CERT - Class 6 Disaster PsychologyDisaster Psychology ICS or Team Organization & ManagementICS or Team Organization & Management

Introduction Disaster Psychology –Recognizing Stress Responses –Emotional First Care

Stages of a Crisis Day to Day Stress Impact Factors Affecting Severity –Emotional State –Physical State –Number of Stressors –Duration

Psychological & Physiological SymptomsSymptoms –Acute –Delayed –Cumulative Humanizing the Rescue OperationHumanizing the Rescue Operation –Simultaneous care for the survivor and the Rescue Personnel

What can I do? Limit exposureLimit exposure Recognize symptomsRecognize symptoms Relieve stressRelieve stress

Watch What You Watch Footage of disaster events can be very upsetting Especially to Children limiting their exposure to the media.

Reduce Exposure Adults need a break from Watching disturbing footage Take turns listening to the News with other adults or team members

Survivor Behavior DisorientationDisorientation Loss of controlLoss of control Loss of trustLoss of trust Extreme fright and helplessnessExtreme fright and helplessness Physical and emotional numbing Abandonment Anger resulting from all of the above

What to expect from children Your behavior affects themYour behavior affects them RegressionRegression Excessive FearExcessive Fear MisbehaviorMisbehavior Sleep disturbancesSleep disturbances Changes in eating habitsChanges in eating habits

Healthy Stress Relief What did you see?What did you see? How did it make you feel?How did it make you feel? What was your job?What was your job? What to expect...What to expect...

Rescuer Considerations Brief personnel prior to rescue operations Emphasize teamwork Rotate personnel Frequent Breaks Proper nutrition Debrief after rescue operations –Peer group discussions Pot luck, Block party

Emotional First Care Establish a rapportEstablish a rapport ListenListen EmpathyEmpathy Respect confidentialityRespect confidentiality

BREAK!

Introduction to the ICS Organization History of Incident Command SystemHistory of Incident Command System –Developed by Firescope for the fire service, because of the Wildland Fires of the 1970’s –Organizational problems identified Ineffective communicationIneffective communication –Now used across the Emergency Services spectrum

Basic ICS Unified Command StructureUnified Command Structure Common TerminologyCommon Terminology Modular OrganizationModular Organization –Incident develops from individual, expands in modular fashion as needed Integrated CommunicationsIntegrated Communications

Basic ICS Consolidate Plans –Support activities accomplished through teamwork and team reliance Comprehensive Resource Management Manageable Span of Control

The number of team members that one supervisor can manage safely – –Desirable range: 3-7 – –Optimum Number: 5 Delegate responsibility

Manageable Span of Control

Emergency Scene Management Number IncidentNumber Incident Prioritize IncidentPrioritize Incident –High –Low Assign ResourcesAssign Resources –People –Equipment

Number Tasks Assign a number to each incident or taskAssign a number to each incident or task Only I.C. assigns numberOnly I.C. assigns number

Prioritize Incident HIGHHIGH LOWLOW

Assign Resources Buddy systemBuddy system Team I.D.Team I.D. Time stampTime stamp –Track Out-&-In Return to Staging when completeReturn to Staging when complete

SCENARIO Handout