1,056
Views
9
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Behavioral Health Interventions in the Fire Service: Stories from the Firehouse

, , &
 

Abstract

Firefighters face a number of occupational risks including the impact of being exposed to traumatic experiences. Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) was previously introduced as a viable option for intervention postincident; however, concern has been raised about the efficacy of such debriefings. This study uses focus groups and key informant interviews with a national sample of firefighters to examine firefighters’ perceptions about behavioral health interventions. Although some firefighters reported positive experiences with CISD, other personnel reported finding the intervention intrusive and reported feeling more distressed after the intervention than before. Personnel reported experiencing benefits from peer support and using the crew for bonding after negative incidents as particularly useful. Findings suggest that while components (e.g., peer debriefing) of CISD may be useful, caution is warranted in employing the CISD model as designed.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.