Overview: key issues in the conceptualisation of debriefing; Part I. Key Conceptual Framework of Debriefing: 1. Historical concepts and present patterns: stress management and debriefing; 2. Debriefing: its role in the spectrum of prevention and acute management of psychological trauma; 3. Briefing and debriefing: psychological interventions in acute stressor situations; 4. Traumatic stress and the concept of debriefing: theoretical frameworks and potential effects and other settings; Part II. Debriefing: Models, Research and Practice: 5. Critical incident stress debriefing: evolutions, effects and outcomes; 6. Debriefing with emergency services: critical incident stress management; 7. Debriefing and body recovery: war grave soldiers; 8. Debriefing and body recovery: police in a civilian disaster; 9. Debriefing after massive road trauma: perceptions and outcomes; 10. Debriefing and motor vehicle accidents: interventions and outcomes; 11. Debriefing with service personnel in war and peace roles: experience and outcomes; 12. Debriefing post disaster: follow-up after a major earthquake; 13. Debriefing after disaster; 14. Children and debriefing: theory, interventions and outcomes; 15. Debriefing adolescents after critical life events; Part III. Adaptations of Debriefing Models: 16. Delayed debriefing: after a disaster; 17. Debriefing in different cultural frameworks: experience with indigenous populations; 18. The concept of debriefing and its application to staff dealing with life threatening illnesses such as cancer, AIDS and other conditions; 19. Traumatic childbirth and the role of debriefing; 20. Debriefing staff after assaults by patients; 21. Multiple stressor debriefing as a model for intervention; Part IV. Debriefing Overview and Future Directions: 22. Concerns about debriefing: challenging the mainstream; 23. Is consensus possible about debriefing?; 24. Can debriefing work? critical appraisal of theories of interventions and outcomes with directions for future research; 25. A conceptual framework for mass trauma: implications for adaptation and intervention; Conclusion: debriefing: science, belief and wisdom; Index.