Assisting Individuals in Crisis & Group Crisis Intervention in Colleges and Universities

This 3-day course will use the content of ICISF’s Assisting Individuals in Crisis & Group Crisis Intervention, aka GRIN.

The unique aspect of the course is that it will be geared specifically for interventionists who are part of colleges and universities. More specifically, members of the counseling center, staff from student affairs, campus safety, public relations, students, etc., will be potential participants. 

Aligned with the GRIN course, a comprehensive, systematic, and multi-component crisis intervention curriculum will be presented to assist individuals and groups. Fundamentals of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) will be covered and participants will leave the training with applied knowledge of the SAFE-R model of individual crisis intervention, and the group crisis interventions of crisis management briefings, defusings, and critical incident stress debriefings (CISD). Follow-up services and referrals when needed will be discussed. 

Learning Objectives:

• In addition to describing the overall need for crisis intervention, this GRIN course will focus on the specific needs of colleges and universities (e.g., binge drinking, sexual assaults, illness, violence, suicide). In addition, concepts such as institutional preparedness, crisis response coordination and communication, including with students, parents, and community resources, will be discussed. Additionally, potential adverse effects of critical incidents on learning will be presented. Strategic planning utilizing the 5-Ts (target, type, timing, theme, and team) will also be covered.
• A distinctive feature of this GRIN training will be the use of a single college-related scenario to develop and integrate the various applied CISM interventions. For example, a suspicious fire in a dorm room, in which a student dies, could be the precipitating event that requires individual and group interventions (i.e., individual intervention, defusing, CMB, and debriefing).
• Another potentially unique feature of this GRIN training, depending on where it occurs (e.g., on a college campus), could be the use of volunteer students as participants in the role plays (particularly the defusing and debriefing).

Testimonials

"Monica Neel, Psy D., did a wonderful job with pacing, content delivery and provided compassionate and structured learning environment. I am one of five counselors at a higher education institution. The counselors and I have gone through ICISF CISM training before but what I liked about this presentation was that the training was extended to administration, various other departments on campus to broaden our network of preparedness in case of a critical incident. This broadened approach feels like we will be utilizing resources more effectively than previously when the burden of intervention landed just on the counselor's shoulders. I feel like this approach supports sustainability, retention and will likely result in improved quality of care."

"Our facilitator Monica was outstanding - incredible depth of knowledge and did an excellent job of sharing relevant, practical examples of how the model can be used. She was very inclusive in terms of her approach, worked to ensure everyone was engaged which is challenging when virtual."

"Monica was excellent! She is knowledgeable & passionate about the content. She created an optimal learning environment and answered all our questions with applicable knowledge based on her experience & expertise."