History of CISM in Wildland Firefighting
The history of the wildland culture is replete with examples of good employees who have never been able to fully recover after being involved in a critical incident. The acceptance of alcohol, divorce related to job stress and job disenfranchisements are all widespread within our culture. Previous generations of fire fighters learned their difficult world, but that’s what made it matter. They’d be told, most likely, that it hurts sometimes, but one had to "suck it in and stick it out" to survive in the culture. That’s how most would learn to cope with stress. The nature of wildland firefighters is not to admit weakness or express feelings.
Numerous examples of historic of failure can be cited when “CISM” has been tried and/or required by management without peer support in the past. The stories about crews walking out the door, piling up bar tabs on Dr. Suit’s room number all make the point that peer support is a required element in a successful post incident intervention.
Historic Approaches Were Not All Bad.......
One of the key success factors in the Great Basin’s Critical Incident Stress Management Program was recognizing that attitudes and approaches that were once strong features in the wildland firefighting culture can still be of help in dealing with the stress of the profession.
During times of tragedy and loss one cannot simply return from a fire assignment and walk away from the most profound events of human life without being changed somehow by the experience. It has become progressively more important for wildland fire organizations and their personnel to develop effective methods through which to successfully integrate these experiences into the fabric of their lives. Crisis intervention has evolved over the last decade has clearly demonstrated its effectiveness as a tool to reduce human distress when applied by trained, qualified specialists, including peers under appropriate circumstances and established boundaries and standards of care
Social Media Connect