CCP offers a comprehensive range of training courses as well as carrying out psychological assessments, bereavement support, key-person support and life coaching. Follow-up sessions are also provided.
Keith Richards, ABTA Head of Consumer Services and Business Development said: "We are delighted we can offer CCP’s unvrivalled services to all members. It is the first time ABTA members have had open access to discuss proactive, psychological assistance. If companies can properly manage the stress and trauma staff and customers suffer as a result of a serious incident, then not only have they morally done the right thing, but they have also potentially saved their business."
Some of the UK’s biggest tour operators have already been working directly with CCP since 1999. CCP's clinically trained staff have worked with survivors on most of the high profile emergencies affecting the travel industry, including 9/11, the Sharm El Sheikh bombings, the tsunami and numerous hurricanes. CCP also provides support on incidents affecting smaller numbers of people, such as balcony falls and road traffic accidents.
Martin Alderton, Clinical Partner, CCP said: "Often, if we are brought in early after an incident, we can provide brief intervention that will avert the need for long-term support and counselling. We are delighted to be working with ABTA and its Members."
John de Vial, Group Director of Quality, Safety and Corporate Social Responsibility for the Thomas Cook Group and a Director of ABTA and the FTO said "The Centre for Crisis Psychology are highly respected and the clear leaders in their field, whether working with tour operators, travel agents, airlines, coach operators or on an employee assistance programme. Their great strength is to blend the highest standards of clinical practice with a pragmatic and practical approach. They communicate in plain English and work extremely well with operational personnel, as well as senior management. They are hugely experienced in working with suppliers and with different cultures overseas. They are very sensitive to the legal issues that may surround an incident and are an invaluable asset in providing the care, that reduces anger and improves the outcomes for everyone involved. There is no doubt in my mind that their services indirectly assist in reducing claims, as well as enhancing care and the reputation of those who utilise their services. They offer a truly 24/7 response from a dedicated core team, which is exceptional."
CCP has been involved in over 1500 travel related incidents involving thousands of survivors and has responded to over 5000 incidents for its clients in the leisure, travel, financial and retail sectors worldwide. ABTA will be holding a crisis management workshop on 5 March 2008 that will give Members help with strategic, operational and PR help on how to prepare for a crisis.
Case Studies
Trauma aftercare and the welfare of people in many organisations can easily be overlooked. Serious incidents can result in two sorts of trauma: post-traumatic reactions related to the event itself; and negative reactions to the way the business or its staff handle the incident and the way survivors are treated in the aftermath. Of these, the second is often the more long lasting, and more damaging in terms of anger towards a company and its staff, decreased morale of survivors, consequent lost production, and legal action. Such anger is often the cause of the bitterness in litigation.
By providing a comprehensive response a business should expect to deal effectively with post-traumatic reactions and to produce a positive reaction in staff and passengers who should feel cared for and valued.
These are just some of the incidents that CCP Consultants have worked on (names have been changed):
Child fatality, Turkey, October 2002
Brothers and sister Molly (10), Jack (9) and Jason (4) were enjoying their holiday in Bodrum. They managed to open the hotel gate, as they had seen some friends across the road they had met the previous day.
As Jason was the youngest he didn't run quite as fast as his siblings, and just before he reached the pavement, a refuse lorry sped round the corner and hit him causing him severe brain damage. The paramedics were fast to the scene, but Jason died before he arrived at the hospital. Of course, the family were distraught.
The tour operator's staff desperately wanted to make the family comfortable and provided as much practical help and information as they could. However, very quickly, they realised that this was not enough. The family all showed the reactions of post-trauma from tears to anger, sleeplessness, intrusive recollections and disbelief. They were receiving help from the local doctor with medication and some family tried drinking heavily to numb their feelings.
The tour operator staff directly involved in supporting the family were also experiencing post trauma reactions such as guilt, helplessness and physical discomfort including severe headaches and so the tour operator’s duty office requested a CCP consultant to fly out to support the family and the reps. A further consultant was requested to meet the siblings at Gatwick airport as they were being flown home to stay with extended family whilst their mother and father stayed in resort to organise repatriation of their child as they insisted on being on the same flight back to the UK, which caused several days of delays. Throughout this time support was offered from the CCP consultant, the tour operator’s staff, the Turkey Consulate, the hotel staff and other holidaymakers.
The CCP consultant arranged for the parents to see their child at the morgue and also remained with them until they reached home in the UK. Several follow-up visits were made by the CCP consultant to the family over the ensuing months to help them come to terms with the tragedy and to commence adjusting to the loss of Jason.
Shop Raid, Travel Agent November 2006:
Travel agents with cash in the counters and foreign currency in the safe can become the targets of armed raids. Gail, 23 said: "There were four of us in the shop and 2 masked men with guns barged into the shop on a quiet Monday afternoon demanding that we empty the safes. Because our safes have time locks on them, they had to wait six minutes. I thought it would never open and that if it didnt they would try and rape or kill us. It was horrible. I thought I could die. Eventually, they got the money and ran but threatened us that we couldn’t shout for help until they had disappeared."
CCP were engaged immediately to offer 24-hour phone support. Consultants met with the team two days later to discuss the raid and how everyone reacted. The meeting gave everyone the opportunity to talk, in a structured way, about their experience, how they survived, and normalise similar reactions. It also prepared them for future possible reactions and how to help themselves recover more quickly. A follow-up meeting was arranged three weeks after the incident to check that all the staff were managing their reactions and making progress. At this juncture, if any staff were still struggling with continuing recurrent thoughts of the event or if their routines were disrupted, further help was offered.
Balcony Fall, July 2002, Ibiza:
Everyone had been having a laugh, and as it had been 28 degrees at night, Dave, 18, decided that he would sleep on the balcony ledge. His friend Owen told him to stop messing around and come to his proper bed. The ledge was on the second floor but Dave rolled over the edge in his sleep and landed on his head. Paramedics arrived, treated him for a short while where he lay and then rushed him to hospital. He was on life support for two days. However, his brain was losing life and the life support was switched off on 25 July 2002. The mans family and friends were devastated and all experienced typical reactions of bereavement.
CCP were engaged to offer immediate 24-hour over the phone to the family and staff in resort and for staff in the UK. CCP was asked to provide a consultant to escort the family to resort and then support them.
The consultant was on constant call to support the family and friends and was with the family when the life support machine was switched off. The consultant organised a support meeting for the tour company’s representatives. The meeting gave the representatives the opportunity to talk, in a structured way, about their experience, how they had coped, and normalise similar reactions. It also prepared them for future possible reactions and how to help them recover more quickly.
Follow-up meetings were carried out with the family and friends in the UK after the funeral and further bereavement support was offered to the family over the ensuing weeks. Telephone follow-up calls were also made to the representatives overseas to check how they were coping.
Forest Fire
A CCP consultant flew to Greece in response to the Haldidiki forest fires of 2006. In a large hotel outside the resort area where hundreds of customers were being accommodated the consultant assisted staff. The consultant helped staff communicate with disappointed and angry customers who were unable to travel to their hotels. The consultant also provided direct clinical support to traumatised customers who had evacuated from the area of the fires.
During their stay in the area the consultant led clinical meetings to support teams of reps from two tour operators and provided telephone support to a team from a third tour operator. In addition the consultant provided direct support to a team of administrative staff and a senior manager who had been responsible for managing the response to the disaster.
Vicky Karantzavelou - Thursday, November 29, 2007