KINGS COUNTY behavioral health
24/7 Mobile Crisis Line/Linea de Crisis Mobil:
559-247-HELP

​Mental Health Services Access and Crisis Line/Acceso a Servicios de Salud Mental y Línea de Crisis:
559-582-4481 OR 1-800-655-2553

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Services/Servicios de Trastorno por Uso de Sustancias (SUD): 
Adults: 559-583-9300 | Youth: 559-584-8100

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 9-8-8

Local Warm Line: 1-877-306-2413
​

Community Resources Information: 2-1-1

Kings County Concurrent Review with Kepro- LIVE Oct. 3, 2022
Providers please access Kepro at https://calmhsa.kepro.com/training-resources
​​​​​
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CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS MANAGEMENT (CISM) TEAM

what is CISM?

  • Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) is a crisis intervention system which contains both strategic and tactical elements.
  • Strategically, Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) is a comprehensive, integrated, multi-component crisis intervention system for managing traumatic events within organizations or communities. 
  • Tactically, CISM includes numerous interventions including pre-incident education and preparation, assessment/strategic planning, individual crisis intervention, large group crisis interventions, small group crisis interventions, family support, organizational/community consultations, pastoral crisis intervention, and referrals to other resources, if necessary.
  • CISM is helping healthy and functioning people to remain healthy and functioning. 
  • Many CISM services are provided within hours or days of a critical incident by well trained peer support personnel and/or mental health clinicians. 
  • CISM is not psychotherapy, nor a substitute for psychotherapy. Rather, CISM services and psychotherapy are simply different points on the same continuum of care. 

 

What is Crisis Intervention? 

 TEMPORARY, but ACTIVE and SUPPORTIVE entry into the life of individuals or groups during a period of extreme distress. Also known as “Emotional First Aid.” Different intervention tools are used for individuals vs. groups.  The goals of crisis intervention are: 
  • Mitigate impact of event (lower tension)
  • Facilitate normal recovery processes in normal people who are having normal reactions to abnormal events
  • Restoration to adaptive function

 
Who is part of the local CISM team? 
  • Hanford Fire
  • Hanford Police / Dispatch
  • Kings County Behavioral Health
  • Kings County Probation
  • Kings County Office of Education


 
  • Victim Witness
  • Kings County Public Health
  • Kings County Sheriff's Office
  • Kings County Fire Department
  • Corcoran Police Department


 
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The CISM team may respond to the following:

  • Death of a city/county service worker, i.e. law enforcement, firefighter, social worker , or emergency personnel in the line of duty: during an incident, en route to an incident, or during a training exercise.
  • Serious line of duty injury to city/county employees or first responders.
  • Suicide or other unexpected death of a co-worker. 
  • Mass Casualty Incidents.
  • Serious injury or death of a civilian resulting from emergency services operations, i.e. auto accident, etc.
  • Officer related shooting
  • Events that seriously threaten the lives of responders/service personnel.
  • Loss of life of a patient following extraordinary and prolonged expenditure of physical and emotional energy during rescue efforts by emergency/ services personnel.
  •  Personal identification with the victim or the circumstances. Events where the victims are relatives or friends of county, city or service personnel. 
  • Any incident in which the circumstances were so unusual or the sights and sounds so distressing as to produce a high level of immediate or delayed emotional reaction. 
  • Natural disasters in the county. i.e. floods, fire, etc.

 

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Stress Coping Strategies

When emergency personnel experience significant stress from a critical incident, the following steps may help to reduce stress until the incident is over or until a trained CISM team is located. 
  • Limit exposure to sights, sounds and odors of the traumatic event
  • Provide for immediate medical attention as needed
  •  Maintain a calm attitude
  • Speak in a confident but controlled manner
  • Provide for physical needs: rest, hydration, clothing, etc. 
  •  Listen carefully and use good eye contact
  •  Validate their experience in an unassuming non-judgmental manner
  •  Provide accurate information and updates concerning the event as requested
  • Reassure the individual that most stress reactions are normal
  • Assist the individual with immediate decisions, if necessary
  • Protect the individual from both public and media attention
  • Do not rush the individual back to work or duty

 

Some Signs and symptoms of concern

 Critical incidents may produce a wide range of stress symptoms. Stress symptoms usually occur in five different categories: Cognitive (thinking), Physical (body), Emotional (feelings), Behavioral (actions), and Spiritual (crisis of faith).

 The more symptoms experienced, the more powerful the stress reaction. The longer the symptoms persist, the more potential there is for lasting harm. The following is only a sample of stress symptoms that can show up after a critical incident.
 


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Cognitive
    Poor Concentration  • Difficulties with calculations 
    Poor attention span • Memory problems   
    Difficulty making decisions • Slowed problem solving

Emotional
    Guilt • Depression • Grief • Anger • Feeling lost 
    Overwhelmed • Anxiety •Fear • Loss of emotional Control

Physical
    Muscle tremors • Chest pains • Gastrointestinal distress  
    Difficulty breathing • Headaches • Elevated blood pressure



Behavioral
    Excessive  Silence • Sleep disturbances • Extreme
    Behavioral change • Changes in eating habits 
    Withdrawal from contact •  Change in work habits
 
  Spiritual
   Anger at Deity • Anger at Clergy 
   Sense of isolation from Deity
   Questioning basic  beliefs • Loss of meaning or purpose 
   Faith practices seem empty
   Withdrawal from place of worship 
   Uncharacteristic religious involvement   

RESOURCES

Kings View Crisis Line

559-582-4484 or 1-800-655-2553

Kings County 211

Dial  211 or 1-877-864-9290

Kings County Victim Witness

559-852-2640

Kings County Office of Emergency Management

559-852-2881

Kings County Health Department Emergency Preparedness

559-852-2634

American Red Cross Central Valley

559-455-1000

Kings County Employee Assistance Program - Avante
For Kings County Employees Only

 559-261-9053

Veteran's Crisis Line

1-800-273-8255 or send text to 838255

Kings County Behavioral health   

559-852-2376


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