International journal of emergency mental health
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2005
Attachment and compassion fatigue among American and Israeli mental health clinicians working with traumatized victims of terrorism.
This study compared the construct of compassion fatigue with the role of attachment as a potential mediator among mental health clinicians working with victims of terrorism in the New York metropolitan region of the United States and Israel. Differences between clinicians practicing within Israel (n = 31) and New York (n = 35), in terms of their symptoms of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and "burnout," were not significant, as measured by multivariate analyses of variance. Based upon nonsignificant differences, mediational statistical tests could not be run; thus, mediation did not hold. ⋯ Israeli clinicians had significantly more avoidant attachment dimensions than their New York cohorts. The strongest predictors of compassion satisfaction were (a) low attachment anxiety and (b) sufficient clinical experience related to treating victims of trauma. The strongest predictors of burnout were (a) minimal clinical experience, (b) minimal experience working with trauma victims, and (c) greater avoidant attachment dimensions.
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2005
ReviewEmergency response service personnel and the critical incident stress debriefing debate.
Previous research has demonstrated the potential for work-related stress associated with employment in the emergency service field. However, little research has considered effective interventions that may be used to mediate the effects of this work-related stress. ⋯ However, the efficacy of this intervention is currently the source of much debate. The present discussion reviews the available literature regarding the effectiveness of CISD for use with emergency service workers and concludes that at this time, for this population, the call for the removal of current programs using CISD is unwarranted.
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2004
ReviewCharacteristics of successful early intervention programs.
A plethora of terms and titles are currently used to describe early intervention programs. The terms "Critical Incident Stress Management Team," "Rapid Response Team," "Community Crisis Response Program," "Critical Incident Stress Team," "Staff Support Team," "Critical Incident Support Team," "Critical Incident Support Services," and "Assaulted Staff Action Program" are among many titles utilized to name a variety of crisis response programs. Additionally, crisis intervention services use different tactics to aim at a wide range of populations from primary victims to community groups, military service personnel, and emergency services responders. ⋯ Furthermore, no title, no matter how creative or descriptive it is, can indicate if the team or program has a greater or lesser potential to be of assistance by providing the right services during a crisis. This article focuses on the key characteristics of well-organized crisis intervention or, more precisely, "critical incident stress management" program. It also offers guidelines for identifying early intervention programs that have the best potential to provide efficient and effective early intervention services to those who request assistance.
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2004
Case ReportsCoping with traumatic loss: an interview with the parents of TWA 800 crash victims and implications for disaster mental health professionals.
The stories of survivors of traumatic events can be instructive to professionals who provide crisis intervention and/or psychotherapy to the bereaved. This paper provides excerpts from an interview with a middle-age married couple who lost two children in the 1996 explosion of TWA 800 over Long Island Sound. Their story illustrates important methods of coping with grief and sheds light on the value to survivors of recovering victims' remains. This case study is followed by a discussion about some elements of the interview that are helpful to an understanding of the grief process.
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2004
ReviewTheories of human violence: implications for health care safety.
Violence is a complex, multifactorial entity with no single source of explanation. Although much research is underway into the nature and causes of violence, much of this research is done in isolation and published in highly specialized journals. ⋯ The review includes risk management strategies for, and the role of, health care facilities as societal institutions to curb violence. Many of the risk management strategies noted for health care settings may also be fielded in schools, courts, businesses, and other settings in which emergency services personnel are asked to respond.