None of us is really exempt from the possibility of exposure.
What we know from the data is that approximately one in five of us will be impacted by at least one or more traumatic events during the course of our lives. As a result there is some bad news and there is some very good news.
The bad news is that the human and financial costs of not preparing for a critical incident can and has severely hampered people's ability to function. Sadly, this has devastated individual careers, lives, whole units, and even entire organizations.
The very good news is that, more often than not, this human and financial damage can be prevented or at least reduced by the appropriate use of specific crisis intervention tactics and strategies that are comprehensive, organized, multi-component, phase-sensitive, and field-tested. Developed by Drs. Jeffrey Mitchell and George Everly of the University of Maryland and John's Hopkins University, respectively, this is now possible through the advent of Critical Incident Stress Management - CISM.
In the late 1980’s they co-founded the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation and have been more than generous sharing their personal experiences and wisdom with those of us who work in the field. The Foundation provides leadership, education, training, consultation and support services to those of us who work in the crisis response community. We truly owe them and everyone at ICISF a great debt of gratitude for their ongoing worldwide efforts to relieve human suffering.