What is the formal process intervention protocol that focuses on an immediate and identifiable problem through adaptive, short-term psychological helping-process?

• A. Long-term psychotherapy
• B. Crisis counseling
• C. Critical Incident Stress Management
• D. Group therapy

Answer: (C)

A formal, time-limited intervention designed to stabilize people immediately after a traumatic event is being described. Critical Incident Stress Management is an organized protocol created for rapid, adaptive psychological support following a traumatic incident. It provides a structured sequence of actions—often including immediate on-scene contact, defusing, and a follow-up debriefing—that aim to reduce acute distress, help individuals process what happened, and determine if further help is needed. The emphasis is on short-term, practical coping and stabilization rather than long-term therapy.

Crisis counseling also offers short-term help, but it is typically less formalized and may lack the comprehensive, standardized procedures that define CISM. Long-term psychotherapy, by contrast, looks beyond the immediate incident and involves extended, ongoing treatment. Group therapy can be therapeutic but does not inherently function as a formal incident-specific protocol designed for immediate stabilization.