Incorporating Solution-Focused Crisis Intervention into Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) with Firefighters

ABSTRACT

This multiple case study explores how the incorporation of SFCI into the practice of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) impacts a first responder peer-support process. Over four sessions of classroom-based training, participants learned and practiced the application of SFCI in a CISM structure. A constant comparison method was used to produce five overarching themes: intentionality, becoming solution-focused informed, integration of new ideas, questions as interventions, and CIRT self-care. The addition of SFCI empowered the participants to employ tools that promote each individual’s strength and resource building for impacted peers.

KEYWORDS:

• Solution-focused crisis intervention
• critical incident stress management
• first responders
• firefighters
• critical incident response team

Acknowledgments

This work would not have been possible without the dedication and support of the county Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) members who volunteered their time and expertise to inform this study. The authors are truly humbled and grateful as these individuals give up so much of their lives for others. The participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly; therefore, supporting data is not available. However, interested parties may obtain further information regarding the data upon reasonable request from the lead author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethics declaration

Approval from TCU’s review board for human subjects research was obtained (DRB-1701-57), and all authorship guidelines from the American Counseling Association were followed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brenda E. Tillman

Dr. Brenda E. Tillman is an LPC-S, a trauma therapist in private practice, and a partner at the Readiness Group. The Readiness Group team works with first responders and military members in crisis, building personal and professional resiliency.

Marcella D. Stark

Dr. Marcella D. Stark is an LPC-S and an Associate Professor at Texas Christian University. She teaches and coordinates the Counseling & Human Services Program. Her specialty area is applications of a solution-focused approach.

Sarah Quebec Fuentes

Dr. Sarah Quebec Fuentes is a Professor at Texas Christian University, specializing in mathematics education and author of S3D: Fostering and Improving Small-Group, Student-to-Student Discourse.

Amber Esping

Dr. Amber Esping is an Associate Professor at Texas Christian University, specializing in educational psychology. She is the author of Epistemology, Ethics, and Meaning in Unusually Personal Scholarship.

Stephen Langer

Dr. Stephen Langer is a clinical psychologist in private practice and the director of Northwest Brief Therapy Training Center. He has been trained extensively in the solution-focused model, and has partnered in training with Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee.