Psychological First Aid

Started by heliodoc, January 14, 2022, 12:01:52 AM

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Spam

One other factor to add to the mix: job impacts and willingness to seek help.

Some of us who have security clearances have not, and will not, ever seek professional mental health care because it is a proven factor in adjudication of clearances, program access, and job assignments. I have spoken with several active duty coworkers who have been personally or have had friends and family who have been so impacted within the last ten years based on seeking help for combat, family, or other stressors.

They added a disclaimer to the SF86 and the other forms a few years ago, but I stand firmly that it is still being used in selection/assignment. It is wrong, but it is understandable, that this takes place despite official DoD policy that it will not. And it does happen. I'm not putting my job and my family in jeopardy to de stress about some bodies on an incident site, some when - and I won't perjure myself by answering "no" to the question, so I won't ever use those services.

We manage it, put it away, and we move on.

R/s
Spam

THRAWN

Quote from: Spam on January 14, 2022, 09:25:57 PMOne other factor to add to the mix: job impacts and willingness to seek help.

Some of us who have security clearances have not, and will not, ever seek professional mental health care because it is a proven factor in adjudication of clearances, program access, and job assignments. I have spoken with several active duty coworkers who have been personally or have had friends and family who have been so impacted within the last ten years based on seeking help for combat, family, or other stressors.

They added a disclaimer to the SF86 and the other forms a few years ago, but I stand firmly that it is still being used in selection/assignment. It is wrong, but it is understandable, that this takes place despite official DoD policy that it will not. And it does happen. I'm not putting my job and my family in jeopardy to de stress about some bodies on an incident site, some when - and I won't perjure myself by answering "no" to the question, so I won't ever use those services.

We manage it, put it away, and we move on.

R/s
Spam

This is literally the absolute worst advice I've seen since my relationship with CAP started in 1994. 
Strup-"Belligerent....at times...."
AFRCC SMC 10-97
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USAF SOS 2000
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US NWC 2016
USMC CSCDEP 2023

etodd

Quote from: THRAWN on January 14, 2022, 10:21:54 PM
Quote from: Spam on January 14, 2022, 09:25:57 PMOne other factor to add to the mix: job impacts and willingness to seek help.

Some of us who have security clearances have not, and will not, ever seek professional mental health care because it is a proven factor in adjudication of clearances, program access, and job assignments. I have spoken with several active duty coworkers who have been personally or have had friends and family who have been so impacted within the last ten years based on seeking help for combat, family, or other stressors.

They added a disclaimer to the SF86 and the other forms a few years ago, but I stand firmly that it is still being used in selection/assignment. It is wrong, but it is understandable, that this takes place despite official DoD policy that it will not. And it does happen. I'm not putting my job and my family in jeopardy to de stress about some bodies on an incident site, some when - and I won't perjure myself by answering "no" to the question, so I won't ever use those services.

We manage it, put it away, and we move on.

R/s
Spam

This is literally the absolute worst advice I've seen since my relationship with CAP started in 1994. 

I know quite a few first responders (police and others) who say the same. They've seen it in their departments. Seek help outside and never let the department know. Nationwide, the suicide rate among police officers is very high. And a big factor is not seeking out help for fear of losing their jobs. They see it happening to others.
"Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on ..."

Fubar

Quote from: Capt Thompson on January 14, 2022, 07:39:47 PMMost of the CISM folks I've encountered here were trained chaplains

What training to Chaplains get that others don't that make them CISM experts. I'm not trying to be a smart-aleck here, I really don't know.

Brit_in_CAP

Wasn't going to enter this fray but decided to after reading everyone's posts to date.

My very last CAP training class was the 2020 Chaplain Staff College.  An interesting - at times - virtual event over several evenings.

CISM was not a topic but the subject did arise, and in the proper context.  The VAWG Chaplain, who is a member of the leadership team, made it clear that CAP was moving towards using the Psych First Aid with CISM being left to trained professionals.

My initial interaction with a CAP CISM team member left me underwhelmed.  An enthusiastic, trained, volunteer who's day job had nothing to do with counselling, nursing or anything vaguely related to CISM.  That individual "crashed" the Chaplain's meeting at the Wing Conference and generally berated the chaplains for not playing CISM; one chaplain, an AD Army Chaplain, pointed out that CISM was not as "in vogue" as it had been.  The CISM-person talked over him.  It got a little rough, to be honest.

I've done the Psych First Aid and refreshed it; I found it to be useful, very much for the non-professional in the counselling area, and I'd recommend it.

On two occasions the CISM team offered themselves to support cadets on my former unit; one followed the expected death of our retired chaplain, who had been declining for a while, and the other was a well-intentioned offer to provide a CISM-trained teenage cadet for a cadet having some difficulties.   

The first did not require CISM, and the second was easily declined.  The cadet's parents made it clear that it was not an intervention they desired in any form.

Having done some counselling training in my paying job, and within my ordained ministry, my 10c is to spend what time and resource we have in qualifying more people with basic training, such as Psych First Aid or Trauma Risk Management, and leave the heavy-duty "stuff" to trained professionals.  If a CAP member's day job provides that, so much the better for us.  It isn't an area for volunteers with no relevant experience, not least because the obtaining and renewing the training is expensive.  I suggest that it isn't something we should be asking our members to pay for.  There are other options for professional help for anyone who needs it.


Brit_in_CAP

Quote from: Fubar on January 15, 2022, 09:39:29 AM
Quote from: Capt Thompson on January 14, 2022, 07:39:47 PMMost of the CISM folks I've encountered here were trained chaplains

What training to Chaplains get that others don't that make them CISM experts. I'm not trying to be a smart-aleck here, I really don't know.

Good question.  It was never intended that CISM would be so Chaplain-centric.  That really did happen by accident and not design.

The Chaplains often have access more easily to formal CISM training as part of their day jobs outside of CAP.  For those working as hospital chaplains, first responder chaplains, VA chaplains etc, this training is often a required part of their annual / biannual training, and paid for by the employer.

There was a time when CAP Chaplains were seen as CISM experts, and some touted themselves as such.  They often were trainers for CAP, which served only to heighten the sense that this was a Chaplain-centric activity.  There are also ministries that use CISM as an evangelizing tool, which further damages the reputation of the method.

I hope this answers your question!

TheSkyHornet

Quote from: etodd on January 15, 2022, 02:00:57 AM
Quote from: THRAWN on January 14, 2022, 10:21:54 PM
Quote from: Spam on January 14, 2022, 09:25:57 PMOne other factor to add to the mix: job impacts and willingness to seek help.

Some of us who have security clearances have not, and will not, ever seek professional mental health care because it is a proven factor in adjudication of clearances, program access, and job assignments. I have spoken with several active duty coworkers who have been personally or have had friends and family who have been so impacted within the last ten years based on seeking help for combat, family, or other stressors.

They added a disclaimer to the SF86 and the other forms a few years ago, but I stand firmly that it is still being used in selection/assignment. It is wrong, but it is understandable, that this takes place despite official DoD policy that it will not. And it does happen. I'm not putting my job and my family in jeopardy to de stress about some bodies on an incident site, some when - and I won't perjure myself by answering "no" to the question, so I won't ever use those services.

We manage it, put it away, and we move on.

R/s
Spam

This is literally the absolute worst advice I've seen since my relationship with CAP started in 1994. 

I know quite a few first responders (police and others) who say the same. They've seen it in their departments. Seek help outside and never let the department know. Nationwide, the suicide rate among police officers is very high. And a big factor is not seeking out help for fear of losing their jobs. They see it happening to others.

100%, this.

It goes beyond first responders all throughout high-stress and medically-linked careers: military, aviation, etc.

A good friend of was a Coastie E-5 and sought some personal assistance due to work-related issues (distractions) piling up. He spoke with the base psychiatrist, and, of course was promised that it wouldn't impact his career. But he was prescribed medication to help combat the stress and angst. In 30 days he was being removed from service and, following a medical review board, discharged. It totally crushed him; and it absolutely sucked watching someone go through that.

Is there a place for psychiatric help in a career? Absolutely. Do we want people with mental vulnerabilities in high-stress environments where lives may be at stake? No. But what we don't want are people faced with a career-ending diagnosis, often later determined by another psychiatrist as a misdiagnosis despite the fact that their career has already been lost over it. It often expands the suicide prevalence.

You watch someone fall to pieces because they clearly need help and won't get it out of fear for retribution; it's horrible. You watch someone fall to pieces because they did the right thing and sought help, and their career was destroyed in front of an audience; it's almost even worse.

I ask everyone to please note that I am not opposing psychological support and mental health services. But there is the side of the "victim" and the literal fear they have of any comment they make being used against them. It's a real caution that must be considered under every circumstance.

AirDX

Quote from: Spam on January 14, 2022, 09:25:57 PMWe manage it, put it away, and we move on.

Truly horrible advice. The precise formula for depression and much worse.

The only data I'll present is my own. I worked in cleared positions my entire career. From 1997, when my wife was diagnosed with cancer, til she passed away in 2014, I saw a mental health professional. My clearance was just fine. I went through routine reinvestigations three times during that period. I also carried a flight physical the entire time. I moved into supervisory positions, retired from the FAA, and unretired to be hired by the Air Force, working another 5 1/2 years. At NO POINT during those 17 years did my mental health status impact my career, my security clearance, or my medical clearance.

Ignore your mental health at your own risk.
Believe in fate, but lean forward where fate can see you.

UWONGO2

Many moons ago, driven by the CAP-USAF ops evals, we wrote into our IAP that all CISM tasks would be handled by the Big City™ fire department, who agreed in writing to provide CISM services as needed. Our rationale was this type of task was to be handled by the professionals who have far more actual experience with CISM than we do.

The evaluators loved it and it's been in every evaluated exercise since.