Training in Critical Incident Stress Management – Principles and Standards

The intervention, which emerged in the 1980s, Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), has been a major proponent of peer-based crisis intervention. The International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) has created standardized training curriculum and provides instruction for trainers interested in teaching CISM courses. When training is standardized, practitioners have a common set of principles and guidelines by which intervention may be provided. Group Crisis Intervention focuses on assisting the participant in developing skills to work with those in crisis in groups and providing four models of group intervention. The ICISF has developed the certificate of specialized training (COST) program to address the requests from practitioners for this recognition of the differences in applying CISM in various professions. Practitioners must remain familiar with current standards and changes in CISM and other forms of crisis intervention. Training in CISM should only be done by those who have completed a trainer's curriculum through ICISF.