Intervention Strategies for Emergency Response Groups: A New Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Emergency teams are often deployed to communities far from home, where they are to respond to the needs of communities that may not be able to support them. This can serve to undermine the ritualized coping mechanisms the team is accustomed to using, and may heighten emergency workers' vulnerability to stress reactions. Emergency workers are not psychologically exempt from reactions to the traumatic situations they face. Instead, they face a host of psychological responses, including the use of rigid defense mechanisms and the experience of a full range of anxiety or depressive symptoms. They may also experience positive reactions, such as invigorated self-confidence and enhanced self-efficacy. Nor do emergency workers' emotional responses occur exclusively following their exposure to trauma. Instead, they often experience symptoms of distress in the midst of coping with disaster. A variety of interventions have been implemented with emergency responder groups, including critical incident stress management services (CISMS), which encompass a wide range of interventions implemented before, during, and after stress exposure. Interventions can include education, peer counseling, demobilization meetings, and professional counseling. Psychological debriefing is another 7-stage strategy developed specifically for emergency response teams. It should be noted, however, that these interventions have not been adequately evaluated to know if they are effective. [Adapted from Introduction, pp. 399-400]