Critical Incident Stress Management in Aviation

Book excerpt: Critical incident stress management (CISM) is now a well-established method in crisis intervention, and one that is clearly needed within aviation. However, there are many peculiarities in this branch of CISM which require thorough consideration. People working in high-reliability environments need to be sensitive to others' reactions to critical stress. They are the normal reactions of normal people in abnormal situations. However, to ensure this a proper programme must be put in place, based on a scientific and standardized approach. This book describes the various methods and elements of the CISM model, as well as their interventions. It also investigates the benefits of CISM on the individual level and on an organisational strategic level. It details CISM training and courses, and features a case study based on the Überlingen accident of 2002. Critical Incident Stress Management in Aviation will be of direct relevance to human factors experts, safety managers, ATCOs and air navigation service providers, though there is also much that will be of interest to aviation physicians, psychologists and airport/airline managers.