When to use CISM
Any incident that causes public safety services and critical care providers (including teachers) to experience unusually strong emotional involvement may be appropriate for "Critical Incident Stress Intervention". The following situations would typically be considered for CISM:
- Serious injury or death of a co-worker, i.e. law enforcement, EMS worker, communications services, critical care provider, fire services, school teacher or staff, or other personnel involved in the incident.
- Mass casualty incident.
- Suicide of an employee or co-worker.
- Serious injury or death of a civilian involving a service provider (as mentioned above).
- Death, serious injury or violence to a child.
- Loss of life or negative outcome of a patient following extraordinary and prolonged expenditures of physical and emotional energy during rescue efforts by providers, especially if unsuccessful.
- Incidents that attract extremely unusual or critical news media coverage
- Any incident in which the circumstances were so unusual or the sights and sounds so distressing as to produce a high level of immediate or delayed emotional reaction.
- Any incident that is charged with profound emotion
- Any event deemed critical by the worker or person in authority.