Melissa Alterio, Director of Emergency Communications at Cobb County 911, discusses her paper “Peer Support Programs – Mitigating the Emotional Effects of Vicarious Trauma Experienced by 911 Dispatchers.” She talks about the methods for writing it and the takeaways for emergency dispatchers.
Isabel talks with Dr. Stella Benami, researcher and former emergency dispatcher. They discuss how Dr. Benami's experiences in dispatch inspired her dissertation, the difference between compassion fatigue and burnout, and the biggest factors in the mental health of emergency dispatchers...
Emergency dispatchers are exposed to potentially traumatic events at rates that likely exceed that of emergency first responders. Although not physically present at the time of the incident, it is likely that this repeated exposure in concert with highly stressful work conditions could lead to potentially negative emotional and physical outcomes. To date few studies have examined rates of stress related pathology and subsequent impairment in emergency dispatchers. The following study takes an initial step to investigate rates of Acute Stress Disorder, Secondary Traumatic Stress and...