International Journal of Emergency Mental Health 73 Mental Mobilization Processes in Critical Incident Stress Situations Atle Dyregrov, Ph.D., Roger Solomon, Ph.D., and Carl Fredrik Bassøe, Ph.D. Atle Dyregrov, Ph.D., Center for Crisis Psychology, Bergen, Norway; Roger Solomon, Ph.D., Critical Incident Recovery Resources, Williamsville, NY; Carl Fredrik Bassøe, Ph.D., The PROMED Institute, Bergen, Norway. Address correspondence concerning this article to: Dr. Atle Dyregrov, Fabrikkgaten 5, 5059 Bergen, Norway ABSTRACT: In this article, the psychological emergency mobilization process that takes place in threat situations is postulated. Mental mobilization is the increased mental capability of the mind in critical situations to process incoming and stored information to enable adaptive survival responses. The processes that are mobilized in the service of survival are enhanced sensory awareness, focused attention, rapid processing of incoming data, and use of previous experience, enhanced memory, altered time perception, and temporary deactivation of emotional reactions. From a clinical standpoint, it is important that the survival value of these processes is understood, as survivors can be helped to feel a sense of accomplishment and empowerment when they are taken through a critical situation in a detailed way and discover that they have been able to function well and survive by use of their stored experience, rapid processing of information or other aspects of their mental mobilization [International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 2000, 2(2), 73-81]. KEY WORDS: Critical events; adaptation; dissociation; management Through evolution man has developed mechanisms of bodily arousal that are automatically activated when a threat is encountered. These mechanisms mobilize physical strength that augment fight or flight from the threat. Adrenaline flow and other chemical changes rapidly mobilize the body for action. There is a parallel activation of brain norepinephrine and the Corticotropin-Releasing Factor - Hypothalamic- Pituitary Adrenal (CRF-HPA) axis system that works in concert to effect a variety of behavioral and physiological responses that promote survival in the face of threat (Bremner, Davis, Southwick, Krystal, & Charney, 1993). A complex set of cellular and molecular processes are set in motion to rapidly mobilize the body for action. Drawing on our clinical experience from dealing with people who have survived and dealt with various critical situations, we postulate that there is a similar system of mental mobilization that is activated in critical stress situations, enabling us to deal with danger in an optimal way. These adaptive cognitive mechanisms are believed to have evolved to adapt to our evolutionary environment. Our perspective draws on other peoples theoretical papers; it is not based on hard, coherent empirical data, but presented for heuristic purposes to spur additional research. The activation of the brain norepinephrine systems and the CRF-HPA axis also activate attentional and memory systems that are part of the mental mobilization systems. As Perry and Pollard (1998) state: Although exquisitely complex, the core framework of the human brain is designed to sense and respond to the changing environment to promote survival (p. 36). These researches also indicate that: Sensing and perceiving threat must be paired with response to threat if the organism is to survive. At each level of the central nervous system, just as the afferent input is interpreted and matched against previous similar patterns of activation an efferent arm is initiated. Each level and area of the brain has some role in the efferent response to the threat. The brainstem regulates the autonomic and hypothalamic output, alters arousal, and tunes out distracting sensory information; the midbrain regulates elements of motor activity (e.g., startle response); the limbic system modulates emotional