Critical incident response protocolA critical incident response protocol is a document describing the procedure to be followed should a traumatic event occur in the workplace. The document sets out the roles and responsibilities of various individuals and serves as a guide in responding to a critical incident. The Clinic of Applied Psychology can help you develop a critical incident response protocol that is appropriate for your business.
Crisis managementIn an environment where a critical incident has occurred, executives and people in authority must be given specific assistance, to ensure that they are doing well and that the incident has not affected them unduly, and to support them in managing the crisis, which may still be in progress.
Group sessionsDefusing and debriefing are two group interventions that are usually conducted within the first few hours after a traumatic incident. Their purpose is the same but the methods differ.
Defusing is a shorter form of debriefing that is offered in the hours following the incident to allow people to talk about the event and their reactions to it; it fosters a quick return to a state of functional equilibrium. It only lasts about 45 minutes.
Ideally, debriefing is offered within 72 hours following the trauma and allows participants to ventilate about their traumatic experience, their symptoms, and how to alleviate them in the short and long term. This session is about two hours in length.
Individual interventionIn specific instances, an individual intervention may be offered to people who were unable to participate in group interventions, or if their condition warrants it. A clinical follow-up is provided for any group or individual intervention.
Debriefing for spousesThe impact of a trauma on the people close to the victim should not be ignored, and debriefing sessions can be made available to them.
- Individual psychological treatment
Trauma victims may need psychological treatment not only shortly after the event but sometimes much later on. A thorough psychological assessment is advised, after which the client may be offered specific psychological treatments. A number of specific methods of psychological intervention (EMDR, cognitive therapy, etc.) have proved effective and are offered by experienced psychologists. Clearly, the psychological intervention is carried out in addition to any pharmacological intervention prescribed by a doctor or psychiatrist, as the case may be.