What is CrISIS?
Critical Incident Stress Intervention & Support (CrISIS) is a psychosocial system for helping people when they have experienced a potentially overwhelming incident/event or situation.
CrISIS provides an immediate and effective response to stress and trauma, helping to prevent a decline into poor mental health and supporting resilience.
The psychosocial nature of the CrISIS system means that ordinary people can be trained as Facilitators, in order to help other people in their organisations or social groups, providing immediate and effective ‘Peer Support’
In short, CrISIS Facilitators provide a supportive and humane response to the emotional and psychological needs of a fellow human beings when something bad has happened to them.
Who delivers CrISIS?
CrISIS Facilitators are not clinically trained therapists or counsellors.
Rather, they are caring professionals, Peers and volunteers who have demonstrated trustworthiness, discretion and non-judgmental values, and are suitably placed to support colleagues and dependents in difficult times.
CrISIS Facilitators are equipped with a robust tool-set with which to provide an effective support system for colleagues or service users in distress or psychological crisis.
When can CrISIS be used?
CrISIS can be used by trained Facilitators upon first contact with someone in distress or crisis.
Uniquely, it can be facilitated both during and following a critical incident, and also to provide ongoing support.
By training as CrISIS facilitators, your people will be able to spot the signs of traumatic reactions, and have the skills with which to provide effective support right there on the spot.
What is a ‘critical’ incident?
Essentially, any event, incident, situation or occurrence that has the potential to overwhelm a person’s natural coping abilities can be considered a critical incident.
This definition allows us to consider life events or situations that are not usually associated with trauma, and support people throughout a range of situations, such as (but not limited to);
- Financial loss
- Relationship closure
- Breach of trust
- Bullying
- Childbirth
- Job loss
- Illness
- Military combat
- Accidents
- Terror attacks
- Disaster
- Sudden bereavement
- Violence
- Crimes of a sexual nature
This is not an exhaustive list – it must reconsider that what is ‘critical’ is unique and subjective to the individual who experiences it, and regardless of the event or incident believed to be causal in someone’s distress, CrISIS can help.
Is CrISIS a form of therapy?
No, CrISIS interventions are a form of psychosocial support and therefore considered to be non-clinical.
The CrISIS system is simply an evidence-informed system for lay people and peers to facilitate a supportive and powerful conversations, to enhance natural recovery processes following a bad experience, and help prevent a decline into poor mental health.
CrISIS isn’t;
- Counselling
- Psychotherapy
- Treatment
- Labelling
- Diagnostic
- Debriefing
A key difference between CrISIS and therapy, is that CrISIS Facilitators do not attempt (in any way) to interpret what is happening for the person they are supporting – there is no diagnostic approach, and CrISIS Facilitator’s do not apply any form of clinical treatment.
In what sectors is CrISIS useful?
CrISIS is useful wherever there are people, although the following sectors are areas in which CrISIS may be particularly useful;
- Voluntary agencies
- Business
- Social services
- Emergency services
- Post terror/disaster recovery
- Social groups
- Clinical services
- Local authorities
- Criminal justice
- Travel industry
- Manufacture
- Construction
- Retail
What are the strengths of CrISIS?
CrISIS has many strengths, here are a few to consider;
- Facilitates an immediate response for people in distress
- Applicable in diverse settings
- A culturally responsive peer support model
- CrISIS is non-diagnostic and non-judgmental, and therefore helps reduce stigma
- Evidence-informed and developed from real-world crisis situations
- Theory driven, providing a solid and credible system of supporting people
- CrISIS has its roots in Aristotelian philosophy, giving the system an extraordinary academic lineage
- The modular system of CrISIS provides a functional and memorable model, easily applied in any crisis situation
How long does it take to train a CrISIS facilitator?
CrISIS Facilitators are initially trained over the course of a 2 Day interactive CrISIS Schema Workshop, online or in the classroom.
By the end of the CrISIS Schema workshop, delegates will;
- Know how to communicate with distressed and traumatised people
- Know how to spot and understand the signs of a traumatic reactions
- Know how to provide a conversational intervention to help someone reduce emotional charge
- Know how to physically and psychologically stabilise an individual in distress, to help restore function and safety
- Know exactly what type of information to provide to help support the recovery of someone in distress
- Know how to provide ongoing support for people in distress, and how to look after themselves when they need help.
Further Facilitator development is possible by undertaking the 2-day Group CrISIS workshop, which equips facilitators with the knowledge and skills with which to deliver interventions for groups of people following a critical incident.
Once you have trained your CrISIS team, your organisation will have an immediate and effective peer support resource with which to support mental health in the workplace.
How many delegates are allowed per workshop?
Ideally, we would look to train a maximum of 10 people at a time – this is to ensure a quality delivery
Due the nature of the learning process, we do like to ensure that we have even numbers of delegates for partnership exercises.
How much does a crisis workshop cost?
It costs just £500 per delegate to undertake the CrISIS Schema 2 day Workshop – this represents remarkable value for money!
The optional ‘bolt-on’ 2 day Group CrISIS Workshop also costs just £500 per delegate.
For those managing the work of CrISIS Facilitator’s within their organisation, the 1-day CrISIS Co-ordinator Workshop costs £400 per delegate.
SME’s etc. may have fewer delegates, and that’s fine, and we can charge accordingly.
As we are an ethical organisation, we apply discounts for Armed Forces Charities and voluntary Sector organisations.
Are there any extra costs?
No, there are no hidden or extra costs if booking online workshops, however expenses may be agreed prior to delivery of a workshop if delivered in a classroom setting.
You may also wish to consider future competence through CPD days which we’re happy to discuss with you.
How can I book a CrISIS workshop?
You can get in touch with us via our contact form below or email us at info@responderresilience.com and we’ll be right with you as soon as possible to discuss your requirements.
We’re always happy to hear from people and we’d be glad to help you or your organisation become part of our growing CrISIS Network!
