Individual Crisis Intervention and Peer Support

Individual Crisis Intervention and Peer Support is one module of the UN recognised CISM training, (Crisis Intervention and Stress Management). It is required additional training for anyone wanting to be an accredited Billy Graham Rapid Response Team Chaplain.  

Crisis intervention is NOT psychotherapy, rather it is a specialised acute emergency mental health intervention which requires specialised training, as physical first-aid is to surgery, crisis intervention is to psychotherapy. Thus crisis intervention is sometimes called 'emotional first-aid'. 

Crisis interventions are typically done individually (one-on-one) or in groups. This program is designed to teach participants the fundamentals of, and a specific protocol for, individual intervention.

This class is ideally suited to emergency services, military and business/industrial peer support personnel without formal training in mental health, as well as mental health professionals seeking to increase their knowledge of individual (one-on-one) crisis intervention techniques.

The training includes:

• Understanding Crisis Intervention and Stress Management, (CISM), as a comprehensive crisis intervention program
• The role of the individual crisis intervention in the comprehensive CISM program
• Terms and concepts relevant to the study of crisis, traumatic stress and crisis intervention
• Differential utilities of selected crisis communication techniques
• Demonstration of selected crisis communication techniques
• Psychological reactions to crisis and trauma
• SAFER protocol for individual crisis intervention and it's role in comprehensive CISM
• Demonstration of the us of SAFER protocol for individual crisis intervention
• Review of common problems encountered while working with individuals in crisis