Student Perspectives: Acute Stress Reactions: Learning More about Rapid Interventions for Professionals in High-Risk Occupations Exposed to a Potentially Traumatic Event

StressPoints
Editor’s note: ISTSS participated in the development of the Vicarious Trauma Toolkit, a repository of tools and resources that law enforcement, emergency medical, fire and victim services organizations can use to address vicarious trauma in staff and volunteers
Soldiers, police officers, firefighters, paramedics and other professionals in high-risk occupations regularly face high stress and life-threatening situations. These situations can lead to acute stress reactions (ASRs) immediately after exposure to a potentially traumatic event (PTE). Since every decision during a crisis counts, ASRs can endanger professionals and their teams through impaired decision-making and reckless behaviors (Farchi et al., 2018; Svetlitzky et al., 2019). Managing ASRs quickly and effectively on-site is therefore essential for individuals to regain adequate levels of functioning. This piece will build on two recent peer-reviewed articles on rapid interventions aimed at reducing ASRs (Farchi et al., 2018; Svetlitzky et al., 2019).