By Kerstin Lopez
GUIDON staff

The Family Advocacy Law Enforcement Training Division developed the Critical Incident Peer Support program to assist first responders, military police, Department of the Army police and special agents in preparing and understanding post-traumatic stress prior to being exposed to an incident or chronic stressors.

“CIPS is a peer-based program, which prepares our military law enforcement to respond to catastrophic incidents, such as loss of lives, serious injuries, traffic fatalities, child death cases and suicides,” said Karina Felices, CIPS instructor.  

“It also contains a follow-up section, which assists our Soldiers after they have responded to critical incidents, and a unit program that will fill the void or shortage of psychologists, counselors and combat stress teams. The course is not designed to replace mental health, but to support and enhance the process,” Felices said.

Felices, along with colleague Russell Strand, FALETD chief, offered their services to first responders, victims and family members at Fort Hood, Texas after the fatal shooting crisis in November 2009.

“The only challenge we foresee is not getting the training in the hands of the Soldiers soon enough,” Felices said. “If I had to be TDY 12 months per year teaching CIPS, I would be, knowing it will make a difference in every life we touch.”

    Both Felices and Strand were recognized and awarded Civilian Achievement Medals by the 6th Military Police Group CID Command and by the U.S. Army Military Police School command team in late January for their efforts and support at Fort Hood.

    The two-person CIPS support team debriefed and defused CID special agents, support personnel and leadership along with spouses, victims, witnesses, firefighters, emergency medical services, DA police, military police, detectives and one FBI analyst during their visit, Nov. 7-12.

    An important concept that CIPS stresses is that trauma and grieving is a process — not an event.

    “A large number of law enforcement personnel do not seek help for such reasons as fear, social stigma, repercussion and ridicule,” said Donna Ferguson, CIPS course manager.

    “Research has shown that peer support is key and vital to an individual’s recovery. It has further shown that after a critical incident, if the group exposed to the incident is involved in a debriefing or defusing within the first eight to 24 hours, the facilitation of healing begins immediately,” Ferguson said.

    The Military Police School has found success in this training. The training is centered on recognizing the signs and symptoms, and intervention strategies associated with critical incident trauma. It’s also crucial that an individual chooses to want to change and learn, Ferguson said.

    “The definition of a critical incident must remain fluid because what affects one Soldier may not have the same affect that it has on another. The reactions are a normal healthy person’s response to an abnormal situation,” Ferguson said.

    The CIPS program originally focused on military police and law enforcement, but over the past seven years of its existence, CIPS has proven to be beneficial with many military occupational skills such as chaplains, chaplain assistants and medics because the peacetime and wartime missions don’t change for these types of career fields — they are still exposed to critical incident stressors, Ferguson said.

    When personnel are trained in this area, commanders and supervisors begin to see a decrease in family violence, suicides and medical difficulties due to psychological trauma, Ferguson said.

    Ferguson said she gets the privilege to see the impact of her work and the CIPS program and believes this program should be implemented Army wide. “I think we truly have the answer for the Army with this program, and it should be taught across the Army.”  

    “Soldiers are our most precious resources, and what we do today can determine who they become tomorrow,” Ferguson said.

    The value of the CIPS training and consultation program has frequently been proven time and again on the battlefield and in garrison.

    “I am a strong advocate for this program and I know it is a necessary entity for our military,” Felices added. “This process works.”

    The weeklong course teaches peers how to be supporters in the facilitation of their peers seeking help and aiding in their healing. Instruction includes dynamics of critical incident stress management, recognition of types, signs and symptoms of stress, implementation of a peer support program, functions of the peer supporter, psychological effects and causative impacts of critical incidents, interpersonal communication, major crisis intervention and referrals to ensure the preservation of health, welfare, safety and confidentiality.

    For more information on the CIPS course, contact Donna Ferguson at 563.7868.