Which statement about Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) is true?

• A. It is usually delivered between one and three weeks after a crisis has taken place
• B. It is an effective replacement for psychotherapy
• C. It is designed to prevent extreme reactions to crises and reduce the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder
• D. It can only be used with high-risk adult professional groups like firefighters and paramedics

Answer: (C)

Critical Incident Stress Debriefing is a short, structured group intervention used soon after a traumatic event to help people process what happened, normalize common stress reactions, and learn coping strategies. Its purpose is to prevent extreme acute distress and reduce the risk of developing longer-term problems like PTSD, by providing immediate support and guidance and flagging anyone who needs additional mental health follow-up. That makes the statement describing its design to prevent extreme reactions and lower PTSD risk the best fit.

The other ideas don’t align with how CISD is typically used: it’s not primarily about waiting weeks before intervention, it’s not a substitute for psychotherapy, and it isn’t limited to only high-risk adult professionals.