Critical Incident Debriefing
CISD Facilitator
As a critical incident debriefer I am trained to facilitate structured, group-based interventions shortly after traumatic events. These sessions, help individuals process emotions, reduce stress, and mitigate PTSD risks, particularly for first responders and employees
Key Aspects:
- Goal: To help participants process their thoughts and feelings in a safe environment, fostering normalisation of reactions and promoting resilience.
- Process: The debriefing generally includes introduction/rules, facts of the incident, thoughts, reactions, symptoms, teaching, and re-entry (re-establishing normalcy).
- Target Audience: Usually conducted for groups of people (e.g., emergency service workers, teams) who have shared a traumatic experience.
Core Responsibilities:
Debriefers guide participants through a specific model to reduce acute stress and restore group cohesion.
- Facilitation: They manage the group dynamic, ensuring a safe, non-judgmental environment where participation is voluntary.
- Normalisation: They educate participants that their reactions (such as anxiety, fatigue, or confusion) are "normal reactions to an abnormal event".
- Triage: They observe for signs of severe maladaptive behaviors and provide referrals for professional counseling or therapy if needed.
The 7-Phase Debriefing Process:
The debriefer typically follows the Mitchell Model, a seven-stage structured process known as Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD):
- Introduction: Sets ground rules, establishes a safe environment, and clarifies that the session is not a performance critique.
- Fact Phase: Encourages participants to describe the incident from their perspective, focusing strictly on chronological facts.
- Thought Phase: Transitions the group into sharing their initial thoughts during the event.
- Reaction Phase: Allows participants to discuss the most painful or "worst" parts of the experience to vent emotional reactions.
- Symptom Phase: Identifies physical, cognitive, and emotional distress symptoms currently being experienced by the group.
- Teaching Phase: Normalises these reactions as "normal responses to an abnormal event" and provides stress management education.
- Re-entry: Provides closure, summarises the session, and offers ongoing support or signposting for those needing further professional therapy.
Fees
DPS Safeguarding Consultancy
Experienced Strategic Designated Safeguarding Lead. Successfully collaborated with schools and organisations to achieve safeguarding compliance.
Safeguarding Audit
Are you confident that your safeguarding is effective?
In your organisation is the ethos “It could happen here’?
A safeguarding audit would help to identify areas for improvement and provide guidance for statutory compliance and best practice.
How it works:
- Review statutory policies and procedures.
- Review linked policies such as safer recruitment/SCR and whistleblowing.
- Conduct interviews and focus groups.
- Make observations during site visits.
- Review safeguarding training.
- Review case files and historical data.
- Provide verbal feedback on areas for improvement.
- Produce a report and action plan with recommendations.
Safeguarding Training
Comprehensive whole school training to strengthen and embed safeguarding culture. Including:
- Ofsted compliance
- Up-to-date KCSiE statutory guidance.
- Safer recruitment processes.
- DSL and DDSL support: case management and tracking. Record keeping.
Annual ‘all school‘ training, assemblies and inset workshops available.