After a critical or a life-changing incident, many people usually struggle to regain senses of safety and normalcy. These critical events are rampant to police personnel who respond to various crisis while performing their duties. Rosco P. Coltrain and his fellow officer are victims of assault while responding to an event involving two criminals. Both are severely injured in the confrontation. Since then, Rosco’s life has changed after the traumatizing incident; he has feelings of anger and anxiety which has changed his personality. He needs psychological first aid to help him recover and regain a normal life.
The aim of critical stress debriefing techniques also called physiological first aid is used to ensure that the victim recovers from stress or trauma and get control of their lives hence achieve a normal life (Cheng, Grant, & Sandhu, 2016). Initially, Rosco loved and enjoyed his work and had developed strong ties with his colleagues. After the incident, he is not his usual self; his outgoing character changes and begins to isolate himself from workmates. The psychological first aid will work to ensure that Rosco gets back to his usual life. In an ideal sense, the process of debriefing is more effective within the first 72 hours after the critical event.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Author and researcher Davis identifies certain incidents as critical incidents that require debriefing. These incidents include serious injuries probably from attacks or shootings, threats to both psychological and physical wellbeing and safety of a person, and any distressing or dramatic situation that disrupts psychological and physical functioning (Rivera-Chiauzzi, Colleen Lee & Goffman, 2016). The symptoms include anger, anxiety, moodiness, fear, shock, frustration, etc. Debriefing is different from counseling. It is a structured voluntary conversation aimed at placing an abnormal incident into perspective. It offers individuals clarity about the critical event they have experienced and aid them to begin a process for recovery.
Assisting Rosco will entail a seven steps procedure (Leonhardt, 2016). In the first step, a trained psychologist should engage to assess the effect of the critical incident on Rosco. This step will involve the introduction and sharing of initial sentiments. The facilitator should get to know the details about the victim like age and their involvement with the incident. The leader should be calm and supportive. As the conversation grows, the facilitator will make an accurate assessment of Rosco.
The second step will involve identifying the matters surrounding the problem concerning security and safety. The person should understand Rosco’s perceived sense of safety. Members of the group can give suggestions on perceived safety and security. The third step is the use of defusing to give way for ventilation of emotions, thoughts, and experiences associated with Rosco’s encounter and give “validation” of likely reactions. The ability to talk about the encounter can be extremely therapeutic, in and itself as it will assist Rosco to process his emotions and come to terms with what he experienced and witnessed. The person assisting should be avail a safe and non-judgmental environment for him to do that. The leader should validate the victim’s own, distinct reaction and let him know it is both okay and normal.
The fourth step is predicting the events and the reactions to come aftermath of the critical encounter. This stage will entail explaining the reactions that may be encountered as time go on. These reactions may include emotional, physical and psychological changes. This conversation will enable Rosco to prepare for the future and keep off any more stressful incidents. The fifth stage is conducting a systematic review of the critical incident and its impact cognitively, physically, and emotionally on Rosco. While observing his moods, perceptions, word choice, and thoughts, the leader should be keen on maladaptive characters that may hinder his ability to recover and cope with the psychological reaction. Common behaviors may include avoidance, anger, drug abuse, and anxiety becoming anger.
The sixth stage bringing him closer to the incident and anchor him to community resources to start the rebuilding process. It is crucial to point out to him the resources that are available to him in the community. The resources that would assist him in recovering. The last step is helping him in entering back into the community and workplace. By addressing the incident and his reactions to it, the leader should support him in gaining his normal way of life. He will be able to regain his wellbeing, safety, and security. This step will allow him to get into his initial state with his family and workplace. He will also be prepared for future critical events.
The most common way of debriefing is given in a group format where the people affected are led by a professional to discuss the critical incident. For Rosco’s case, one would involve other officers involved in similar situations so that they can share experiences. The group format will also follow the above-discussed stages. It is recommended that the process should happen within the first 72 hours after the event (Leonhardt, 2016). Groups can meet for a few days for around two hours in a session every meeting day. It will allow the affected to process all details without becoming overwhelmed.
Finally, the leader will help Rosco and his group to understand their emotional reactions and give them validation for their reaction. The professional facilitator should provide tools for stress management and resources for continued support. Critical stress and debriefing techniques have assisted many people involved in traumatizing incidents to recover and regain a usual life. Rosco and his colleagues who are at risk of these events could be helped and continue enjoying their work.
References
Rivera-Chiauzzi, E., Colleen Lee RN, M. S., & Goffman, D. (2016). Debriefing after adverse outcomes: An opportunity to improve quality and patient safety. Contemporary OB/GYN , 61 (2), 24.
Cheng, A., Grant, V. J., & Sandhu, N. K. (2016). Constructive Debriefing for Trauma Team Education. In Trauma Team Dynamics (pp. 285-290). Springer, Cham.
Leonhardt, J. (2016). Critical incident stress management intervention methods. In Critical Incident Stress Management in Aviation (pp. 67-78). Routledge.
