Erik De Soir

Major (Ret.) Dr Erik de Soir, PhD, is a Belgian clinical psychologist and psychotraumatologist specialising in crisis psychology, traumatic stress and the psychosocial support of military personnel, firefighters and emergency responders.

He is associated with the De Weg Wijzer Expertise Centre for Trauma and Grief Counselling, Belgium; founded the European Association of Fire and Rescue Psychologists; and developed the Fire Stress Team network, which provides peer support and traumatic stress management within fire, rescue and emergency medical services.

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Preparing for war or wildfires?

September 2026: Europe has learned that you do not build military interoperability during a war. We should apply the same lesson to disaster response, says Erik de Soir

The human energy of transformation

July 2026: Erik de Soir explores why transformation is fundamentally human, and how leaders can rebuild energy, connection and resilience when organisations face disruption or trauma

Making it count: Saying goodbye from a distance

Since March 18, stricter measures have been in place in Belgium and elsewhere to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Life has been different ever since. Unfortunately, so too is dying. Where we have put a lot of attention into being close with deaths in recen

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Erik de Soir

Crisis Response Journal

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News and Blogs

Preparing for war or wildfires?

September 2026: Europe has learned that you do not build military interoperability during a war. We should apply the same lesson to disaster response, says Erik de Soir

Before the next fire

September 2026: The fires in Europe have cost billions in response, but if public conversation only begins once the fire is already spreading, we have already missed the first – and our most important – window of opportunity, writes Subhra Bhattacharjee

Are we listening during emergencies?

September 2026: Amanda Coleman explores why understanding trusted local networks and engaging communities before a crisis can make communication more effective when it matters most

The UK’s defence dilemma

September 2026: The changing security environment across the globe raises legitimate discourse about how much the UK should spend on defence, but there is, ultimately, no simple answer, says George Buchan

The blame game: France’s 2026 wildfires

September 2026: Jasmine Jobber examines why tackling wildfire risk requires more than state intervention – and individual blame – amid France’s wildfires

Trust as infrastructure: How events can build safety cultures that protect and differentiate

August 2026: The information needed to prevent an incident may already be in the crowd. Gracie Broom argues that the missing link is often a trusted way to get it to the people who can act