Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention Advance Access originally published online on March 30, 2006
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 2006 6(2):174; doi:10.1093/brief-treatment/mhj014
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Book Review |
Psychological Debriefing: A Leader's Guide for Small Group Crisis Intervention
Retired Associate Professor of Social Work, National Catholic School of Social Services, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
eplionis{at}aol.com
Atle Dyregrov. Psychological Debriefing: A Leader's Guide for Small Group Crisis Intervention. Ellicott City, MD: Chevron Publishing Corporation, 2003. 141 pp. ISBN 1-883581-31-1, $24.00 (paperback).
The author is well qualified by professional degree, stature, and experience (disaster psychology) to write this book. He is a clinical and research psychologist, a board member of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, and a consultant to several United Nations Organizations, especially UNICEF.
This is an excellent paperback book on the use of small-group debriefing as one component of early crisis intervention. For those unacquainted with the technique of debriefing, the author succinctly describes its purpose, history, theory-based premises, its process, and the empirical evidence for and against it. For those already trained in the technique of debriefing, the book acts as a practical guide in its application. The author defines debriefing as a structured, purposeful, small-group process designed to help people following their exposure to a critical or traumatic event. Dyregrov emphasizes that debriefing is therapeutic but not therapy.
The author acknowledges the influence of culture on the terminology of debriefing. Though psychological debriefing is an acceptable term in Norway, it is not as acceptable in the United States. Therefore, the term Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), coined by Mitchell, is used. Whereas CISD refers to a single incident of debriefing, the more contemporary term, Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) refers to an array of crisis responses including debriefing. The author makes a point of distinguishing debriefing from the informal conversations that occur in the aftermath of a crisis. Though debriefing can be used one-on-one, this book addresses it only as a group technique used primarily with adults.
The author cautions that knowledge of the debriefing process does not make the reader qualified in its application. Clinicians who use this technique must possess a professional counseling degree, be knowledgeable and competent in the use of group dynamics, be knowledgeable about short- and long-term crisis reactions, and acquire additional training in the specific technique of debriefing. Some schools of social work now offer programs in CISM that lead to certification.
Chapters are practical in their orientation. A table summarizes each phase of the debriefing process, its purpose, the leader's tasks, and the desired goal. Individual chapters focus on defusing as distinct from debriefing, leadership especially the use of coleadership in debriefing, group dynamics and process, and how to prevent a negative group process when engaged in debriefing. The book concludes with a look at the future. The book contains two important appendices, one describing the short form of the debriefing procedure and the other a leaflet of short- and long-term crisis reactions. The author provides a balanced perspective of the negative or harmful effects of debriefing as well as its curative factors. If you are a leader of a crisis intervention team, you may also be interested in the following review.
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