<P> Critical incident stress management (CISM) is an adaptive, short - term psychological helping - process that focuses solely on an immediate and identifiable problem . It can include pre-incident preparedness to acute crisis management to post-crisis follow - up . Its purpose is to enable people to return to their daily routine more quickly and with less likelihood of experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Evidence - based reviews, however, have concluded that CISM is ineffective for primary trauma victims, and should only be used for secondary victims, such as responding emergency services personnel . CISM was never intended to treat primary victims of trauma . </P> <P> CISM is designed to help people deal with their trauma one incident at a time, by allowing them to talk about the incident when it happens without judgment or criticism . The program is peer - driven and the people conducting the interventions may come from all walks of life, but most are first responders (Police, Fire, emergency medical services) or work in the mental health field . All interventions are strictly confidential, the only caveat to this is if the person doing the intervention determines that the person being helped is a danger to themself or to others . The emphasis is always on keeping people safe and returning them quickly to more normal levels of functioning . </P>

What is critical incident stress management (cism)