Monday, November 16, 2009

The need for debriefing

Debriefing is the term that is often used when it comes to the first responders (police, paramedics, firefighters) trauma, or, in a more peaceful setting, as a method to help psychological experiment participants to express their feelings around participation and to relieve the stress associated with that. Today when I heard that the police will be talking to each and every student in Forest Hill Collegiate, and after my own personal experience of being interviewed by police in connection with Mariam Makhniashvili disappearance, I started thinking immediately: will anyone debrief with the students, if they show need for that, after they are going to be interviewed by the police. Because, that is what I would want for my child, and anyone else, who may need it, too. No matter what anyone will say, and no matter how happy you are to help the police with their process, some of us may experience psychological trauma, and may need debriefing.

One of the definitions of debriefing sums it up: "A debriefing or psychological debriefing is a one-time, semi-structured conversation with an individual who has just experienced a stressful or traumatic event. In most cases, the purpose of debriefing is to reduce any possibility of psychological harm by informing people about their experience or allowing them to talk about it." (Wikipedia)

There are divided opinions about who much debriefing really helps. Those who claim that debriefing is not necessary and helpful say that people are resilient, more than we think. It may be true, but for sure it is not true for everyone.

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