Trauma and Police Work
- After a critical incident, what shall we do?

After experiencing a critical incident, apart from psychological debriefing by a professional counselor or Clinical Psychologist, police officers can engage in appropriate coping methods to lower their critical incident stress reaction.

These include:

Physically - Take care of your body

1. Maintain adequate rest and sleep. If you cannot sleep, do some quiet activity like reading a book or relaxation exercises.

2. Maintain a balanced diet.

3. Exercise to release tension and stress.

Emotionally - Open yourself up

1. Research shows that the severity of Posttraumatic Stress symptoms is related to avoidance, such as wishful thinking and mental avoidance of the incident.

2. Do not stay away from people. It is vital you share your thoughts and feelings about the incident with people you trust to help release negative emotions. This can also help your family and friends know more about your stress reactions and avoid misunderstandings.

3. Mutual support among colleagues is helpful. A simple "well done" is far more constructive than 'Canteen Culture' comments.

Cognitively - Accept your limitations

1. Accept sometimes you cannot do a lot in a dangerous and difficult incident, despite your best efforts. Do not blame yourself and others for things that should or should not have been done.

2. Accept your own critical incident stress reactions - remind yourself they are just normal reactions to an abnormal situation. There is no need to pretend to be okay or to force yourself to get over them quickly. They will soon die away if you handle them appropriately.

3. Accept yourself as human, having strong and weak sides. If there is real concern about your mental well-being, seek professional help.

Behaviorally - Take good care of yourself

1. Relaxation exercises like breathing or meditation, help your body and mind to relax.

2. Do not use drugs or alcohol to escape from stress, their effect is only temporary.

Force managers also play an important role. Besides encouraging officers to participate in Psychological Debriefing, they can listen to their views on the incident, and understand their constraints and pressures. This also boosts staff morale. Managers can pay more attention to the officers' adjustment at work and encourage them to use appropriate coping methods should noticeable stress symptoms surface.

The Psychological Services Group.

PHQ, Hong Kong Island and Marine: 2866-6206 (5/F, 111 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay); Kowloon and the New Territories: 2735-3739 (22/F, Ocean Building, 80 Shanghai Street, Kowloon).



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