An accident, emergency or natural disaster can happen at any time and without warning.
According to Public Safety Canada, roughly 8,000 wildfires and 5,000 earthquakes occur each year in Canada.
When a traumatic event or crisis occurs as was the case in the recent Fort McMurray wildfire, fleeing for safety through a raging inferno can rattle our foundations. How can we help those directly affected to stabilize the crisis response, reduce symptoms, assist individuals in returning to adaptive functioning or refer to the next level of care?
This is the basis of a two-day training course, Assisting Individuals In Crisis, being offered by NexusBC Community Resource Centre, through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF).
The course is being facilitated by Luana Kaleikini, an ICISF instructor who has more than 15 year experience in the delivery of crisis intervention and coordination.
“Crisis response situations can be very complicated and there is a need for properly trained people who understand crisis intervention and the protocols involved,” said Kaleikini. “Just as physical first aid is to surgery, crisis intervention is to psychotherapy.”
Training takes place in Vernon at NexusBC Community Resource Centre, 102-3201-30th Street, on June 16 and 17.
It is suitable for anyone who wants to increase their knowledge of one-on-one crisis intervention and peer support techniques including organizations large and small, or those who work in areas such as disaster response, emergency management, emergency social services, first responders, mental health care, military, search and rescue, and victim services.
This course will be eligible for credit towards the ICISF Certificate of Specialized Training.
Anyone interested in attending the training can contact NexusBC at 250-545-0585 or visit www.nexusbc.ca. The cost is $225.
An early bird special of $200 ends Thursday.