Words Matter – Critical Incident

CIPHER created the Words Matter campaign to share and promote a collective understanding of many well-known and used mental health terms that describe various occupationally related challenges many public safety personnel (PSP), healthcare workers (HCWs), veterans, and their families face every day. A critical incident isn’t listed as a diagnosis in the DSM-5-TR or ICD-11, but it’s an important term for public safety personnel (PSP). It describes a potentially psychologically traumatic event (PPTE) that can trigger intense emotional reactions, possibly affecting one’s ability to function during or after the event. Many PSP organizations have implemented critical incident support management (CISM) programs, an evidence-based peer support approach to managing and navigating PPTEs among PSP work.