Critical incident stress debriefing: implications for best practice.

Critical incidents disrupt people's lives by creating strong emotional reactions, which may range from normal stress reactions to post-traumatic stress disorders. Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) has been used since 1983 as a component of Critical Incident Stress Management. The processes are intended to help individuals manage their normal stress reactions to abnormal events. Although used extensively, research findings to date yield mixed results. Meta-analyses of research studies are reviewed to identify the methods, results, strengths, and weaknesses of the studies that can be used for evidence-based practice.