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- John Ashcroft

Stress Management for WMD Incidents

Audience:  First responders, Fist Receivers, mental health professionals; public officials and administrators; emergency operations planners, managers, and staff; emergency communications officers; public works, public health technical and management personnel.  Additionally, the following personnel can benefit from this course:  military members, media representatives, and members of the general public interested in terrorism and stress management.

Goals:  To provide an organized approach to the management of event-induced stress for first responders involved in a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) incident.

Description:  This training program is designed to prepare responders for the emotional stressors involved in a terrorist or WMD incident, to help responders mitigate the critical incident stressors during the response to a WMD incident, and to help responders diminish or forestall any potential long-term emotional difficulties resulting from response to a WMD incident. 

Overview of Topics: 

• Identify WMD Critical Incident Stressors
• Recognize stress and describe the stress response
• Identify ways in which to manage and reduce stress
• Recognize the need for pre-incident education and post-incident care
• Understand the legal issues and ethical considerations associated with Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) programs
• Describe effective communication skills