Strategic Response to Crisis

Jeffrey T. Mitchell, PhD, CCISM is retired Clinical Professor of Emergency Health Services at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County, Maryland and President Emeritus of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. He earned his Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Maryland. Dr. Mitchell served on the graduate faculty of UMBC and also has served as a dissertation reviewer for numerous graduate students in international universities when their dissertations were related to emergency personnel. He has presented at conferences in 28 nations around the globe.

After serving as a firefighter/paramedic, Dr. Mitchell developed a comprehensive, integrated, systematic, and multi-component crisis intervention program called “Critical Incident Stress Management.” He has authored over 275 articles and 19 books in the stress and crisis intervention fields and serves as an adjunct faculty member of the Emergency Management Institute of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Dr. Mitchell is a reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association and the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health. He received the Austrian Red Cross Bronze Medal for his work in Crisis Intervention in the aftermath of the Kaprum Train tunnel fire.

The Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists approved Dr. Mitchell as a Certified Trauma Specialist, and The United Nations appointed him to the United Nations Department of Safety and Security Working Group on Stress. He actively teaches CISM and consults with emergency services, military personnel, hospitals, business and industries on a regular basis.

Daniel W. Clark, PhD. is a licensed clinical psychologist, and the Founder of Critical Concepts Consulting. He recently retired from the Washington State Patrol after nearly 28 years. As the WSP Department Psychologist, Dr. Clark provided treatment services, pre-employment psychological screening for multiple agencies, critical incident response, and consultation and training services. He has given numerous presentations and publications related to first responder issues, and specializes in trauma, PTSD, and suicide. He is a past-Chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Psychological Services Section, a Colonel (Ret.) in the U.S. Army Reserves, and has been involved with Concerns of Police Survivors for 20 years.

Dr. Clark is a faculty member of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, and a recognized instructor for multiple courses, including the Group and Individual Critical Incident Stress Management and the Advanced Group and Advanced Individual Critical Incident Stress Management courses. He is the author of the Suicide: Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention curriculum, and co-author of the Strategic Response to Crisis curriculum. He is a past editor for the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health & Human Resilience.

Dr. Clark routinely presents on a variety of topics including suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention; critical incident stress management; peer support; death notification; workplace violence; time, anger, and stress management; coping with change; communication skills; grief and loss; and related topics.

George S. Everly, Jr., PhD, MA, ABPP, FAPA is an award-winning author, researcher, and pioneer in the field of psychological trauma and disaster mental health. He has held appointments at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Harvard University. He has also served as Chief Psychologist and director of Behavioral Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Homewood Hospital. He has authored numerous professional papers and 20 books including the ground-breaking books Controlling Stress and Tension, Occupational Health Promotion, The Johns Hopkins Guide to Psychological First Aid, and A Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress Response. He is co-founder of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) and author of one of the most viewed online courses of all time Psychological First Aid (Coursera).