This overview of the conceptualization of the debriefing model and its application to children and adolescents reflects a strong clinical basis and understanding of the developmental issues relevant to the impact of critical incidents in this age range. Most of the debriefing practices currently provided for children are replications or derivatives of the adult models and are given a range of names, including creative debriefing, group treatments, classroom interventions and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). This chapter introduces a framework for differentiation of the concept of debriefing from the group-based technique or format and the processes engaged within a well conducted debriefing. Prior to engaging a child in any response or management activity, including group debriefing, it is essential to identify, for each child, the quality of the impact of the event and the life context in which it has occurred for that child.

This chapter describes a background of development and its implications for debriefing children and specifically adolescents, after a traumatic event. It suggests the effectiveness of a delayed intervention, which may perhaps be appropriate because it is provided at a time of greater sense of security for the young person. While children and young people are equally affected by traumatic events, the specific manifestations of their symptomatology occur along a developmental perspective. Post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) has been found in children exposed to a wide range of incidents when assessed at varying times ranging from a few days to over a year after the event, using a variety of different assessment measures. Interventions that have reported using group debriefing or have incorporated the core aims and structure of this process have typically been described in relation to transport disasters. The composition of psychological debriefing groups has received minimal attention.