This month I was again summoned by Glacier National Park to provide chaplain services to employees who had responded to a traumatic situation. I met with Park rangers and another crew member to help them process their response to a tragedy where a 15-year old Idaho tourist had fallen 100 feet to his death.

This debriefing process has been proven effective in helping responders who have experienced an unusually difficult event. Participating in the discussion helps them to unpack the emotions and thoughts so that such trauma does not accumulate inside of them. Left unattended, such events can negatively affect them over the course of their careers.

Processing the event as a group offers participants the opportunity to talk through their own experience as well as to hear from each other. This shared discussion provides group support and often enables them to mentally piece together the entire event so they can better understand the tasks which were simultaneously occurring outside of their immediate surroundings.

All of this results in our responders remaining healthier and able to continue in their vocations.

~Chaplain Drew

Teen Dies in Fall from Haystack Creek in Glacier National Park