Officer Wellness: Operating Resilient CISM & Peer Support

CISM is Critical Incident Stress Management.  First responders consistently work in adverse and stressful conditions that often directly affect their personal and professional lives.  An effective agency CISM program is critical to the success and retention of good employees.

Officer Wellness: Implementing & Operating Resilient Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and Peer Support Programs is a two-day course designed for law enforcement and other first responding agencies looking for guidance in developing or improving Officer Wellness programs, specifically CISM and a Peer Support Programs.  

The course will take an in-depth look at Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS/PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and Moral Injury effects on the brain.  A wide variety of officer wellness programs will be discussed, all focusing on improving prevention training, stress management, and effective coping mechanisms, thus improving personal and professional relationships, reducing the adverse consequences of cumulative stress and suicide. 

Students will be given the knowledge and materials to implement a CISM and Peer Support Program designed to offer assistance to agency members in times of personal and/or professional stress, early intervention to help mitigate the impacts of stress, referral to program services, and education-based training. 

The CISM topics include:

• Stress in the first responder services
• Post Traumatic Stress (PTS)
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• The effects of PTS, PTSD & TBI on the Brain
• Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Programs
• Peer Support Programs
• Model CISM & Peer Support Programs
• Critical Incident Stress Debriefings (CISD)
• Stress Management and Reduction
• Developing your own agency programs
• Michigan CISM Laws
• Relevant CISM related case law

This training has been registered with MCOLES for the use of PA 302 Law Enforcement Distribution funds.