CISM trained clergy personnel play a vitally important role in the management of psychotrauma. This is an important assertion because it establishes the spiritual needs of individuals as an important priority for the continuing management of traumatic stress. The answer to this question will depend upon the specific beliefs, convictions, and practices of the individual affected by traumatic stress. In general, there are at least four kinds of services that have demonstrated value in the incidents mentioned at the beginning of this article. These services would include funerals, memorial services, spiritual fellowship and pastoral counseling.
Funerals often serve as the initial point in the recovery process from grief.
In the ritual of the funeral, the reality and inevitability of death are squarely faced. This can move the survivors from denial into one of the later steps of the grieving process. Because in many religions the emphasis of the funeral is equally focused on hope in a future state, the ritual can begin enabling the affected individuals to gain a broader perspective on the loss suffered which helps them to normalize the events surrounding the death. Sensitive clergy who understand that normalizing emotional reactions to what has happened is a critical component of the recovery process can structure the funeral ritual to accomplish this goal. Memorial services actually fulfill multiple functions.