During the course of a day, a number of crises may occur which profoundly affect students, employees, and members of the community. As you watch the news, you notice school crises (e.g., death or injury of students or staff caused by accidents, suicide, etc.), crises in industry (e.g., employee death or injury as a result of accidents, disgruntled employees, etc.), and communities (e.g., natural disasters, crime, etc.). The victims are often treated immediately in these cases. Yet, there are secondary victims who also need attention in order to avoid Post Traumatic Stress Reaction. These secondary victims are witnesses to the crisis; friends, acquaintances, and loved ones of the victim and, in some cases, the person(s) responsible for the safety of the victims. Dr. Andrew Slaby refers to this reaction to crisis as aftershock. Dr. Jeffrey Mitchell refers to this reaction as Critical Incident Stress Reaction. Both agree that if this condition is not addressed within two or three weeks, it could lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
In order to address this need, a structured crisis plan is a proactive tool that could be used to address possible adverse situations. Being proactive not only show a readiness to address crises, but projects a sense of concern in the community. The plan will also provide role clarification for reaction to crisis and emergency networking that could allow consistency in the approach to crisis.
Anna Ernst and Marvin Reed are members of St. Joseph Medical Center's Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Team and Counselors at Joliet Central High School. They can be contacted at 201 E. Jefferson St., Joliet, Illinois 60432, telephone: (815) 727-6730.