Montgomery County, PA
CISM Team
Debriefing/Defusing
Introduction Phase: Format
  • Purpose:
  • Deal with thoughts, reactions, issues
  • Sleep, eat, perform better
  • Rules
  • Strictly confidential
  • You do not have to talk
  • No breaks, bathroom quietly
  • Talk only for yourself
  • Say nothing incriminatory
  • No pagers, off duty
  • No rank, all equal
  • Not operational critique
  • Not an investigation
  • Does anyone not belong here?
  • Feel free to ask questions
  • Go around, introduce self and roles
/ Fact Phase:
  • Ask for sequence of events and facts about event
Thought Phase:
  • When did you first realize that this was an abnormal/unique event?
  • What do you remember thinking or feeling?
Reaction Phase: Skip in Early Defusing
  • Share reactions/worst parts of the event
Symptom Phase:
  • How did you know that this event was different?
  • What have you been feeling since?
  • Start to bring in symptom teaching from other side of card
/ Montgomery County, PA
CISM Team
Debriefing/Defusing
Introduction Phase: Format
  • Purpose:
  • Deal with thoughts, reactions, issues
  • Sleep, eat, perform better
  • Rules
  • Strictly confidential
  • You do not have to talk
  • No breaks, bathroom quietly
  • Talk only for yourself
  • Say nothing incriminatory
  • No pagers, off duty
  • No rank, all equal
  • Not operational critique
  • Not an investigation
  • Does anyone not belong here?
  • Feel free to ask questions
  • Go around, introduce self and roles
/ Fact Phase:
  • Ask for sequence of events and facts about event
Thought Phase:
  • When did you first realize that this was an abnormal/unique event?
  • What do you remember thinking or feeling?
Reaction Phase: Skip in Early Defusing
  • Share reactions/worst parts of the event
Symptom Phase:
  • How did you know that this event was different?
  • What have you been feeling since?
  • Start to bring in symptom teaching from other side of card

Montgomery County, PA
CISM Team
Debriefing/Defusing
Introduction Phase: Format
  • Purpose:
  • Deal with thoughts, reactions, issues
  • Sleep, eat, perform better
  • Rules
  • Strictly confidential
  • You do not have to talk
  • No breaks, bathroom quietly
  • Talk only for yourself
  • Say nothing incriminatory
  • No pagers, off duty
  • No rank, all equal
  • Not operational critique
  • Not an investigation
  • Does anyone not belong here?
  • Feel free to ask questions
  • Go around, introduce self and roles
/ Fact Phase:
  • Ask for sequence of events and facts about event
Thought Phase:
  • When did you first realize that this was an abnormal/unique event?
  • What do you remember thinking or feeling?
Reaction Phase: Skip in Early Defusing
  • Share reactions/worst parts of the event
Symptom Phase:
  • How did you know that this event was different?
  • What have you been feeling since?
  • Start to bring in symptom teaching from other side of card
/ Montgomery County, PA
CISM Team
Debriefing/Defusing
Introduction Phase: Format
  • Purpose:
  • Deal with thoughts, reactions, issues
  • Sleep, eat, perform better
  • Rules
  • Strictly confidential
  • You do not have to talk
  • No breaks, bathroom quietly
  • Talk only for yourself
  • Say nothing incriminatory
  • No pagers, off duty
  • No rank, all equal
  • Not operational critique
  • Not an investigation
  • Does anyone not belong here?
  • Feel free to ask questions
  • Go around, introduce self and roles
/ Fact Phase:
  • Ask for sequence of events and facts about event
Thought Phase:
  • When did you first realize that this was an abnormal/unique event?
  • What do you remember thinking or feeling?
Reaction Phase: Skip in Early Defusing
  • Share reactions/worst parts of the event
Symptom Phase:
  • How did you know that this event was different?
  • What have you been feeling since?
  • Start to bring in symptom teaching from other side of card