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Home > Patient Information > Psychiatry Department > Statement of Purpose > Sprint
The Naval Medical Centers at Portsmouth, Bethesda and San Diego have Special Psychiatric Intervention Teams, also known as SPRINT. The teams are designed to rapidly deploy to commands that have suffered recent tragedies, especially incidents involving death to personnel. Each team is composed of a Psychiatrist, psychologist, Psychiatric nurses, chaplains, social workers and Psychiatric technicians.
Using a format known as Critical Incident Stress Debriefing, these professionals go on site and counsel individuals and groups affected by a recent tragedy. The SPRINT team advises the host command on steps to facilitate emotional recovery and help ensure the mental health of people affected by the tragedy. The SPRINT team is designed for rapid deployment because early intervention, within days of a tragedy, may be of major benefit in preventing long-term psychological symptoms such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. The methods used have been in place approximately twenty years and studies have proven their effectiveness.
The SPRINT team may be activated by calling the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
