For immediate assistance 24 hours-a-day, contact the Howard County (Md.) 911 center, which serves as the national coordination center for CISM response teams under the direction of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF):

The end of the Vietnam war signaled a recognition that experiencing a significant event--a critical incident--could create real, long-term effects in humans. Veterans returning from the war complained of many feelings and displayed specific symptoms that weren't explainable by any previous medicine or psychology. It was tragic that this condition wasn't recognized--or acknowledged by the medical profession--sooner.

Since then, the condition has been described, analyzed and effective treatments have been developed. However, two aspects of CISM still need work: recognizing incidents that could cause the condition and the resulting symptoms, and delivering help to whoever needs it.

Among dispatchers, the causes of stress are all around us. The work-a-day dispatching job is stressful, and incidents involving deaths, injuries or other emotional events can create even more stress. Co-workers--not just supervisors and managers--must realize what might trigger a stress-related reaction, anticipate their effect and intervene to help. This will insure that every dispatcher receives the attention and treatment they need. The International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) has a Web site with basic information on stress and how to manage it. For routine information, contact them at (410) 750-9600.

As for delivery, there are scores of CISM teams scattered throughout the country. Not only do they provide assistance to their own agency, but as a matter of principle, they offer their services to any other agency upon request.

[press release on ICISF] [ICISF Web site] [ICISFdocuments page] [ICISF info brochure - Acrobat, 284k] [ICISF Hotline info - Acrobat, 310k]

Other Resources

• Mental Health Workers Without Borders info & links
• Coping With Disaster, an on-line Guidebook to Psychosocial Intervention by John H. Ehrenreich, Ph.D.
• National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Disaster Mental Health Services for Clinicians and Administrators, on-line guide
• Texas Department of Health, Emergency Preparedness Division -- excellent CISM resources
• Article on Stress Management, by Leslie Thompson
• Stress Management, University of California--Berkeley extension course [see the book list]
• Coping Strategies
• Concerns of Police Survivors
• Peace Officers for Christ International
• Heavy Badge stress site
• Dispatchers' Prayers -- A Collection
• 9-1-1 Magazine, sites and resources
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• Suicide Prevention Resources On-Line
• Stress Web Site, Francis X. Holt
• U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Workplace Violence Handbook
• Workers Compensation Board of Canada, Coping With Workplace Violence
• American Academy of of Experts in Traumatic Stress [and article on public safety specifically]
• Concerns of Police Survivors, suggested agency policy on support services to surviving families (Acrobat .pdf format)
• sample protocol for line of duty deaths, Washington DC Metro Transit Police (Acrobat .pdf format)
• sample protocol for line of duty deaths, Norman (Okla.) Police Dept. (Acrobat .pdf format)
• Coping with stress, American Psychological Association Web site
• Support Officer.com
• Dr911 Web site - consulting on personal and professional issues by psychologist
• Coping With Technological Disaster - handbook generated from the Exxon Valdez oil spill
• Public Safety Training Consultants (PSTC) - great book and training courses on CISD
• The Dispatcher & The Victim, by Millie Miller
• HeadSets911 offers classes in stress reduction and management
• IACP Psychological Guidelines for Issues in Law Enforcement, including officer-involved shooting incidents
• The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress has many resources.
• Richard Behr and Michael Fox have posted the results of their ground-breaking 2003 survey on dispatcher stress.
• The Counseling Team International offers training and fee-based counseling services.
• On-line ebook by Headsets911 on stress management in the comm center.
• Apollo Health markets products for light therapy, including seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
• In 2008 University of Illinois doctoral candidate Roberta Troxell authored a 286-page dissertation on, "Indirect exposure to the trauma of others: The experiences of 9-1-1 telecommunicators." The study used 497 Illinois dispatchers. The results are quite academic and scientific, and may be difficult for a layperson to grasp. However, the dispatcher survey results provide an excellent snapshot of 2008 comm centers (forced overtime at 81% of centers, for example), and validates what is known within the industry--it's a stressful job with possibile emotional consequences. (pdf)