Shiawassee County Community Mental Health Authority Critical Incident Stress Management

Crisis Team
24 Hour Emergency Phone
(989) 723-6791
1-800-662-4514 TTY
Ask for Crisis Team

Answers to Questions

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Critical Incident Stress Management

The Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team is made up of specially trained individuals. CISM interventions are not therapy, but are designed to reduce the incidence of behavioral, emotional, or cognitive dysfunction as the result of a traumatic experience and to reduce the need for an individual to become a recipient of mental health services.

What is a Critical Incident?

Critical incidents are unanticipated events which can overwhelm a person emotionally or physically.
People react to any given incident in different ways. It is impossible to predict how a person will respond. Situations that are very traumatic to one person may not bother another person at all. Trauma situations are true for emergency workers (responders) and for the general public.
Critical incidents, if left unattended, can significantly change a person's perspective and harm one's ability to cope with day to day activities.

The Shiawassee Community CISM Team

The CISM Team is comprised of specially trained members. The mission is to help people who experience trauma to better understand what they saw, heard and are feeling.

We train and operate under the guidelines of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation and use the ICISF Model. Standards are uniform world-wide. CISM has been recognized by the United Nations and NIOSHA.

Examples of Critical Incidents

Incidents where sights, sounds or smells are so distressing they produce a high level of immediate or delayed emotional reactions:

Home fires
Job loss
Auto accidents with serious injury or death
Death or violence with children
Victim known by rescuer
Intensive media coverage
Shootings, hostage situations
Suicide
Sexual assault
Natural disasters and terrorism
Line of duty injury or death
Prolonged rescue or recovery situation

Who, When, Where, Charge?

The team is designed to serve the needs of the general public in Shiawassee county as well as those of Emergency Services: Police, Fire, EMS, dispatch and Nursing
Mutual, reciprocal aid with other counties upon request
All services delivered in a confidential manner
No charge for routine service
Educational programs on request
Available on 24 hours, 7 day a week basis