Post-Trauma Support

Critical stress debriefing

A critical incident is any event that is outside the normal range of human emotion and has the potential to pierce our emotional armour (i.e., suicide, serious occupational accident, etc.). Because of the mental trauma associated with major critical incidents, our normal coping mechanisms breakdown. The results can dramatically affect how we function at work or at home.

When to call for debriefing

There are a number of criteria on which faculty or staff might decide to request a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD).

• Many individuals within a group appear to be distressed after a particular incident.
• The signals of distress appear to be quite severe.
• Employees or students request help.
• Employees or students demonstrate numerous behavioural changes.
• The event/incident is extraordinary.

CISD is a structured group meeting facilitated by a trained CISD team and involving only the personnel directly affected by the critical incident. The purpose of the debriefing is to:

• Reduce the impact of the critical incident.
• Accelerate the normal recovery of ordinary people who are suffering through typical but painful reactions to an abnormal event.

To request a CISD, contact:

The Manager, Occupational Health and Safety at 250-371-5805 (local 5805) during the day, or during the evening through Security at 250-828-5033 (local 5033) who will then make contact with the appropriate personnel.

Employee and Family Assistance Program

EFAP is a self-referral counselling service available to most TRU employees. All information is confidential; TRU is not informed of the identity of those using EFAP. This benefit covers the cost of short-term counselling, assessment and referral. The service is provided by Ceridian Lifeworks, a confidential counselling service.

Contact the Ceridian Lifeworks office (in confidence) at 877-207-8833

For additional information please visit the Ceridian website.