Creating and Maintaining a Multi School Based CISM Team: Lessons and Tools

1. Creating and Maintaining a Multi School Based CISM Team: Lessons and Tools ICISF 10th World Congress on Stress, Trauma and Coping February 26, 2009 Baltimore, Maryland

2. Presenters • Katy Kramer Lee, LISW • Leslee Sandberg, Ph.D. Grant Wood Area Education Agency Cedar Rapids, Iowa

3. Agenda for Today • Welcome and Introductions • Who We Are and Where We’re From • Learning Objectives for Today • Establishing The Need for a School Based CISM Team • CISM School Based Toolkit • Student Funerals • Emergency Preparedness • Team Maintenance • Closing Activity

4. Who We Are • An 90+ member ICISF trained team composed of school social workers, school psychologists, educational consultants, school counselors, nurses, administrators, clergy and pastoral care staff

5. Where We’re From

16. 6th St Office Photo courtesy KCRG YouNewsTV (http://www.kcrg.com/younews)

26. By the end of our session today, participants will be able to: 1. Describe a process for establishing a multi-school based CISM Team including mission, vision and guiding principles. 2. Identify ways to grow, develop and maintain a multi-school based CISM Team guided by best practice. 3. Develop and access additional resources for use in their own school setting. What does a CISM Tool Kit contain?  

27. 4. Plan for special circumstances: funerals, memorials, the media. 5. Review the SAFER-R model as an intervention in the school setting. 6. Utilize the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) in a school setting: children and adults. 7. List ways to be pro-active in school crisis planning

28. 8. Describe the importance of strategic planning in responding to school crises 9. Understand how faith-based CISM members contribute to the school based CISM team. 10.Develop an action plan to guide next steps in participants own setting.

29. Establishing the Need for a School Based CISM Team “There are two kinds of schools….those that have had a crisis and those that will.” -Mary Schoenfeldt of Schoenfeldt and Associates

30. In the beginning…….. • Prior to 1999: informal response • 1999 student death at track practice • Met with hospital, Red Cross, Abbe Center for Community Mental Health • Formed an Advisory Committee: first task was to define our need and develop guiding principles, mission, and vision.

31. Need Statement • Grant Wood AEA is aware that difficult and critical situations occur in the lives of students and staff. • Some effects of traumatic stress are: disruption of teaching and learning, deterioration of job performance, relationship problems, depression.

32. We chose the ICISF CISM intervention model.

33. Traumatic Stress • Critical incidents are intense events that can rapidly overwhelm the coping skills of students and staff exposed to them. • Critical incidents can set the stage for both critical incident stress and post-traumatic stress disorder.

34. Goals and Outcomes of Interventions • Reduce stress. • Stabilize. • Facilitate returning to a more normal routine. • Provide access to a more intensive or higher level of care, as indicated.

35. Critical Incident Stress Management • Prevention of critical incident stress. • Mitigation of critical incident stress. • Intervention to assist in recovery from critical incident stress. • Acceleration of recovery whenever possible. • Restoration to function. • Maintenance of school personnel and student health and welfare.

36. CISM Interventions • Pre-incident education, preparation • Assessment • Strategic Planning • Large Group Crisis Intervention: • Demobilizations (large groups of rescue/ recovery) • Respite/Rehab Sectors • Crisis Management Briefings (CMB)

37. CISM Interventions (cont.) • Small Group Crisis Intervention: • Defusings (small groups) • Small group CMB • “Debriefing” • One-on-one crisis intervention, including individual PFA • Family CISM • Organizational/ Community intervention, consultation • Pastoral crisis intervention • Follow-up and referral for continued care

38. And then……. Community organizations funded our first training: School Crisis Response (Barb Ertl) • Grant Wood AEA CISM Team formed • Guiding Principles • Mission • Vision

39. Grant Wood AEA CISM Guiding Principles All schools in Grant Wood AEA deserve access, in a timely manner, to critical incident support. In coping with traumatic events, greater positive impact can best be achieved through equal partnerships between school and local community resources. Asking for community support is a healthy and productive response to crisis.

40. Involving the broader community is an effective way to address issues of cultural diversity. A written intervention plan and prior practice can assist in easing chaos. Response plans tailored to each school district or building best meet the needs of the staff and students.

41. Consistent training and preparation of local community-wide teams provides the most effective crisis response. Since students relate best to people they know, it is preferable that local school staff are trained in crisis intervention to facilitate the initial response and provide long – term support.

42. Providing post-vention support for crisis response teams is a critical part of a traumatic event response plan. The social / emotional development and learning that occurs when coping with a traumatic event are important elements in the education of our students. Providing proactive crisis prevention is a critical part of a traumatic event response plan.

43. Why is it important to identify guiding principles?

44. The Team’s Mission Defines the scope of the work And How it will be done

45. Mission Statement • To support schools within the Grant Wood Area Education Agency in coping with traumatic events by providing trained, local community response teams.

46. Mission Fulfillment • Create & facilitate effective community partnerships. • Promote safety & security in schools by linking with other crisis prevention & management efforts. • Provide training & follow-up for the local community response teams. • Provide schools access to crisis intervention response teams that use the ICISF model.

47. After that…… • Developed GWAEA CISM Operations Manual with team membership application • Became a registered ICISF team • Individual members took additional ICISF training

48. Spreading the Word! • Created a brochure • Spoke to School Superintendents • Informational “ How to Contact the Team” flyers sent to all schools • Internal communications within our agency • Word of mouth from schools receiving our services

49. Vision the preferred future of the team

50. Vision Statement • Schools within Grant Wood AEA will have an effective, integrated community-wide response to a school crisis, based on a plan that provides access to local resources. • There will be a systematic, consistent approach utilized by response teams. • Community resources will be organized and easily accessed by school personnel.