Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention Advance Access originally published online on September 25, 2006
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 2006 6(4):326-336; doi:10.1093/brief-treatment/mhl008
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Comparative Analysis of Three Crisis Intervention Models Applied to Law Enforcement First Responders During 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina
From the Cop-to-Cop Crisis Intervention Hotline, University Behavioral Health Care University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ (Castellano) and the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC (Plionis)
Contact author: Cherie Castellano, Director, Cop-to-Cop Crisis Intervention Hotline, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. E-mail: ccaste17{at}aol.com.
Two distinct fields, crisis intervention (which targets civilian populations) and disaster mental health services (which targets first responders), have emerged in response to natural and man-made disasters. As a consequence of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, questions have been raised whether the occupational ecology of first responders has significantly changed. Two new concepts, the "high-risk rescuer" and the "rescuer–victim," are identified. Using three field cases, this paper describes and analyzes the application of three different crisis intervention models for law enforcement first responders during 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina: (a) psychological first aid, (b) critical incident stress management, and (c) the Federal Emergency Management Association/Substance Abuse Crisis Counseling Program. Implications for meeting the mental health needs of first responders post-9/11 and -Hurricane Katrina are discussed.
KEY WORDS: disaster mental health, law enforcement, first responders, occupational ecology, high-risk rescuers, rescuer–victim