CIS

During our operations, it is unusual for BAMRU members to be exposed to victims with severe trauma, or to terrible accident scenes. But from time to time it does happen, and we know from experience that the emotions and intense energy of a difficult event can linger.

In the past, BAMRU has brought in mental health facilitators for proactive stress management training. On a few occasions, we have conducted 'Critical Incident Stress Debriefings' (CISD) after a difficult operation.

Beyond that, we strive to keep an open dialog within our team, to acknowledge that critical incident stress does happen, for our new trainees as well as experienced responders. We encourage our members to share experiences and recovery strategies.

BAMRU is grateful to the San Mateo Sheriff's Office for their CISD support and mental health services for first responders. And we give profound thanks to BAMRU's volunteer members for the sometimes difficult community service they provide.

More about CIS:
http://www.criticalincidentstress.com/what_is_cism_
http://www.icisf.org/cis.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_incident_stress_management