The International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc., (ICISF), is an international organization for certifying frontline workers in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) peer support developed for public safety personnel and healthcare teams.
The Alberta Critical Incident Advisory Council (ACIAC) was recognized with the 2019 ICISF Co-Founders Award for Excellence in Crisis Intervention for their work in training over 1100 peers and the establishment of a robust Peer network, the Alberta Critical Incident Peer Network (ACIPN), in serving these communities of practice.
ACIAC and ICISF formed a formal partnership. As of March 2020, the Alberta Critical Incident Advisory Council (ACIAC) became the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation – Canada, Inc. (ICISF-Canada), expanding its scope to that of a national focus with the mandate to assist in establishing other regional networks and to collaborate with existing Provincial peer networks. ACIPN continues to be the entity for delivering effective ICISF CISM Peer Support programming to public safety personnel and healthcare workers of Alberta.
The ACIAC will work to provide consultation, education, resources, and support to Provincial first responder personnel and to develop a standardized interagency approach to critical incident response.
The ACIAC is a non-profit organization with an open membership for all dedicated first responder personnel that are committed to the prevention and mitigation of mental health injuries. Our purpose is to provide a network of Critical Incident Stress Management – Peer Support teams, service providers, trainers, and resources to enable and enhance crisis response within the Province of Alberta. An Executive Committee will be formed with a primary purpose of supporting CISM-Peer Support teams carrying forth the objectives of this mandate. This Advisory Committee will meet two times a year or more if necessary, to review current issues and to provide recommendations to our members.