Critical Incident Stress Debriefing

At Wallace Counseling Co, we offer critical incident stress debriefing and management.   Think of it like a first aid lesson as the result of a dangerous, critical or difficult situation.

A critical incident debriefing is a structured group conversation held after a traumatic or highly stressful event to help people process what happened, reduce distress, and support recovery.

It is commonly used after incidents such as:

• line-of-duty deaths 
• serious accidents 
• workplace violence 
• natural disasters 
• mass casualty events 
• traumatic calls for first responders 
• events involving children or especially disturbing scenes 

What It Usually Looks Like

A trained facilitator leads a small group of people who experienced the event together. The setting is private, supportive, and confidential when possible.                                                                                         

Participants are invited—but not forced—to discuss:

1. Facts – What happened from their perspective 
2. Thoughts – First reactions during or after the event 
3. Emotional responses – Feelings that came up 
4. Stress reactions – Sleep issues, irritability, anxiety, numbness, etc. 
5. Coping strategies – What helps in the next few days 
6. Resources – When and where to seek more support 

A quality debriefing is not:

• therapy 
• an interrogation 
• an investigation 
• assigning blame 
• forcing emotional disclosure 
• a one-size-fits-all cure for trauma 

• Normalize common stress reactions 
• Reduce isolation (“I’m not the only one reacting like this”) 
• Provide education about trauma responses 
• Encourage peer support 
• Identify who may need extra help 
• Promote healthy recovery

For more information on CISM or CISD, check out https://icisf.org/