Disaster response crews and support teams dealing with post-traumatic stress. CS005

Disaster response crews and support teams dealing with post-traumatic stress. CS005

Situation

Preiser Consultants was retained by a large Federal agency to develop scalable organizational strategies in order to effectively help leadership and staff deal with all phases of response and recovery to natural disaster events which put the agency under tremendous strain for extended periods of time.

Interventions

  • Stress management operation protocols for senior staff and line aid workers
  • Coaching of leaders regarding resilience and high performance leadership under chaotic and changing conditions
  • Stress management interventions
  • Individual coaching sessions for senior leaders
  • Communication skills training for crisis hotline staffers
  • Group and individual defusing sessions for post-trauma stress

Results

Feedback from staff over the course of this 3-year program was positive. Empirical observations indicated adaptation and improved resilience. Organizationally, the agency was successful in shifting to a responsive rather than reactive approach in its day-to-day operational environment. Far fewer stress-related outbursts and problematic ‘acting out’ was reported post-intervention.

For more information regarding this or other case study outcomes, please contact Preiser Consultants