Courtesy Photo | Capt. Robert Lacey, a Chaplain with the 109th Regional Support Group, Facilitates a...... read more read more
TEM is the official intervention model endorsed by the U.S. Army, and the course is designed to train facilitators – primarily behavioral health providers and unit ministry teams – on providing traumatic event management to units that are exposed to potentially traumatic events.
“The TEM course as an opportunity to train together to further develop and enhance our ability to provide support to individuals and groups who experience potentially traumatizing incidents during combat, peace-keeping, garrison, or humanitarian operations,” said Lt. Col. Amber Heinert, director of psychological health and resiliency programs for Joint Force Headquarters, SDARNG.
The TEM course not only focused on training military behavioral health providers/specialists and unit ministry teams, but also included resiliency program personnel, medics, deputy state surgeons, administrative officers and command teams.
There were 40 participants for the course, which included 20 Soldiers from the SDARNG, 15 from the Arizona, Colorado and Virgin Islands National Guard, two Airmen from Ellsworth Air Force Base and three civilian behavioral health providers who support the military.
According to Heinert, the course provides standardized training to all participants; resulting in a foundation of enhanced understanding, skill development, and response capabilities across the state, as well as preparation for deployment.
“These are universal skills that will enhance all of our abilities to provide support and stabilization, whether at home or abroad,” Heinert said. “I have previously gone through the TEM course prior to mobilization and found it to be invaluable in preparation of deployment and subsequent support in our garrison environment.”
The course covered topics such as supporting individuals or groups, making referrals, applying prevention measures and conducting needs assessments after a potentially traumatic event; such as death of a unit member or witness to civilian mass casualty event.
This was the first time the course was held in South Dakota, and it was a joint effort between the Psychological Health Programs Office and the Chaplain Corps.
TEM has been offered in a few other states with modular training teams, or MTTs, and the majority of courses are offered in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. However, Heinert believed having a MTT host a course in South Dakota would afford an opportunity for more participants here in the state.
“As I became more embedded in the SDARNG as the director of psychological health, and was engaged in providing support and follow up to individuals and units after a traumatic event, I saw a need to host this training opportunity to engage a variety of personnel in an effort to develop a more comprehensive network of support and coordinated response in our state – along with cross-training with our EAFB counterparts and fellow Soldiers from other states,” Heinert said.
By the end of the course, Heinert says the students learned a flexible set of intervention tools and techniques. A few of the interventions that form the foundation of TEM include the unit needs assessment, command consultation and education, triage, stabilization and restoration procedures, psychological first-aid, and psychological debriefings.
With this knowledge, course participants are better prepared to help manage and transition service members, units and families through traumatic events and further strengthen the force.
“The intent is to encourage post-traumatic growth, which is an adaptive process whereby individuals exposed to potentially traumatizing events can experience an enhanced sense of hope, a deepened sense of personal strength and resiliency and safeguard future mission effectiveness with enhanced individual, unit, and family well-being,” said Heinert. “The more we train together, the better prepared we are to provide support when needed – further strengthening our ready force.”
| Date Taken: | 09.13.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 10.23.2019 11:28 |
| Story ID: | 348850 |
| Location: | RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 116 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, SD Guard personnel receive training in traumatic event management, by LTC Anthony Deiss, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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