First Responders

Tailored Approach

As people who run toward an emergency rather than away, who remain calm under circumstances that would normally be overwhelming, and who face repeated exposure to stress events, first responders require a tailored approach to counseling.  

Special considerations for First Responders in a clinical setting include:

• the difference between traumatic events, stress events, and the accumulation of chronic stress

• relationships and the work to home transition

• concerns about feeling too little or feeling too much

• and delineating between skills that are helpful on shift and at home

• reducing overall stress and impact of the job so you can be your best self

Working with first responders it is key to help people be able to relieve the pressure valve while maintaining the ability to perform job duties.  My first experience in this community was at the 9/11 Mental Health Program of Safe Horizon, and later as the Clinical Director of Friends of Firefighters in Brooklyn, NY.  It is an honor to continue serve you.

Wellness Sessions

Wellness sessions are designed to reduce the impacts of accumulated chronic stress. Working as a group, people can hear that they are not alone, and that the stress they feel is a natural adaptation to the job, not a personal shortcoming. Information is shared about the nervous system in the brain and body, the impacts of chronic and repeated stress as well as sleep deprivation, and accessible tools for self care are taught and practiced. 

I have taught these sessions at the Laramie Police Department, the Laramie Fire Department and the Cheyenne Fire Department, and at the Game Warden's Conference in Cheyenne in 2018.  

Critical Incident Debriefings

I have conducted Critical Incident Debriefings for the Laramie Fire and Police Departments, the Albany County Sheriff’s Department, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol. My work with incidents aims to have people leave the session feeling more resilient, more connected to themselves and their families, and with a greater sense of grounding and clarity. For these sessions I use a model that incorporates self awareness, self care, and group connection.