienced only minor symptoms prior to the traumatic event.
Many people who suffer from PTSD do not respond well to standard therapy or medications. This is why it is very important to receive a critical incident stress debriefing process in which all of the relevant information will be covered. Anyone experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should never go through the critical incident stress management process without receiving a debriefing from a trained mental health professional. Getting a thorough examination and analysis of one's mental health after experiencing a trauma is the first step towards developing a suitable PTSD treatment plan.
A critical incident stress debriefing requires a detailed account of all the survivors' thoughts, feelings, behaviors, physical health, and other information relevant to the traumatic event. This type of debriefing is usually conducted after the initial arrival at the hospital, but prior to the first 24 hours. Often, the first debriefing is conducted the day after the emergency and after the health care providers have had a chance to familiarize themselves with the traumatized person and their medical history. The final debriefing can take place several days or several weeks after the emergency, but should take place as frequently as needed. The goal of a critical incident debriefing is to help survivors process their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, physical health, and any other information related to the critical incident.