Critical Incident Response Training for Professionals: Continuing Education …

“Critical Incident Response is a highly sought after skill by Employee Assistance Programs, Employers and Crisis Response Referral Agencies,” says Kim Scott MA, MFT and founding partner of Practical CE Seminars.

Therapists who learn Critical Incident Response soon discover that it is very different from therapy. First, it is a group process and the individuals who are participating in the group are not your clients. They have not agreed to come into therapy, they are not paying you, you have not done individual assessments of the group members, and they are free to participate or simply sit quietly without sharing. In a Critical Incident Response group, the therapist is acting as a facilitator. The therapist is not individually diagnosing the participants and may not even know the participants' first and last names.

As the facilitator, the therapist is held responsible for taking the group through a process, which will allow them to vent some of their thoughts and feelings about the critical incident, while forming a support group with their co-workers. The therapist must make sure that anything that is shared can be contained and that it is of appropriate content to share with ones co-workers. The therapist will also normalize the participants’ feelings and share some basic stress management skills to assist the participants in coping with the incident. Finally, the therapist is responsible for identifying and referring individuals who may need more assistance, support or even therapy.

Crisis Care Network, the nation’s largest network of licensed clinicians trained as critical incident response specialists, has endorsed the Crisis Response Fusion course. In a video on their website, Bob VandePol, President of Crisis Care Network says, “The Crisis Response Fusion course integrates the delivery of psychology first aid into the context of corporate culture and business objectives of the work place”. Upon completion of the course, therapists are eligible to join the Crisis Care Network.

Ms. Scott will be instructing her Crisis Response Fusion course this September 7 in Phoenix, AZ and September 21 in Riverside, CA. By adding this training to your tool belt, you can increase your value to EAPs, receive more referrals, and increase your revenue. It is also an excellent way to diversify your practice.

Registration and more information is available at their website practicalceseminars.com

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