CISM CISD Fact Phase

What is easiest for emergency personnel to discuss are facts about the incident. Facts are a collection of items outside of oneself. They are impersonal and generally not distressing to talk about. Emergency personnel in their line of work, cling to facts and avoid discussion of emotionally charged items to remain focused and cognitively defended. It is therefore the most logical place to begin the debriefing.

"The CISD team wasn't present during the incident. We only know some bits and pieces of the incident. It would be very helpful if we could get some understanding of what happened by having you tell us about the incident. So we would like you to tell us who you are, what your role was during the incident and briefly what happened from you perspective. It doesn't matter if what you experienced is different that everyone else's experience or the same. you all had an important part to play in the situation and it would help everyone to have a big picture built by putting all your pieces of the incident together. If you choose not to speak, that is okay, just shake your head and we will pass on by you. For the sake of organization we will start here on my left and go around the room. Again what we need to know is:

Who are you?
What was your job or role during the incident?
What happened from your point of view?"

These are "safe" questions to answer and generally will get the discussion going. If the group is over 20 or time is restricted for some reason, going to everybody may be time consuming. Starting with more pointed questions can cut down the time. Also not everyone will speak, but this is okay. If there is a spokesperson for each unit only speaking you will see others nodding in agreement and this can be pointed out. Alternative questions might be:

Who arrived first on the scene?
Which units came in after them?
What happened as additional units arrived?

As the participants respond to this line of questioning, their answers will generally start by producing fact, but may show some emotion or stop themselves before they display emotion. This is an indication of how effected the personnel are from the incident. Remember it is very difficult for an emergency personnel to show emotions especially in front of their comrades. They are likely to be embarrassed. The role to the debriefing team is not to probe any further where one might do in therapy, but instead acknowledge the emotion. Offer validation on the appropriateness of that emotion. Reassure that this emotion is expected and that anyone in a similar situation would have the same reaction; and lastly, move off the person onto someone else unless they signal that they want to continue.

As a team leader, when there is such a display of emotion, it is likely that the group can become unnerved. They may start to feel anxious as their emotions begin to surface. They will look to you to control the group by responding to the person. Your skill in handling this typical scenario will show the group that it is safe to "lose it" momentarily. An unnerved group, will hold back. Especially the participants who are next in line to speak. An option is to move towards a peer member and have them go through their introduction. This will offer some space before the next person speaks and help the group return to the speaking of fact and a cognitive exercise. this phase of the group can last anywhere from 5 -20 minutes depending on how many people are present and the depth of their answers.

The general employee population receiving debriefing services are likely to be absent of facts. They simply were in the "wrong place at the wrong time." Some employees do have roles and functions within a department, i.e. fire marshal, or medical department personnel and therefore may have more information than others.