Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) has come under considerable debate over the last few years. Several studies have failed to document any effect of the intervention, while other studies document a clear effect. Most studies, be that in favor of debriefing or not, have serious methodological flaws. These concern aspects such as researching interventions not qualifying as a PD; using self-selection to the groups; inadequate timing of the intervention; and interventions of dubious clinical value. It is concluded that the quality of the studies to date does not justify a discontinuation of its use.
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