The short term effectiveness of critical incident stress debriefing

This study examined the short-term effectiveness of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) in alleviating stress responses of people exposed to traumatic events such as armed robbery or managing major medical emergencies involving death or extensive injury. Acute stress reactions and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are the principal psychological disorders that occur following exposure to actual or potentially life-threatening events involving the self or others. Both conditions are characterized by intrusive memories of the stressful event coupled with attempts to psychologically avoid or suppress these distressing intrusions. Acute stress reactions are short-lived and subside within a month, whereas PTSD persists beyond a month's duration. Over a third of cases exposed to traumatic events such as violent robbery or dealing with severe medical emergencies involving significant injury or death develop PTSD.