TSR teams help units in coping with traumatic experiences

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tara A. Williamson
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  When a traumatic event happens, Airmen often don't know the steps needed to cope with what they've experienced.

Traumatic Stress Response teams are available to Airmen who expect to be, or have been, exposed to a potentially traumatic event, both at home stations and in deployed environments.

TSR teams, made up of individuals representing mental health, chaplains, and the Airmen and Family Readiness Center, will assist individuals and units in preparing for and dealing with potentially traumatic events.

Potentially traumatic events may include combat, violent personal assault, being kidnapped or taken hostage, terrorist attack or torture, incarceration as a prisoner of war, natural or manmade disaster, severe automobile accidents, or being diagnosed with life-threatening illness.

"Most responses to traumatic events are normal," said Maj. Kathleen Crimmins, mental health flight commander with the 18th Medical Operations Squadron. "However, it is reassuring to a person when they hear the reactions happening with them are normal."
Members of the TSR team agree that it's important for individuals to address any issues they experience following a traumatic event.

Shirley Bratton, chief of the Airman & Family Readiness Center, said, "Most individuals exposed to such events will not experience long-term adverse effects. However, exposure to potentially traumatic events often results in normal responses to an abnormal event, which may worsen if unaddressed."

Bratton said the Air Force policy for TSR services is to enhance resilience to potentially traumatic events by working in close coordination with unit leaders to ensure Airmen get the help they need after experiencing a traumatic event.

Major Crimmins said the TSR team can be notified of traumatic events through the command post, an affected units' command or the medical clinic. The TSR team will respond to the affected unit's command for consultation to determine what types of services are needed.

"My past experience with TSR has been mostly going to a unit when a servicemember or family member has died," said Bratton. "We have also done (pre-exposure preparation) services, which is a service provided to unit and community members whenever potentially traumatic events are anticipated."

Pre-Exposure Preparation, or PEP, is a preventive approach that helps individuals and units prepare for potentially traumatic events. PEP focuses on effective approaches to trauma stress management and emphasizes resiliency and the normalcy of feeling stress under abnormal circumstances.
Whether an Airman has been exposed to a traumatic event in the past or may be in the future, they are assured help is close and is available if ever it is needed.

For more information about these or other helping services available to servicemembers and their families, people may call the Mental Health Clinic at 634-1266, the Chaplain at 634-1288, the Health and Wellness Center at 634-2499 or the Airman and Family Readiness Center at 634-3366.