CISM training announcement Bristol August 2024

The Virginia Law Enforcement Assistance Program and Highlands Community Services will be hosting an International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) Critical Incident Stress Management Training, also known as peer training at the Southwest Virginia Criminal Justice Academy on August 6-8, 2023. The 3-day training includes two ICISF courses – the Basic Group Crisis Intervention course and the Assisting Individuals in Crisis course. Class will be held from 0800 -1700 hours with a one-hour lunch from 1200-1300 hours.  These courses serve as the training foundation for many agencies with Law Enforcement Peer Support programs and meet the minimum requirements for Peer and CISM team accreditation by the Virginia Department of Health.  This is also requisite training for peers involved with the Virginia Law Enforcement Assistance Program’s CISM Team and is designed for emergency responders in all disciplines. Mental health clinicians with prior experience working with law enforcement are also encouraged to attend.

***Students must attend all 3 days in order to receive credit for the course.

Registration is capped at 30 participants.

Registration will be handled through TRACER

The location for this training is The Southwest Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy, 1595 Bonham Road Bristol, Virginia

ICISF Assisting Individuals in Crisis

Course Description:
Crisis Intervention is NOT psychotherapy; rather, it is a specialized acute emergency mental health intervention which requires specialized training. As physical first aid is to surgery, crisis intervention is to psychotherapy. Thus, crisis intervention is sometimes called “emotional first aid”. This program is designed to teach participants the fundamentals of, and a specific protocol for, individual crisis intervention. This course is designed for anyone who desires to increase their knowledge of individual (one-on-one) crisis intervention techniques in the fields of Business & Industry, Crisis Intervention, Disaster Response, Education, Emergency Services, Employee Assistance, Healthcare, Homeland Security, Mental Health, Military, Spiritual Care, and Traumatic Stress.

Program Highlights

●        Psychological crisis and psychological crisis intervention

●        Resistance, resiliency, recovery continuum

●        Critical incident stress management

●        Evidence-based practice

●        Basic crisis communication techniques

●        Common psychological and behavioral crisis reactions

●        Putative and empirically-derived mechanisms

●        SAFER-Revised model

●        Suicide intervention

●        Risks of iatrogenic “harm”

Continuing Education Information

Completion of “Assisting Individuals in Crisis” and receipt of a certificate indicating full attendance (13 Contact Hours) qualifies as a class in ICISF’s Certificate of Specialized Training Program.

ICISF Group Crisis Intervention

Course Description:

Designed to present the core elements of a comprehensive, systematic and multi-component crisis intervention curriculum, the Group Crisis Intervention course will prepare participants to understand a wide range of crisis intervention services. Fundamentals of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) will be outlined and participants will leave with the knowledge and tools to provide several group crisis interventions, specifically demobilizations, defusings and the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). The need for appropriate follow-up services and referrals when necessary will also be discussed.

This course is designed for anyone in the fields of Business & Industry Crisis Intervention, Disaster Response, Education, Emergency Services, Employee Assistance, Healthcare, Homeland Security, Mental Health, Military, Spiritual Care, and Traumatic Stress.

Program Highlights

●        Relevant research findings

●        Relevant recommendations for practice

●        Incident assessment

●        Strategic intervention planning

●        “Resistance, resilience, recovery” continuum

●        Large group crisis interventions

●        Small group crisis interventions

●        Adverse outcome associated with crisis intervention

●        Reducing risks

●        Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)

Completion of “Group Crisis Intervention” and receipt of a certificate indicating full attendance (14 Contact Hours) qualifies as a class in ICISF’s Certificate of Specialized Training Program.

Continuing Education Information

Combined Three-Day Course: 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Instructor:

Adam Blevins, CCISM

Adam is a certified Critical Incident Stress Management (CCISM) professional who joined VALEAP as Operations Director in January 2022. He has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University and has formerly served the Commonwealth of Virginia as a State Trooper and Correctional Officer. During his time with the Virginia State Police, he served as a peer on the department’s Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team. He is currently a graduate student at Liberty University and is pursuing a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Adam holds certifications in advanced assisting individuals in crisis, advanced group crisis intervention, suicide prevention, applied suicide intervention skills training, and assisting veterans in crisis. He is an approved instructor through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) and has provided CISM services throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, Washington D.C., Maryland, Tennessee, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New York.