Tyler Pelke, Deputy Chief with the City of Red Deer Emergency Services, shares his perspective on resilience in the emergency response profession. He talks about doing the hard things, like building habits and practicing forgiveness, and fostering trust in the workplace.
Dr. Brooke Bartlett, a licensed clinical psychologist and owner of the Center for Trauma, Anxiety, and Stress (CTAS), talks about moral injury: what it is, what causes it, and what it looks like in emergency dispatchers.
Jason and Kathy Lott, founders of the Thin Gold Line Foundation, talk about Jason’s experience as an emergency dispatcher with PTSD and the resources their organization provides for other dispatchers.
The hosts of the H.A.L.T. and Call for Backup podcast series, Jim McLintock and Mike Koch, and Cassie Sexton, series regular, get into the nitty gritty of addiction, trauma, and the day of small beginnings in emergency response.
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.
The occupational demands of public safety communicators has led to conditions such as high levels of stress, anxiety and PTSD1-4
Chaplain Russell Myers, Allina Health EMS, talks about the role of chaplains in EMS and emergency dispatch. He discusses research he's conducted about the most stressful EMS calls as well as things to consider when deciding whether to bring a chaplain into your center...
Historically, 911 professionals have not received specialized training in dispatch and call management related to mental crises and suicidality. This lack of training may contribute to lack of confidence and elevated anxiety in successfully handling these call types. A new model of training, Emergency Mental Health Dispatching™ (EMHD), which aims to equip 911 professionals to manage these calls has been developed to address this need. The objective of this case study was to measure the impact of EMHD via two specific aims. The first aim...
Isabel talks with Dr. David Rozek, a clinical psychologist at the University of Utah. They discuss similarities between veterans and first responders, what cognitive processing therapy focuses on, and how to begin managing the effects of trauma in your own life right now...
Isabel talks with Rhonda Kelly, ResponderStrong Program Manager at the National Mental Health Innovation Center. They discuss Rhonda's circuitous route to her current career, barriers to emergency responders getting mental health help they need, and where mental health treatment is heading...