Dr. Darrell Mishler

• Emergency Services Chaplain
• Traumatic Event Liaison Officer
  

Dr. Darrell Mishler holds a B.S. in Education, an M.A. in Counseling and Biblical Studies, and a PhD in Education Foundations and Family Studies from Oregon State University. He is a "Licensed Clinical Pastoral Counselor, Advanced Certification" with the National Christian Counseling Association. Darrell is a Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress, and Certified in Acute Traumatic Stress Management (ATSM) with the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. For nearly 30 years, Darrell has assisted people in crisis. Serving in the U.S., Brazil, Mexico City and in Russia, Darrell has guided surviving families of suicide, marriage partners divorcing and leaving a mission field, families preparing to live in various cross-cultural settings, and multiple education institution and law-enforcement personnel dealing with life-crises events. For several years, he provided crisis intervention as a consultant for corporate personnel experiencing traumatic events related to personal emergencies including, for example, co-worker deaths, corporate down-sizing and bank robbery. Darrell received training in Critical Incident Stress Management for groups, and individuals as well as suicide prevention and mitigation, especially focusing on emergency services personnel. Serving as Chaplain/Traumatic Events Liaison Officer with a local Fire Department, a County Sheriff's Office and the State Police, Darrell has taught various practitioners the skills to mitigate trauma while in the midst of crisis. Emergency Dispatchers, Corrections Deputies, State Administrators of Sheriff's Offices, Ministry personnel, Fire Department administrative and line personnel have all been presented ATSM, custom-fitted to various local situations. Combining education and experience with a focus on the PRACTICAL, Darrell designed and developed a Chaplain / Traumatic Event Liaison program that has been effective and modeled for other agencies. He enjoys presenting proven methods of Crisis Mitigation and Management in various settings with each presentation tailored to the needs and opportunities of each local setting.

Workshops, Presentations and Seminar Topics

Law Enforcement AFTR-Fix-R

Merges the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing concept with Acute Traumatic Stress Management to provide Disruptive Incident Management. Corrections and Patrol personnel learn and practice a protocol for effectively managing deputy reactions to such Disruptive Incident Responses.

Perils of Poverty Simulation

Allows Fire/Medic and Law Enforcement officers an opportunity to understand the predicament of poverty. Utilizing a hands-on, very active method, participants learn and "experience" the difficulties some people face in life, trapped by birth, peer pressure, personal choices and many other factors.

Trauma Mitigation for Dispatchers

Offers an opportunity for tele-communicators whose ears and voices ARE the «first-responders» to almost every emergency event. Effective emergency response depends on effective communication at the «front end» and on through the emergency. Dispatchers learn techniques to effectively communicate with panicked individuals on the other end of the phone or radio.

First-Responder Stress Management

Provides the emergency worker (fire fighters, medics and police) skills to employ when confronting panicked patients / victims too anxious or pained to communicate effectively. Participants will learn and practice proven methods of drawing out and understanding important information when seconds count.

Break-Room Debriefing

Helps personnel at any level to assist each other using non-threatening, yet proven-effective methods of conversation. Everyone in the office is affected by even the daily stresses of emergency service. This seminar provides participants effective methods to informally provide an authentic listening ear.

Crisis Counseling for Churches

Presents the need for understanding and properly addressing trauma within the church context. Participants will discuss emotional, physiological, psychological and spiritual effects of trauma. Church personnel will learn how properly addressing the realities of trauma and grief can provide the church excellent opportunities to promote personal and spiritual growth in entire congregations.

Elements of a Chaplaincy

Gives participants, both administrative and practitioners, opportunities to discuss and evaluate the benefits and liabilities of emergency services chaplaincy / traumatic event liaison programs. The needs of the emergency services personnel and the opportunities to provide «the next step» in customer service to the public can be evaluated through this presentation.

Following is a list of organizations with whom Dr. Mishler has interviewed, consulted or trained:

Linn County Sheriff's Office (Albany, Oregon)

Albany Fire Department (Albany, Oregon)

Linn-Benton Community College (Albany, Oregon)

Pacific Evangelical School of Ministry (Portland, Oregon)

Chelan County Sheriff's Office (Wenatchee, Washington)

Oregon State Police (Albany, Oregon Patrol Office)

Seminario Biblico de Londrina (Londrina, Parana, Brazil)

Oregon State Sheriff's Association

The CoMission c/o OMS International (Greenwood, Indiana)