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Critical Incident Team (CIT)
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About CIT |
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- Eddie Li
- Wong Chee-wing
- Lau Yu Po-kwan
- Eugenie Leung
- Louisa Lee
- Kitty Wu
- Esther Ng
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The Forerunner in Post-disaster Psychological Intervention |
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The Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP) was a major pioneer in disaster psychology. The Division's Critical Incident Team (CIT) was the forerunner in the provision of post-disaster psychological services in Hong Kong.
The Critical Incident Team was formally set up in February 1993 after the post-disaster intervention in relation to the Lan Kwai Fong Incident. It was set up to formulate a contingency plan for psychological intervention should civil disasters occur.
CIT adopted a model of disaster management involving a multi-level, multi-agency intervention. This was done by the provision of prompt, focused and short-term "psychological first-aid" intervention targeted at multiple levels (individual, group and community) covering the victims, friends, family members, and disaster workers. This involved operating a community-based hotline service, conducting clinical screening, making referral to the appropriate service providers, running psychoeducational debriefings for those who were affected by a disaster, and delivering coordinated public education through the mass media.
The target service recipients is the general public who has been through an abnormally stressful disaster, and the service aims at returning the affected population to their pre-disaster levels of functioning.
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Our Contributions to the Hong Kong Community |
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These services were examples of some major concerted contributions of the DCP to the needs of the Hong Kong community. These services were provided on a voluntary, free-of-charge basis. The Department of Psychology of the University of Hong Kong, the Department of Psychology of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Auxiliary Medical Services and Hongkong Telecom were highly valued community partners who provided the Division with technological backup, facilities and supporting resources in these operations.
From 1993 to the present, CIT was heavily involved in three major incidents:
(1) Lan Kwai Fong Incident (1993)
(2) Pat Sin Leng Hill Fire (1996)
(3) Garley Building Fire (1996)
For a detailed report on these incidents and the intervention provided, please refer to the following documents:
Leung, E.Y., Wong, C.W., Li, E.K.W., Lau-Yu P.K., & Wu, K.K. (1993). What can Clinical Psychologists contribute after a disaster?: Post-disaster intervention model in the local context. Bulletin of the Hong Kong Psychological Society, January & July 1993, No. 30/31, pp. 93-103.
Leung, E.Y., Wong, C.W., Wu, K.K., Li, E.K.W., Lau-Yu P.K., & Lee, L.K. (1996). Disaster management: A report on psychological interventions after two major disastrous fires in 1996. Bulletin of the Hong Kong Psychological Society, January & July 1996, No. 36/37, pp. 85-97.
Wu, K.K., Lu, C.C. & Leung, E.Y. (1995). Responding to the Lan Kwai Fong disaster: A case study from Hong Kong. Community Psychologist, vol. 28, no. 5, Oct 1995, pp.28-30.
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Our Future Directions |
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| After these incidents, there was a recognized demand for psychological services after civil disasters, as witnessed in the setting up of the disaster services in the Hospital Authority and the Social Welfare Department. Moreover, CIT will continue to play a major role in providing consultation and consolidating public awareness on psychological needs after civil disaster through: (1) education and training; (2) advocacy; (3) media education; and (4) services to the public exposed to media coverage of disasters. |
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Responses to Important Critial Incidents in HK & abroad |
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