"Welcome to the Salinas Police Department's Stress Management Team web page. We hope you find some useful information here as well as a way to reach us if you need to."
Sgt. Andy Miller

Who we are --------
The Salinas Police Department Stress Management Team is a group of volunteers who have received training in stress debriefing and defusing. The team is made up of approximately 14 individuals who come from nearly every division and unit throughout the department. Our team is made up of Patrol officers, VSU (SWAT) officers, Detectives, CSI's, and so on. We want our team members to reflect as great a cross section of experience and assignments in the department as possible so that no one is overlooked.

How we got started --------
In 1999, several of our officers began working with Janet Childs to resolve personal difficulties they were having. Janet Childs, who works at the Centre for Living with Dying in Santa Clara, encouraged these officers to get a team started at Salinas PD. Janet became instrumental in getting our team not only up and running but in keeping it running.

Chief Ortega as well as several key staff members were very receptive to the idea of a stress management team and provided the funding for training and overtime that was needed. Janet Childs facilitated department wide training in CISM (critical incident stress management) that allowed us to give the entire department a basic understanding of what our team would be all about. This early injection of education was vital if we were going to be able to reach out to the whole department.

Little by little, one debrief at a time, we began to become an accepted part of the department. Almost everyone has now had some type of contact with our team either formally or informally. With exposure to the team and how we work, the apprehension about being involved in a debrief or defusing has been greatly reduced.

How we work --------
We rely on each and every member of the department to be our eyes and ears. We have encouraged our people to watch out for each other from the beginning. We have found that in most cases, the person who is in the middle of a problem wont ask for help or even realize he/she needs it. The team operates under a theory of proactively seeking out personnel involved in identifiably stressful events and then initiating contact with them. The trick is getting word to our team that we might be needed.

Once our team is activated, a decision is made as to how best support the person involved. In many cases, a simple one on one defusing (brief talk about the incident combined with basic info about stress management) at the time is what is needed most. On larger events, involving more people, a formal debrief (more structured version of a defusing) will be conducted. All of our debriefs are conducted under the following guide-lines :

1. Total confidentiality
2. Not a tactical debrief. It's about YOUR reactions and feelings.
3. Attendance is mandatory….participation is optional

Sometimes, the mandatory attendance confuses people. The reason for this is that the person who needs it the most will not feel safe in stepping forward. By bringing in all the people involved, we avoid missing someone. Also, even if you don't feel you need to be there, your presence may be a comfort to another involved person.

What we hope --------
We hope that we can continue to be a supportive and involved part of our department. We know that we are not going to 'fix' the problems. We just hope to be able to provide the support and information our people can use to learn to survive and stay healthy while doing a very stressful job.

How to reach us --------
Our message box can be reached at any time day or night. This is the number to call if you think our team can help or if you want more information:

(831) 775-4201 ext. 6290

Or, you can
E-mail one of our team members