Red Cross/APS seeking psychologists to volunteer for independent debriefing with Red Cross during emergency activations

Dear Sir/Madam,

Apologies for another DRN mailout hot on the heels of the last one, but I met this morning with the Red Cross and they are seeking our support with independent debriefing over the summer period, where there is a high likelihood of the Red Cross activating emergency workers to attend a disaster somewhere  in Australia. I thought it best to get the ball rolling straight away in case an event happens over the Christmas break. 

The Red Cross plans to provide independent debriefing to all workers who have been activated during an emergency.  This will usually be provided over the phone within 7 days following the end of each person’s deployment. Usually this briefing will be provided by non-psychologists. 

Red Cross people who undertake mission-critical roles (e.g., senior incident leadership roles within our Emergency Operations Centres and field locations), however, need psychologists to provide this debriefing as they will have been in more stressful situations. During a large activation, there can be up to 30 or 40 people per week needing this type of independent debriefing from a psychologist  (depending, of course, on the size of the deployed workforce).

The main purpose for the independent debriefing is to ensure people’s wellbeing is checked when they have returned to their normal life after an emergency activation. A debrief may take up to 45 minutes per call.  Debriefers will:

• Make phone contact with individuals who have been deployed in Red Cross emergency services operation to provide assistance independent of incident management team, supervisors and Red Cross management
• Check on how people are going since their return home
• Discuss issues of concern and outcomes being sought
• Maintain the confidentiality of discussions within the process except where agreed, or where there is an immediate concern for a person’s safety or wellbeing.

The Red Cross have prepared a number of (draft) documents to support the role of independent debriefers, which includes guidelines, a referral form, and a call guide which serves as a bit of a script.  I will send links to all of these documents to people who are interested in this role. 

This is a work-in-progress for the Red Cross and the APS, so much fine-tuning of the documents and the processes will happen over the coming months and year.  We are very grateful to those of you who are prepared to help out with trialling this new operation!

To register

The APS has begun a list of psychologists who are interested in volunteering to be an independent debriefer in the coming months if a disaster occurs. To register your interest, please click here and fill in the form.  You will be asked to provide your name, email, phone number, and AHPRA registration number. 

I will make contact with people who register early in 2013 to provide further information, (or earlier, if an emergency happens over the Christmas break).

If you have questions or would like to contact me, please email me at drn@psychology.org.au and I’ll reply when I’m back at my desk on the 2nd January 2013.

Many thanks, and best wishes to all over Christmas and the New Year.

Susie Burke
Senior Psychologist, Public Interest, Environment and Disaster Response
Australian Psychological Society

You are receiving this email because you are a member of the APS Disaster Response Network (DRN).
To unsubscribe, please click here .
The contents of this email (including any files sent with it) are confidential and subject to copyright.