The PCIS process helps staff manage trauma, build resilience and emerge stronger.
Story by Marcus Wilkins. Photos by Garry Brix and provided.
Missouri Department of Corrections (MODOC) employee Tona Lomax’s body has paid a steep price over the years.
A ruptured hip labrum, cracked ribs, bursitis (deep inflammation), concussions, a torn gluteus minimus and an accidental fentanyl exposure/overdose are only some of the injuries she’s endured. The surgeries and physical therapy that followed — combined with a previous job as a phlebotomist — have deepened her appreciation for the medical field.
But the department’s mental health resources — particularly the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team
share a hug.
and the Post Critical Incident Seminar (PCIS) — have proved just as transformative, emotionally and psychologically, as her physical treatments.
“I was so hateful and withdrawn, and I didn’t want to do anything,” said Lomax, a mobile sergeant at Ozark Correctional Center (OCC). “But after working through PCIS, I began talking and interacting more with others. I got my social life back again.”
PCIS is a confidential three-day therapeutic seminar designed to help corrections personnel process traumatic stress. Developed by the FBI and also used by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, it pairs group work with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), an evidence-based practice that helps alleviate stress associated with the memories.
EMDR uses guided eye movements, tapping or alternating sounds and vibrations to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories so they feel less overwhelming and are stored more like ordinary memories.
Lomax was skeptical at first. But now she’s a true PCIS believer, recommending it to anyone who has been through similar experiences.
“You revisit your past to see the things that trigger you, but the process helps train your brain how to deal with those situations,” Lomax said. “It’s amazing. And working through it with people who do the same things that you do every day — knowing that you’re not alone — that’s what really helped me.”
She credits Christie Lewis, employee support coordinator, with steering her toward the life-changing resource.
“Tona and I had built a rapport over the years because she had experienced so many traumatic incidents, but sometimes it takes a while before people recognize that they need some help,” Lewis said. “Especially when they’re in the thick of it day after day and it becomes their normal. That kind of normal isn’t always healthy.”
Real Work
Like that of many of her fellow staff members, Samona Kosfeld’s trauma history predates her MODOC career. In 1994, an intoxicated gunman opened fire at Kemper Military School in Boonville, killing two cafeteria workers. Kosfeld, then a student, ran for her life alongside classmates.
DOC information at a job fair.
“At the time, I hadn’t yet been taught what to do in case of an active shooter,” said Kosfeld, a MODOC recruitment officer. “Bullets were flying, and I didn’t have a plan. Afterward, there’s the guilt that comes from being a survivor — even though I didn’t really think of myself as one.”
After 29 years with MODOC, Kosfeld has experienced her share of on-the-job incidents — including a few colleagues’ deaths by suicide. She is also a breast cancer survivor who instinctively rushes to help others in distress.
Like Lomax, Kosfeld wasn’t convinced at first that PCIS would work for her.
“When people suggested it, I thought ‘Whatever. I’m fine. I’m nearing retirement. I do yoga,’” Kosfeld said. “But I needed that healing process, and everyone in the group wants to help you along because they’ve gone through the
group selfie.
same stuff.”
Staff who are scheduled to work within 24 hours of a PCIS session are eligible for a day of administrative leave to rest and recover.
Staff are also eligible for a stress debriefing or defusing after a critical incident by contacting Stephanie Tandarich, PCIS coordinator, or Meckenzie Hayes, employee trauma response coordinator.
“Having that administrative leave is important, because PCIS is real work,” Tandarich said. “You are processing some heavy experiences, and having that time to reset before going back to shift is critical. If you notice your team is struggling after a tough incident, say something.”
Survivors and Supporters
practices empathy and active listening
during PCIS programming
Before processing her assault by an offender, Sheryl Pollard found trauma triggers around every corner — nighttime shadows near trash cans, restroom doors hiding unknown occupants, screams from a TV show in another room.
Pollard also attended every court date involving her attacker through sentencing, further compounding her trauma. But her transformation started when she attended her first PCIS with Tandarich.
“That was the first time I was able to tell my story because I had held it in for so long,” said Pollard, an academy advisor. “I felt protected with all of the people sitting behind me and around me. It was just an amazing process.”
In January, Pollard participated in her first PCIS event as a peer supporter — bringing her therapeutic experience full circle.
“I watched people come in who were so traumatized, but after the work, you’d see a little bit of light return to their eyes,” Pollard said. “From the healing that I’ve been through, I know that they’re going to be OK.”
With CISM staff like Tandarich shepherding personnel through the processes, PCIS is directly improving lives for safer communities.
“A lot of us deal with [stress and trauma] by pushing it down, staying busy or disconnecting,” Tandarich said. “The problem is, all that stuff does not just disappear. It stacks up, and we see it in higher divorce rates, increased health issues and shorter life expectancy. We love what we do, but it is time we start doing it in a way that does not cost us our families, our careers or our lives.
“Getting support is not weakness. It is how you stay in the fight long term.”
Trauma Resources
June is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month — and an opportune time to learn about resources available for members of the corrections team who have experienced trauma.
Learn about Post-Critical Incident Seminars (PCIS) on the department intranet. Though all slots for the remaining 2026 PCIS events, in August and November, are full, staff can learn what PCIS entails and prepare for the next round of applications.
Other trauma resources include:
Questions? Contact Meckenzie Hayes, Manager of Trauma Informed Employee Care, at Meckenzie.Hayes@doc.mo.gov or 573-526-3021.