International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc.
International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc.
By: Rick Hughes, Team Leader-Stokes County CRT & ICISF Member
Learning to navigate a critical incident is like dancing. Some people take dance lessons before stepping onto the dance floor. Others just start dancing. The scene or aftermath of a critical incident is a different type of dance floor. Sometimes it is a crowded place filled with not only people but also emotions, numbness, pain and disbelief. The music is a dissonant symphony of crying, screams, sirens, nausea and commands to bring order to the midst of chaos.
As a crisis responder, my dance partners are other people who have also committed their lives to helping people. Some are fire fighters and emergency service workers. Others are law enforcement personnel. It is not unusual for family members of victims and survivors to cut in during the dance.
Dr. Tina Brookes trained me in the S.A.F.E.R model, Critical Incident Stress Diffusion, and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing. She also spent time instructing and mentoring me.
Training is a key aspect of learning to dance. New dancers begin by memorizing the format for each dance step in the various processes. More experienced ones know how to engage of the unique dance partners they encounter during trauma. In her book about the impact of trauma on families, Jennifer Cisney Ellers notes, “Trauma is unique to each individual and there are no objective criteria for what is traumatic” (Trauma’s Impact on the Family, July 2019).
Following is a list of important dynamics for engaging dance partners in crisis response:
It takes a skilled listener to engage competently. Stephanie Vozza writes for Fast Company:
“Ever zone out while someone is talking? Of course. We all do. The average human has an eight-second attention span. With electronic distractions competing for your time and an abundance of responsibilities at work, it makes listening attentively to someone else speak pretty difficult.”
Vozza goes on to say, “We are living in a time when it’s more challenging to be consistently aware and intentional because so many things are demanding our attention.”
Scott Eblin states, “Our brains haven’t caught up to the technology that’s feeding them. The impact of this leaves people in a chronic condition of fight or flight.”
Dancing is a beautiful expression of art. While much of our learning and protocols are based on science and research, we are the delivery system. The engagement must be perceived as an art. It is the art that gives CISM life. Therefore, my colleagues, let’s dance!
I am so thankful for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation’s commitment to providing training and resources for crisis response personnel, along with Gail Shue of WFBMC Triad Regional Advisory Council for promoting and establishing CISM teams in a 10-county region of northwestern North Carolina.
I am honored to serve as team leader for the City of King chaplains along with the City of King CISM team members, Donald Davis and Terri Howell. I also serve as chaplain for Stokes County and lead the Stokes County Crisis Response and CISM team.
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