Introduction

Before reading the course descriptions below, please follow the “Crisis Care Training Introductory PowerPoint” link to a description of the Adventist Crisis Care Network and crisis care training program. It will provide a context for you to better understand the courses described below.

The courses listed below are only those associated with the emotional and spiritual care portions of the training program. Others, such as the ACS course on disaster preparedness and the National Incident Command System courses, are not described here.

ACS Workshop in Christian Ethics in Disaster Response (3 hours)

This three-hour workshop in the application of Christian ethics in disaster emotional and spiritual care settings  can be a stand-alone or offered in conjunction with another scheduled course. It covers topics such as core principles of ethics in ministry, confidentiality in communications, the “do no harm” principle, protecting the vulnerable, questions regarding faith-sharing and proselytizing, etc.

Psychological First Aid Course (6 hours)

This course, developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the National Center for PTSD, provides effective baseline training in crisis care strategies such as contact, safety and comfort, stabilization, information gathering, practical assistance, social support,  providing helpful information and linking with specialty care. Psychological First Aid does not  provide training to become a counselor, therapist or a qualified disaster chaplain, nor is it   intended to do so.

Critical Incident Stress Management Courses (CISM)

CISM is a comprehensive, multi-component intervention system from the International  Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc., which is recognized by the United Nations. Completion of these courses includes continuing education units from the University of Maryland. There are many CISM courses; from them ACS offers the following as part of our crisis care training curriculum; log onto www.icisf.org for information on other CISM courses.

CISM provides effective training in specific, recognized crisis/disaster response interventions;  it is not a broad-based program that produces counselors, therapists or qualified disaster response chaplains, nor is it intended to do so.   The following descriptions are adapted from the ICISF web site referenced above.

               
INDIVIDUAL CRISIS INTERVENTION (13 hours)
Crisis Intervention is NOT psychotherapy; rather, it is a specialized acute emergency mental health intervention which requires specialized training. As physical first aid is to surgery, crisis intervention is to psychotherapy. Thus, crisis intervention is sometimes called “emotional first  aid”. This program is designed for teach participants the fundamentals of, and a specific protocol for, individual crisis intervention. (This is the foundational course on which all other ICISF courses build.)

               
Program highlights:
                                Psychological crisis and psychological crisis intervention
                                Resistance, resiliency, recovery continuum
                                Critical incident stress management
                                Evidence-based practice
                                Basic crisis communication techniques
                                Common psychological and behavioral crisis reactions
                                Putative and empirically-derived mechanisms
                                SAFER-Revised model
                                Suicide intervention
                                Risks of iatrogenic “harm”

GROUP CRISIS INTERVENTION (14 hours)
Designed to present the core elements of a comprehensive, systematic and multi-component crisis intervention curriculum, the Group Crisis Intervention course will prepare participants to understand a wide range of crisis intervention services. Fundamentals of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) will be outlined and participants will leave with the knowledge and tools to provide several group crisis interventions, specifically demobilizations, defusings and the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). The need for appropriate follow-up services  and referrals when necessary will also be discussed.

               
Program Highlights
                                Relevant research findings
                                Relevant recommendations for practice
                                Incident assessment
                                Strategic intervention planning
                                “Resistance, resilience, recovery” continuum
                                Large group crisis interventions
                                Small group crisis interventions
                                Adverse outcome associated with crisis intervention
                                Reducing risks
                                Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)

              

PASTORAL CRISIS INTERVENTION (13 hours)
This course in Pastoral Crisis Intervention has a broad application and could also be called a                 course in spiritual and religious intervention as utilized by all persons of faith. Pastoral Crisis Intervention may be thought of as the combination of faith-based resources with traditional techniques of crisis intervention. Pastoral crisis intervention represents a powerful addition to traditional community and organizational psychological support resources. The purpose of this two-day course is to assist the participants in learning how pastoral interventions and traditional psychological crisis interventions may be effectively integrated. Chaplains/pastors, pastoral counselors, mental health professionals, lay persons and anyone interested in the use of faith-based resources in healing should find this course of interest.

               
Course highlights:
                                Nature of human crisis
                                Nature of crisis intervention
                                Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM)
                                Signs and symptoms of the crisis state
                                Understanding the “crisis of faith”
                                Criteria for psychological triage as related to spiritual and religious interventions
                                Strategic SAFER-P model utilized for pastoral crisis intervention
                                Incorporating traditional pastoral interventions into crisis care
                                Common pastoral crisis intervention mistakes
                                Challenging pastoral crisis interventions

               
PASTORAL CRISIS INTERVENTION II (13 hours)
This course builds on the foundations of ICISF’s “Pastoral Crisis Intervention” class. More specific advanced concepts and specific field applications where pastoral crisis intervention is applied will be covered. 
Prerequisite: ICISF’s “Pastoral Crisis Intervention” course.