Sessions
Breakout Session 3D - Stéphane Grenier and Nate Stahle - The intersection between Peer Support and CISM
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM Wed
Debate has abounded since the mid 90’s as to the efficacy of the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) model and the use of Debriefings within the trauma exposed workplaces. In fact, the Canadian Military abandoned the practice altogether at that time.
Jeffery Mitchell’s model is anchored in leveraging the lived and shared experiences of peer within a homogeneous group. While many organizations have maintained the practice within this scope, others have leveraged the interventions of clinicians and also blended various individuals form various first responder organizations after critical incidents during group debriefings. This has in fact created a deviation from the original model.
CISM was developed at a time when Peer Support had not fully matured as a practice. As such, the foundational principles that underpin CISM while well founded do not fully take advantage of what we now have come to understand is an essential function in the prevention and recovery of those who face mental health challenges. Peer Support.
This workshop will focus on the intersectionality between traditional CISM and CISD practices and the use of Peer Support. How the two are meant to be a force multiplier to the other and work collaboratively to achieve the best possible outcomes for those who are / will be struggling. This workshop will also create heightened awareness of the multitudes of factors that cause mental ill health within the first responder community beyond exposure to trauma and critical incidents.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1) Learn the full spectrum of causes for mental ill health within the first responder and trauma exposed workplace (Beyond Critical Incidents)
2) Learn the key differentiators between a Debriefing, Defusing and a Peer Support Interaction (Timing, Length, Model, Nature of the conversation)
3) Develop a more refined method and criteria to determine with precision when a first responder may need a debriefing and when a peer support interaction may be what the first responder needs
4) Deepen the knowledge base of Operational Stress Injuries and focus on other then trauma causalities
Brief Bio: Nate Stahle, MHI Associate and First Responder Peer Support Training Facilitator
Nate recently retired from a 30-year career as a front-line police officer, during which he helped create and coordinate a peer support program from the ground up.
Nate’s vast experience as a first responder includes being a street cop, an undercover narcotics investigator, internet child exploitation lead, undercover high profile death investigator, parolee surveillance, as well as fugitive apprehension. His lived experience speaks to a wide range of challenges that first responders are faced with on a daily basis.
Nate is also very familiar with adversity and grief through his experience with the loss of a friend and co-worker who died by suicide due to severe PTSD. When a peer support team was being created within his department, he naturally felt drawn to it. Nate was honoured when he was chosen to run the peer support team, as this was a chance to connect with and help even more individuals.
Today, Nate is a sought-after first responder training facilitator who leverages his many years of experience supporting those impacted by operational stress.