The formation and application of an overseas mental health crisis intervention team, Part II: Application

In the preceding article, the authors described the formation of an overseas mental health crisis intervention team. In this paper, the application of the United States Southern Command Crisis Intervention Team in the aftermath of a recent tragedy in Panama is described. A chronology of the disaster, involving two helicopter crashes which left 11 dead, is presented. The intervention that followed is described in detail. The emphasis is on four main areas: education, identification, process, and follow-up. The authors present their experience in an effort to provide an intervention strategy for other isolated mental health providers.