[quote=Leigh_RatcliffeTake this as an absolute:
If it has not happened to you then you will never understand what and why, or even with the best will in the world, be able to really help. Yes, you can blunt the physical harm but the mental is beyond your powers.

If it has, then you can be of great help and in my view,and speaking from experience, C.I.S.D. should only be done by people who have been there.
[/quote]

Leigh, I can't agree that this is an absolute. I've never been shot - yet I've helped scores of cops and operators who have been. I've never had body parts blown off, but have helped many who have. I've never lost everything in a disaster, but I treated many Katrina victims with reasonable success. I could go on, but my point is that treatment can be very helpfully delivered by someone who didn't actually experience that same or similar trauma.

I've had the training and I've done C.I.S.D., and I noted some of my objections in the above thread. I respect your opinion regarding "been there-done that", but there isn't any empirical evidence to support calling this an "absolute." For instance, there are law enforcement agencies and fire departments who use trained "peers" to do CISD. Other agencies use outside professionals. Some have.. and some have not experienced similar traumas. I can't find any evidence of a difference in efficacy.

I do know that even if one has experienced the exact same type of event it is (contrary to what one may expect) very perilous to "self-disclose" - to assume, or to communicate, that you know how the other person feels because of your own experience. The risks of such significantly outweigh any assumed benefit of self-disclosure about one's own experience or "knowing how the other person feels." This is true in treating psychological trauma (e.g. PTSD) and in PFA.