Prevention of Traumatic Stress in Law Enforcement Personnel: A Cursory Look at the Role of Peer Support and Critical Incident Stress Management.

Law enforcement is considered to be one of the most stressful careers. Constant exposure to horrific scenes of death, tragedy, and human suffering may result in debilitating and, ultimately, life-threatening psychological illnesses. Because law enforcement communities are typically resistant to outside interventions, training mental-health paraprofessionals (peer support officers) to work with police officers has been a successful alternative. By using critical incident stress management (CISM), a technique of emotional first aid, peer-support officers can achieve results equal to, or better than, many mental-health professionals. This article outlines the seven-stage model of CISM, a comprehensive, integrated, and multi-component continuum approach to crisis intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]