Advanced Individual Crisis Intervention

ICISF & University of Maryland Certified Training

Elevate your one-on-one intervention skills to handle complex, high-risk, and prolonged crisis scenarios. Taught by retired Forensic Psychologist Dave Sawh (MA, CCISM), this advanced course focuses on severe trauma, complex grief, resistant individuals, and high-stakes psychological stabilization.

  • Duration: 2 Days (13 Contact Hours / 1.3 General CEUs)

  • Format: Virtual Classroom (Global) or Onsite Corporate Delivery

  • Accreditation: ICISF & UMBC

  • Prerequisites:Assisting Individuals in Crisis or GRIN

Course Overview & Key Benefits

Not all individual crises follow a standard playbook. When interventions involve extreme grief, occupational burnout, complex trauma, or resistant individuals, crisis responders need advanced tools. This course builds on foundational SAFER-R techniques, providing deeper clinical insights adapted for peer support specialists.

Key Learning Objectives:

  • Manage complex psychological reactions, severe grief, and chronic occupational trauma.

  • Adapt the SAFER-R model for challenging, resistant, or withdrawn individuals.

  • Navigate delicate ethical dilemmas, confidentiality, and professional boundaries.

  • Understand the psychological mechanics of trauma in high-risk professions.

  • Implement advanced self-care techniques to prevent secondary traumatic stress and burnout.

Comprehensive Syllabus Breakdown

Module 1: Complex Psychological Reactions & Trauma Mechanisms

  • Deep dive into acute stress disorder, PTSD, and complex trauma dynamics.

  • Neurobiology of trauma and severe emotional dysregulation.

  • Differentiating between situational crisis and severe psychiatric decompensation.

Module 2: Advanced SAFER-R Application & Challenging Communication

  • Advanced crisis communication strategies for highly distressed or hostile individuals.

  • Overcoming resistance, denial, and cognitive shutdown during one-on-one sessions.

  • Managing complex grief, traumatic bereavement, and guilt reactions.

Module 3: Ethics, Boundaries, and Practitioner Preservation

  • Ethical boundaries for non-clinician CISM practitioners.

  • Managing boundary blurring, over-involvement, and compassion fatigue.

  • Strategic self-care and resilience planning for long-term CISM leads.

Who Should Attend?

  • Experienced Peer Support Personnel & CISM Team Leads

  • Clinicians, Counselors, and Mental Health Professionals working with CISM teams

  • Veteran First Responders, Police/Fire/EMS Peer Leads

  • Corporate Health & Safety Directors handling complex workplace incidents

Registration & Inquiry Form Section

Take Your Individual Crisis Intervention Mastery to the Next Level

  • Individual Seat Price: $400 CAD (CEU Certificates Included)

  • Prerequisite Verification: Requires prior completion of Assisting Individuals in Crisis or GRIN.

Participant Notice: This course explores sensitive topics related to trauma and crisis intervention. By signing up, you acknowledge potential exposure to traumatic material, agree to take 100% responsibility for your own self-care, and release all organizers and instructors from any liability or claims.