Shots Fired: Breaking the Silence on PTSD in 911
$9.99
(Video & Handout)
Overview
The purpose of this presentation is to shed light and start the conversation of addressing PTSD in the 911 telecommunications profession. In 2015 I was working as a police dispatcher for Boston police, and successfully managed an officer involved shooting. While I received many awards for how I managed the situation, the fallout of PTSD and lack of support had me making the difficult decision to leave 911 altogether in order to address my mental health. During my journey of healing, I came to the realization that the 911 field was my passion, and that dispatchers everywhere are lacking the support needed in order to continue in the field. I’ve now been back in the filed for 4 years. In addition to sharing my story, I’ve applied my experience to working on NENA’s Wellness Committee, specifically the Peer Support sub-committee, and the Acute Stress working group. Locally, I attended the Group and Individual Counseling Training, and applied to be a part of the local CISM team, which recognizes the important of including 911 personnel for defusing and debriefings. I am currently the point of contact for my agency. Recently, myself and other 911 professionals on the team have been meeting to discuss the 10 top calls for dispatchers, as well as discuss how we can spread the word that CISM teams in our area is a resource available to all dispatchers. In addition to walking viewers through my story – the initial call, the PTSD fallout, and the steps I took to change my mindset and heal – I want to be able to present the dispatcher’s point of view in handling critical incidents, and how agencies can help stop burnout and high turnover by providing resources to their dispatchers.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify problems 911 professionals face on the job
- Understand how they can contribute to changing the conversation about PTSD in first responders
- Identify obstacles 911 personnel face utilizing a CISM team
Presenter
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Nicole Janey
Emergency Communications Supervisor
Chelsea Emergency Management
Nicole has been working in the 911 field for 15 years. Highlights of her career include working the Boston Marathon Bombing and the ensuing week, as well as successfully managing an officer down call. Following that event, she took a break from 911 in order to address the PTSD. She returned to 911 with a passion for all things related to 911 mental health and wellness, and is particularly focused on spreading the word about the effects of PTSD in the 911 community, and the need for better support and services for our personnel. She is also involved in the Greater Boston Law Enforcement CISM team, and the National Emergency Number Association. She is active in several subcommittees within NENA's wellness continuum. As a side project, she is currently curating “You Are Not Alone: Portraits of the Gold Line Family” , a photography project that seeks to put a face to all members of the 911 profession, and showcase how everyone is effected by the job, regardless of role.
Related products
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Overview
The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) featured the above named article in the 2021 Winter edition of their Campus Law Enforcement Journal. The action plan described in the article is consistent with recommendations from the National Consortium on Law Enforcement Suicide: Final Report, published October 1, 2020. ‘Unspoken Questions’ refers to the reluctance to and/or avoidance of asking direct and specific questions, due to concerns of stigma and negative occupational impact, that can occur when a law enforcement employee experiences a personal mental health issue. Despite being generally aware of available mental health services, skeptical perceptions exist regarding accessing mental health care. For the agency, this skepticism contributes to the suspicion of intent and general distrust among employees. Consequently, the specific and direct questions may never get asked and remain ‘Unspoken Questions’. The worst case outcome is death by suicide or ‘loss of a whole life’. Another tragic result is that an employee may continue to experience the pain and despair of unresolved mental health issues, ‘the loss of a partial life’. This bold action plan challenges agency leadership to demonstrate organizational commitment by endorsing two separate transparent trainings that call for the integration of command staff and designated human resources representatives in the actual training in order to provide a forum for employees and give a voice to those ‘Unspoken Questions’.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to- Be instrumental in leading an agency-wide culture committed to promoting physical and mental health and wellness.
- Play a critical role in the agency’s transparent integrated approach to ensure that suicide prevention is prioritized and that norms and practices that support mental health and wellness are integrated into every aspect of policing.
- Be more capable to support efforts to reduce law enforcement deaths by suicide and eliminate the stigma associated with law enforcement personnel who experience mental health issues.
Presenter
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Kevin W. Condon, LCSW, BCD
Owner
Law Enforcement Response to Mental Health, LLC
Kevin W. Condon, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Board Certified Diplomate (BCD). In June of 2002, Kevin retired from the Coral Gables (FL) Police Department (CGPD) as a lieutenant with over 25 years of service. He served as Commander of the Crisis Negotiation Team and SWAT Team. Kevin participated as a member of a CISM team for emergency responders serving Miami-Dade County. Kevin received the CGPD Life Saving Award for his interaction with a person with a mental illness.
Following his retirement, Kevin moved to Georgia and began a second career as a mental health professional. He held positions as a community Child and Adolescent therapist, Clinical Director of a State of GA residential program, and therapist at the University of Georgia. In March of 2018, after over six years with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Kevin retired from the position of LCSW.
Kevin is certified by Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.) as a Lecturer on Law Enforcement and Mental Health. He is a certified instructor for Mental Health First Aid - Public Safety. Kevin has developed and presented training courses on issues of law enforcement and mental health.
Kevin has been recognized as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on law enforcement and mental health by the Collaborative Reform Initiative-Technical Assistance Center. CRI-TAC is a partnership with the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing which is implemented under the leadership of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).
In November of 2018, Kevin founded ‘Law Enforcement Response to Mental Health, LLC’. He provides training, consultation, and presentations related to law enforcement and mental health. During Kevin’s early years as a law enforcement officer, he experienced his own mental health issues. Kevin shares his personal journey in the interest of ‘paying it forward’.
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Overview
“When everyone walked away Charlie stayed by my side.
Not coping to healthy coping, he brought me from sinking further into that dark downward spiral back up into the light and life”After losing 6 friends on my FD to suicide, I went to Chaplain Mario Gonzalez, the director of my peer support program and he called for a meeting with the clinical director. It was decided there was an obvious need and I was instructed to do a 3 month pilot study with Charlie at my station. That’s how the MDFR Response K9 program got started. It looked different back then but has grown into what it is today.
When I started doing research into the benefit of therapy and service dogs I decided certification was the way to go for our teams and our organization as we already had CISM training for the humans. It was through the connections with I.C.I.S.F. and our CISM training program that I ended up meeting Cindy Ehlers, an expert in the field of civilian canine crisis response and a K9 handler at the WTC site after 9/11.
After seeing the direct benefits as backed up by current research indicating therapy and service dogs play a role in resiliency and post traumatic growth we set up the program with 3 separate tiers for this specific responder program.
The purpose of this presentation is to promote an awareness of how crisis response canines can help both civilian and responder organizations and explain the differences in training and certification currently available for both.
There are three parts to the program:
(1) CISM Response K9
In this tier, the responder with his or her own trained K9 is an active member of the CISM Peer Support team. In all CISM settings the benefit to the recipients is the oxytocin release and immediate physiological responses for calming. The dogs help create a safe space for responders where its ok not to be ok and process what they just experienced.
We’ve noticed the dog can also become a focal point for people who are struggling to share. when the guys have a hard time talking they automatically start staring at Charlie.
its easier to look at a dog than other people when they have something difficult to say. the dogs can be a focal point for people having a hard time sharing and some have used Charlie as a shield to lean on when they flat out broke down. In a diffusing setting we expect the dogs to alert to mood changes when humans change emotions and pheromones are produced. In this way the dogs aren’t just a prop for people to look at, they become active participants in the diffusing.(2) Station Dogs
Because of cumulative trauma, station dogs are justified as reasonable to have something in place before and after each call as responders are not able to process the events of the last call before running the next call.
The expected benefits from long term exposure to the same dog include less time off from work, more cohesive crews, less discipline issues, etc.(3) Service dogs
To be able to provide personnel with service dogs that can provide healing to the soul, reduce symptomology and build the foundation of the person, not just the first responder.Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to- List why the use of trained certified canines are beneficial for responders in CISM/ Stress management roles
- Define and describe the training and certification criteria such as ethical care of canines, what advocacy really means, why learning how to read your canine’s signs are paramount in the training process, etc.
- Learn the best practices for using canines in CISM and stress management roles in First Responder organizations
Presenters
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Shawn Campana, CK9RT, CDT, CISM
Response K9 Coordinator for Peer Support Team
Miami Dade Fire Rescue
Captain Shawn Campana has worked for Miami Dade Fire Rescue for 24 years. She has been on the department's CISM Peer Support team since 2015. Shawn started a Response K9 program 5 years ago in response to the PTSD and Suicide Ideation epidemic that has impacted her fire department. She started the program with her dog Charlie who was also her service dog, and has grown the program into what it is today. The team has grown to 10 Peer Support handler K9 teams. She is looking forward to expanding the program to provide station dogs, and service dogs for firefighters, and continues to help other organizations implement their own Peer Support canine programs.
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Cindy Ehlers, D.N.C.C.M., CT, CFE, FT
Cindy Ehlers
Green Cross
Cindy’s passion is helping responders and civilians through the human animal bond. After responding to a high school shooting in Oregon in 1998, she developed and implemented programs utilizing dogs to reach at risk populations and those in crisis. In 2001, at the request of the American Red Cross, Cindy and three other handler/dog teams provided comfort on the ferry boats and provided respite foot responders at the WTC site. She has achieved diplomate status through the National Center for Crisis Management for her experience & contribution in the field of Canine Crisis Response and Animal Assisted Crisis Interventions. Cindy provides expert advice in the field of canine crisis response to both civilian and responder organizations. She is a member of ICISF, Green Cross and National Center for Crisis Management.
Handout
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Overview
Communities are demanding police change how they respond to incidents, which someone is in crisis or with mental health and/or social issue concerns. Traditionally, police have responded with a law & order approach, which at times is hurtful to those in need of help. This approach may further escalate someone in crisis, which is not helpful, but further hurts the person in their time of need. Even worse is when officers use physical force when de-escalation would have been far more appropriate.
Jen Corbin and Lieutenant Steven Thomas will discuss how the SAFER-R model and CISM can be utilized to assist the community in their time of need. Law enforcement routinely responds to traumatic incidents and they will discuss how CISM interventions can be used to help families and the community. Further they will discuss how the SAFER-R model can be adapted to assist citizens whether it be: for children living in traumatic living conditions, someone looking for recovery from substance abuse, someone facing re-entry into the community from incarceration or to assist someone making threats.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to- Describe how the SAFER-R model can be modified for various community policing interventions.
- List situations which the SAFER-R can be utilized in community policing.
- Describe a “trauma responsive mindset”
Presenters
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Steven J. Thomas
Lieutenant
Anne Arundel County Police
Lt. Steven Thomas, CCISM has a BA from UMBC and a MA from the University of Baltimore. He started as a patrolman with the Anne Arundel County Police in 1996 where he remained in patrol until he became the CIT and Peer Support Coordinator in 2016. In 2020 the Anne Arundel County CIT Unit was named International CIT Unit of the Year.
He is the Anne Arundel County CISM Team Coordinator. Further, he is an ICISF approved instructor and in the spring of 2019 received the ICISF Pioneering Spirt Award.
He is a Youth & Adult Mental Health First Aid Instructor and in 2018 he was named a top 100 instructor. -
Jennifer Corbin
Director
Anne Arundel County Crisis Response
Jennifer Corbin, LMSW is Director of the Anne Arundel County Crisis Response System. Much of her work is in collaborating with outside agencies to work with the crisis system such as A. A. County Police and Fire, Health Dept., Public Schools, local hospitals, and local providers. She is a trained instructor in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). Ms. Corbin is also trained in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and helped develop a peer support team for A.A. County Police. Ms. Corbin received her master’s degree in Social Work from The UMD School of Social Work.
Handouts
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Overview
Presentation Details:
This presentation will be prerecorded followed by a live breakout session with interactive activities and facilitated conversation. The content will include educational information on the particular types of stress that comes with disasters and impacts an activated Emergency Operations Center environment. Whether that EOC is a government agency, a private business or a school system, the work is impacted by the intensity of the task at hand. Emergency Managers of all kinds often see themselves as immune since they are not in the field dealing hands-on with victims or survivors.
The reality is they are at times more prone to disaster stress than their counterpart first responders. The appropriate use of CISM activities are designed to keep people productive, not take them off line. Just like trickle charging a battery, effective in the moment disaster stress management can help ensure good judgement and appropriate decisions are being made. This workshop will use case studies and facilitated conversation to explore this topic.Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to- Participants will examine the unique stressors in an EOC environment
- Participants will be able to differential between Disaster Stress Management on Disaster Mental Health
- Participants will increase their knowledge of deploying to an activated Emergency Operations Center
Presenter
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Mary C. Schoenfeldt
Emergency Management Professional
Green Cross Academy of Traumatology
Dr. Mary Schoenfeldt is an Emergency Manager with a specialty in school and community crisis. She has a passion for Disaster Psychology delivers Disaster Stress Management for a non profit ..Green Cross Academy of Traumatology. She responded to Columbine HS shooting, Hurricane Katina, Haitian Earthquake, Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting, Hurricane Harvey and was in the Emergency Operations Center for 6 weeks following the 530 Mudslide. She currently is providing support manage COVID 19. When she isn’t traveling she is behind the podium as Past President of Everett Port Gardner Rotary.
Handouts