What is a CISM team?

A CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management) team is a group of trained professionals who help people cope after traumatic or highly stressful events.

In simple terms:
We provide emotional support, education, and resources to help individuals and groups process what happened and return to healthy functioning.

What a CISM team does:

  1. Responds after critical incidents (line-of-duty deaths, serious accidents, disasters, school or community crises)
  2. Offers peer support, group discussions, and one-on-one check-ins
  3. Helps normalize stress reactions and reduce long-term impacts
  4. Connects people with additional help if needed
  5. Supports first responders, schools, and the community

What we are NOT:

  1. Not therapy
  2. Not investigations
  3. Not disciplinary or administrative

You have experienced a traumatic or critical incident—an event that can cause strong emotional or physical reactions. Even after the incident is over, it is common to experience stress responses immediately or days, weeks, or even months later.

These reactions are normal and vary from person to person. They may last for a short time or longer, depending on the event and the support available. With understanding and support from family, friends, or peers, symptoms often improve.

Sometimes an incident is so overwhelming that help from a trained professional is needed. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness—it simply means the experience was significant and support can help with recovery. To dispatch this team please call 800-GET-HELP (1-800-468-4357)

Common signs and signals of a stress reaction

Things To Try

  • Within the first 24- to 48-hour period, appropriate physical exercise, alternated with relaxation, can alleviate some physical reactions.
  • Structure your time; keep busy.
  • You are normal and having normal reactions; don’t label yourself “crazy.”
  • Talk to people; talking is the most healing medicine.
  • Be aware of numbing the pain with the overuse of drugs or alcohol. You don’t need to complicate this with a substance use problem.
  • Reach out; people care.
  • Maintain as normal a schedule as possible.
  • Spend time with others.
  • Help your coworkers as much as possible by sharing feelings and checking out how they are doing.
  • Permit yourself to feel upset or rotten, and share your feelings with others.
  • Keep a journal; write your way through those sleepless hours.
  • Do things that feel good to you.
  • Realize those around you are under stress.
  • Don’t make any big life changes.
  • Do make as many daily decisions as possible that will give you a feeling of control over your life. That is, if someone asks you what you want to eat, answer, even if you are unsure.
  • Get plenty of rest.
  • Don’t try to fight reoccurring thoughts, dreams, or flashbacks. They are normal and will decrease over time and become less painful.
  • Eat well-balanced and regular meals, even if you don’t feel like it.

Tips For Family Members And Friends

  • Listen carefully.
  • Spend time with the traumatized person.
  • Offer your assistance and a listening ear if they have not asked for help.
  • Reassure them that they are safe.
  • Help them with everyday tasks like cleaning, cooking, caring for the family, and minding children.
  • Give them some private time.
  • Don’t take their anger or other feelings personally.
  • Don’t tell them that they are “lucky it wasn’t worse.” A traumatized person is not consoled by those statements. Instead, tell them that you are sorry such an event has occurred and you want to understand and assist them.

If you have questions about the team, you can email cism@rsnwo.org or contact the team at 419-782-9920 x 1014 and leave a message.

Confidential Services provided at no charge include:

  • Pre-Incident Stress Education
  • Individual Peer Support
  • Crisis Management Briefing
  • Defusing
  • Debriefing
  • Follow-Up
  • Referral
  • Family-Support

Suggested reasons to activate the team/request services:

  • Work-related death/line of duty death
  • Serious work injury/line of duty injury
  • Suicide
  • Multi-casualty incident
  • Use of Force ending in injury or death
  • Death or violence to a child
  • Prolonged event with negative outcome
  • Incident with extensive media attention
  • Knowing the victim of the event
  • Incident charged with profound emotion

The information shared during these activations is confidential as the the team and its members are covered under ORC 2317.023

What ORC 2317.023 Covers

ORC § 2317.023 establishes a testimonial privilege for certain peer support communications in Ohio. That means:

  • Peer support team members (including CISM team members) are protected from having to testify in court about:

    • What was said to them by someone receiving peer support services

    • Any advice they gave to that person
      — as long as the conditions in the statute are met. Ohio Laws

  • This protection applies to communications that happen in the context of peer support or crisis response services provided after exposure to stress, trauma, or critical incidents, as defined by the law. Ohio Laws

Who Is Covered

The statute defines who can be a peer support team member, and it includes:

  • First responders (peace officers, firefighters, EMS workers)

  • Dispatchers and corrections officers

  • Civilian employees and qualified retirees
    These individuals, when trained and part of an organized team, are covered under this privilege. Ohio Laws

What the Privilege Does

Under ORC 2317.023:

  • A team member cannot be compelled to testify in legal proceedings about confidential communications from a person they supported. Ohio Laws

  • This helps keep peer support conversations confidential and safe, encouraging honest sharing without fear of that information ending up in court.

⚠️ Exceptions — When Privilege Does Not Apply

The privilege does not protect disclosures when:

  1. There is a clear and present danger to the person or others (e.g., imminent risk of harm).

  2. The person consents to allow testimony.

  3. The person later voluntarily testifies about the matter.

  4. The information is not related to the support relationship.

  5. The communication relates to a criminal act. Ohio Laws

This means if someone is in danger or willing to share their own information publicly, the team member might be allowed or required to testify.

Training Requirement

To maintain this privilege, team members must get ongoing training. For most peer support roles, that’s at least eight hours of basic peer support training every two years. Ohio Laws

Supporting First Responders After Critical Incidents

We provide confidential peer support to first responders following traumatic or high-stress events. Our goal is to help responders understand stress reactions, process critical incidents, and return to healthy functioning. Only first responders who are on the team will respond to these call-outs; no community members will take part. 

What We Offer

  • Immediate peer support from trained responders

  • Defusings and debriefings after critical incidents

  • Stress education and coping strategies

  • Confidential support protected under Ohio law (ORC 2317.023)

  • Referrals to professional resources when needed

Who We Serve

Law Enforcement • Fire • EMS • Dispatch • Corrections • Emergency Support Personnel

What We Are Not

Not therapy • Not disciplinary • Not investigative • Not administrative

Request CISM Support

If your agency or personnel have experienced a critical incident, support is available.

📞 To request CISM services:
Contact the team at 419-782-9920 x 1014 and leave a message.

Requests may be made by:

  • Agency leadership

  • Incident command

  • Supervisors

  • Peer support coordinators

Early support helps reduce long-term stress and strengthens responder resilience.