News : Benton County CISM Team Serves Benton County First Responders

The Benton County CISM Team supports the Benton County First Responders

The Benton County CISM Team was officially formed in 2020 and became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2021. The mission of the Benton County CISM Team is to provide Benton County first responders with unparalleled support through displaying respect, integrity, and passion as Crisis Interventionists. First responders all over the world endure critical incidents (something that overwhelms one's normal coping mechanisms) every day. While first responders are generally resilient by nature, if critical incidents continue to accumulate and go unprocessed, there can be implications that affect their well-being, both physical and mental.

The Benton County CISM Team is currently comprised of ten individuals, eight of which are Crisis Interventionists, one is our Clinical Director, and one is our Clinical Board Member. The Team has close to, if not more than 50 years of mental health/crisis intervention/critical incident stress management experience, seven years of law enforcement experience, around 70 years of emergency medical services experience, and over 65 years of fire experience cumulatively in its' members.

The Team provides different types of interventions, the two most common being defusing and debriefings. If you have heard of us but are unsure of when to call us, this information is for you. A defusing is used immediately after a critical incident and should be done within eight hours. These interventions are short and should only last 20 - 30 minutes in length. They are not a full review or debriefing of the incident, but more a stabilization of the individual. A debriefing is done between one and three days after a critical incident (we prefer two - three) and goes more in-depth into the incident. Generally, these last around an hour to an hour and a half but can go longer or shorter as needed and depending on the number of participants. These interventions are facilitated by a Benton County CISM Team member who is there to assure to the intervention stays productive and on topic.

The Team is registered with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) and follows all guidelines set forth by them. Furthermore, the Team is a member of the Iowa CISM Network, which is set up like Hazmat regions in the state and responsible for covering Benton, Linn, Johnson, and Iowa counties should the need for a CISM team arise there. The Team has and will respond to outside counties and agencies as well at the discretion of the coordinators.

While critical incident stress management work has not been found to reduce posttraumatic stress (PTS) in itself, it has been found to reduce the prevalence of the lesser-known acute stress disorder (ASD), which in turn can reduce the prevalence rate of PTS. If responders experienced a critical incident, it is always wise to call the Benton County CISM Team as soon as possible. While we can respond to scenes, we generally do not as they are active and ongoing. However, we can meet responders at their station after the incident and begin to assess and stabilize if needed, then recommend next steps. If responders have been feeling signs and symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, trouble eating, intrusive thoughts, increased anxiety, avoidance, loss in things that typically interest them, any many others for more than 4 weeks after a critical incident we highly recommend they seek professional mental health assistance.

Each member of the Benton County CISM Team is trained, at a minimum, in Group Crisis Intervention and Assisting Individuals in Crisis through ICISF and Mental Health First Aid for adults. However, all our members value continuing education and have additional training in critical incident stress management, crisis intervention, suicide intervention and prevention, working with emergency services personnel and mass disasters, Psychological First Aid, advanced CISM trainings, licenses and certifications as mental health professionals, mobile crisis, de-escalation training, and more. The Benton County CISM Team is truly honored to be able to serve our first responders that continue to serve us. As 75% of our team currently serves as a first responder, and the other 25% works with or has direct connections to first responders, we whole heartedly understand what they endure daily, but we also know the need to keep them well because they are needed. Someone that endures a physical injury, such as a sprained ankle, would be given crutches, a brace, etc. for several weeks to let it heal. The stigma must be broken for first responders seeking treatment to be both physically and mentally well and we are proud to be a part of that.