Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD): Efficacy in Question

When a person experiences a traumatic event, s/he may have a strong emotional reaction. This reaction may disrupt the person's ability to function at the scene of the incident or later, and may range from a normal stress response to the symptoms indicative of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Psychological debriefing is an immediate intervention used following a traumatic experience that purportedly helps individuals manage their normal stress reactions to the incident. Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) was designed for workers in high-risk occupations, such as police officers, disaster workers, and firefighters. Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) is a multi-component intervention system that incorporates CISD. The use of this intervention has been expanded to individuals, groups, and com-