09/30/2025
We are currently looking for First Responders who would be interested in joining the Cumberland County CISM/Peer Support Team, if you are a Police Officer, Firefighter, EMT, Paramedic, 911 Dispatcher, Correction Officer, Fire Police Officer, or a Mental Health Provider we are looking for you.
Emergency services providers are regularly exposed to events which the general public seldom encounters. They are in positions in which life and death experiences are common and almost routine. Research continues to identify emergency service providers as paying a heavy personal price due to exposure to human trauma, especially with the escalation of terrorism and war.
The mission of the Cumberland County Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team is to provide a corps of trained volunteers to help emergency service providers handle the stressors to which they are continually exposed. Team members are mental health professionals (MHPs), clergy and emergency service peers. Each team member is trained and experienced in his or her field and has undergone a specifically prescribed course of instruction in Emergency Services Stress Interventions.
Specifically, Critical Incident Stress Management Team members are trained in the CISM process. The CISM process is not an operational critique, but a confidential, non- evaluative discussion of the involvement, thoughts, reactions, and feelings resulting from an incident. In addition, the process provides pre-incident stress management education, on-scene support at major incidents, and post-incident debriefing. The CISM process is designed to facilitate a normal recovery process in normal people suffering normal effects after an encounter with an abnormal event.
Please note that all new team members will be required to complete a 27-hour course hosted by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, unless this is a current certification that you already have.
Please obtain an application at the following link: https://www.cumberlandcountypa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/31630/Cumberland-CISM-Application--Fill-in?bidId=
Applications will be reviewed by our leadership team and interviews will be scheduled. Please submit any questions about the team or process to [email protected].
