The Washtenaw County CISM Team
What is the Washtenaw County CISM Team?
The Washtenaw County CISM Team provides multi-dimensional stress management services for emergency service personnel and their families of Washtenaw County following a traumatic event or disaster. The program is a partnership of mental health professionals and peer support personnel who are drawn from the police, fire, dispatch, emergency medical, nursing, disaster management, and other emergency-oriented organizations. Team members are trained in the ICISF (International Critical Incident Stress Management Foundation) model.
If you are in need of CISM Team services please call Ann Arbor dispatch at 734-994-2911.
What is a Critical Incident?
A critical incident is any incident that causes an individual to experience unusually strong emotional reactions which have the potential to interfere with their ability to function either at the scene or later.
It is very common, in fact quite normal, for people to experience emotional aftershocks when they have passes through a traumatic event. Sometimes the emotional aftershocks (or stress reactions) appear immediately after the traumatic event. Sometimes they may appear a few hours or a few days later. And, in some cases, weeks or months may pass before the stress reactions appear. The signs and symptoms of a stress reaction may last a few days, a few weeks or a few months and occasionally longer depending on the severity of the traumatic event.
With understanding and the support of peers and others the stress reactions ususally pass more quickly. Occasionally, the traumatic event is so painful that professional's assistance from a counselor maybe necessary. This does not imply craziness or weakness. It simply indicates that the particular event was just too powerful for the person to manage by themselves.
If you would like more information on the Washtenaw County CISM Team please e-mail Michelle Rose at rosem@ewashtenaw.org or call her at 734-544-2911.
For additional information on Grief, Loss, and Trauma please visit these websites.
This page last updated 2/01/07
