A sub-critical incident can be defined as an event that may not be perceived as traumatic by a majority of officers, but which has emotional impact on an individual due to the meaning a person ascribes to that event. Narrative psychological theory would postulate that officers develop a story about themselves and their reactions to a critical or sub-critical incident. Officers may see themselves as heroes or cowards depending on the meaning they attribute to their experience of a critical event. They construct a self-story to make sense of all experiences, including those that do not make sense. Officers may select out aspects of the critical incident that conforms to their dominant problematic story and overlook or minimize aspects that do not conform.
Narrative therapy utilizes an approach often referred to as externalizing conversations.
This approach allows a person to view the problem as a separate from herself making it easier to recognize, understand and protest its influence. Externalizing helps people avoid becoming overwhelmed by a problem. It has never been particularly hazardous to the body, not since Sir Robert Peel first organized his corps of bobbies. This line of work has always been a threat to the spirit. It is obvious to most observers that police work is stressful and unpredictable.