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PST 321 INSTRUCTOR'S NOTES WEEK TWELVE- POST-INCIDENT DEBRIEFINGI purposely scheduled this topic on the last week of classes because it is in my opinion the most important topic in this course (I scheduled it last in the hope that you would remember it best). Many negotiation training classes spend very little time addressing the topic of debriefing, even though their student’s health could be affected by a lack of debriefing after a serious incident. I am on occasion requested to assist other agencies in developing a policy for hostage negotiations. Many times I am simply asked to look over a new policy and see if there is a need for changes. I have yet to receive a negotiations policy from a department that includes debriefing procedures. The topic of debriefing is just not considered until after a serious incident (that defeats the purpose of having a policy). Of all the topics that I have covered in this course, this is the one topic that is about you the negotiator. Debriefing is not just a good idea it is crucial. The fact of the matter is we work in a very stressful career field, and stress can kill. Therefore, we have basically two options: learn to deal with stress in a healthy way, or die young from the effects of it. On week four we covered the topic of stress and how it affects everybody in a hostage situation. There was also discussion concerning using stress as a motivator (Yerkes-Dodson Law). Even though this week’s chapter in the text is about debriefing, it is really about the appropriate way of managing post-incident stress. Yes, debriefing is important for other reasons as well, such as information exchange. However, the most important reason for debriefing is stress centered. The text gives several excellent examples of how post-incident stress affected negotiators. However, many times we are not aware that stress is the cause of a particular problem. Debriefing is the first and therefore the most crucial step in dealing with the stress of a situation. During debriefing we share with others our perception of the incident and thereby also share some of the anxiety we may be feeling. Talking about a bad situation after the fact in a secure safe location surrounded by “family”, helps us put control back in our life. The text mentions that when a negotiator loses someone (by suicide or a hostage taker) he feels a sense of loss of control in his life. Talking about it gives us a sense of control. Being able to take the horror of the situation and somehow diminish it in such a way as to allow us to verbalize it is in itself a form of control. Having people around you that have shared the experience with you, helps you to work through it together as a team. People cope with trauma and stress in different ways. I once worked with an officer that dealt with stress through humor. If he was getting stressed out he would deal with it by cracking jokes and trying to make those around him laugh. This was his way of trying to regain control of his environment. It was also my way of knowing that he was feeling stressful. This is another way that debriefing helps. During the debriefing you learn to recognize what type of effect the incident had on your co-workers. If you have worked with someone long enough through situations that are stressful you learn to recognize his stress indicators. The debriefing allows you to accomplish this in a controlled environment. I have mentioned before the importance of dealing with the possibility that you may lose someone during a hostage/barricade situation. I go into every single call-out with the attitude that I am going to do the very best that I can. However, I also accept the fact that the day may come that no matter what I do someone might die. I look at this with a sense of inevitability. As if it is understood that eventually it will happen. If someday it does happen I have prepared myself mentally for it. I will not have to deal with a feeling of surprise because I went into the situation with the expectation that someone could die. On a bunker in Vietnam there was a saying someone had scratch out on the wall, “You can never truly appreciate life until you have lived it close to death” (paraphrased). This is a very true statement that poignantly expresses the emotions involved in dealing with death. Death of course is inevitable. Dealing with it from the standpoint of inevitability, helps us to understand that there may come a day when death visits our negotiation scene. If this ever happens to you, hopefully you will have already come to terms with it beforehand. Even with all the mental preparation, debriefing is still necessary to help us deal with the post-incident feelings and emotions. If your agency does not have a policy that addresses post-incident debriefing, take time now to put the wheels in motion toward the implementation of a policy. Remember debriefing is not just a good idea it is crucial.
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