International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc.
International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc.
By: Shawn Dundon
Just the other day, I finished the CISM: Practical Review and Update. These last few weeks have allowed me to really take stock of where I began as a CISM practitioner, and where I am today. My name is Shawn Dundon. My career in crisis work began at Sheppard Pratt Hospital in June of 1990. I came to Maryland with my young family for a 10 week internship. Thanks to a great family friend, we had a place to stay as we settled in.
One of the very first people I met on the unit at Sheppard Pratt was Victor, mental health worker. He and one of the nurses, Kim, showed me around. What a humble beginning it was, I didn’t know anything. Halfway thru the stint, the hospital hired me as regular employee. Now I had a real job.
However, Valentine’s Day, 1993 would change my world. I will spare you the gory details, but the father of a patient saw me as the weak link so his son could ‘escape’ the ward. Upon returning to the unit, as I opened the door, he attacked. After a vicious fight that had me dangling off a high railing outside, I took a real beating. Victor came to the hospital soon as he heard. He spent a few hours with me, after the police and administration had interviewed me. Victor asked what to do about this. I said, this needs to be a wake-up call for the hospital, an alarm bell that violence on staff is a real problem. My cuts and bruises healed, but mental scars remained.
The intense acuity of that milieu was more than I could take. Not sleeping, irritable, anxious, and angry. Once I returned to work, I realized the trauma inside of me. I felt like Shawn Rambo up there…always ready to fight someone, enraged, time to move on. A transfer to the admissions office in the fall of 1993 was a welcome change of pace.
Experiencing PTSD is not a good time. So grateful to Victor laying the foundation for my recovery and helping set a mental attitude to move forward. Festering emotional wounds soon become toxic to one’s mind, heart and soul. For me, it was the EAP counseling and short-term antidepressant that helped me rebuild.
In 1994, I became one of the first CISD team members. Now, I could repay the kindness and support that Victor had shown me, using the debriefing model. So satisfying to help my co-workers around the campus deal with assaults, violence and loss.
In March 1999, Victor invited me to come to work on the mobile crisis team (MCT) in Harford County. Now I really found my groove. He was one of the first staff on the team and was instrumental in building the young program. 2008 was a banner year for us at mobile crisis. That summer, we offered the first Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for law enforcement. My friend Sharon and Sheriff Jesse were instrumental in bringing CIT to Harford County. I am so grateful for their leadership, vision and commitment to launch CIT. Sharon is also a CISM practitioner and she, Victor and I serve on the Harford Co Sheriff’s Office Crisis Negotiations Team (CNT).
After all these years in the field, it’s great to still have these friends and colleagues by my side. My work with MCT changed in 2013 when the State of MD offered CIT grants to the counties. Since January 2014, I have been the full-time CIT Coordinator for Harford County.
In addition to the training, advocacy, liaison role and more…CISM work is on my taskbar. Partnering with ICISF, the Office on Mental Health, Behavioral Health Administration, and local stakeholders, we have a small team of practitioners available. When we look back even a few years, Harford has had a number of severe traumas. The murder of two deputies in 2016, several more deaths of officers both on and off duty was just part of it. Active shooters, killing sprees and general mayhem seemed to plague our law enforcement for several years. Our team and CISM from other agencies, even the FBI, came together to help responders, survivors, witnesses, family and community members. It never feels like we did enough, but we must believe that we were there for a reason.
These are special opportunities to really make a difference, a lasting impact on a person who may not be able to navigate a trauma alone. I would like to thank my main CISM friends, Victor, Janna, Sharon, Marc and Tory for their friendship and support in our work together.
Thanks to the ICISF for their tireless work in offering the leadership, training, support and advocacy for crisis workers around the globe. We appreciate you.
Copyright © 2025 International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc
International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc is a 501(c)3 Non Profit