Toolkit with Report Form - Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic ...

LESSONS LEARNED
The recommendations and comments that follow come directly from pcadv
programs that have brought in critical incident response teams to help deal
with the aftermath of a crisis.
Section TWO
Make every effort to assess
staff need for debriefing
One executive director who was new to the
position said, “It was hard to tell if staff really
are OK or just saying that they are.”
Executive directors should be aware of
vicarious trauma and the potential impact
on staff, board members and volunteers.
“Having someone debrief is actually part of
a bigger discussion about wellness.” Staff
may not be overtly showing signs of distress.
Outside intervention
can be very beneficial
As one executive director noted, following
a critical incident debriefing by a crisis
response team, “It is good to have
somebody from the outside come in – even
better if it is a DV-related team. If you don’t
bring in someone, you can come across as
more concerned about process than actual
needs. It is good to have someone remind
us that we can’t do this work if we aren’t
sensitive, but being sensitive exposes us. If
someone staff works with gets killed, then
we can’t expect them to just move on.”
Other executive
directors cautioned:
“Sometimes we are too much in the process
to see what needs there may be…The
facilitator was perfect for pointing out and
uncovering some of those needs.”
“You can’t be the healer in your own group
– especially if the incident impacts you on a
personal level as well.”
“During the debrief, your role is different, not
that of the ED.”
Strive for broad program
participation in debriefing
Consider including all staff and, if
appropriate, board members and
volunteers, when bringing in an outside
crisis response team to debrief following
a critical incident. Typically, executive
directors have been excluded from these
sessions to encourage staff to freely express
their feelings. However, as program
resources shrink and more staff share
responsibilities, including direct services,
participation by executive directors has
been extremely beneficial.
By participating in the session, one
executive director learned “there was a
great sense of fear among many of the
family members of even long-term staff. A lot
of new staff members were being pressured
by their families to quit, because the work is
too dangerous.”
When Crisis Strikes | Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence | 2012
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