Set Up a Wellness Program at Your Agency

Curious about starting a wellness program at your agency? Here are the steps you can take to create this:

Create Wellness Committee Who Can Steer The Process

1. Email out an Anonymous Survey to all staff to gather input and interest in wellness program components

2. Ask which staff are utilized already for support as trusted peers (this can assist in Peer Support Team creation)

3. Ask which therapists are already utilized with good experiences

4. Ask which program components there is interest in (all staff check ins, access to employer paid therapy sessions (with no diagnoses necessary), on-site services to build familiarity with the clinician(s), in-house wellness training, peer support team, support for spouses/kids, nutrition counseling, functional movement assessments, financial wellness, etc.)

• Determine budget for the program and approval from anywhere it is needed (admin, HR, city manager, etc.)

• If a Peer Support Team is being developed, register for training (30 hours, we provide this POST approved training)

5. Interview and choose a clinician who has training and experience specifically with law enforcement and public safety and determine next steps with them. Make sure to communicate the program components clearly to all staff and keep materials and contact info posted in high traffic areas, send out regularly by email and by word of mouth especially after critical incidents and tough calls

Mental health care for Fire/EMS

Fire and EMS personnel experience more trauma exposure in one month than most people experience in a life time. Trauma can cause stress symptoms following an accumulation of stressful events or after a single acutely stressful event. Either way, it can feel like you’re not functioning like we want to and it’s hard to find a way back to equilibrium. Emotion is meant to pass through us, but events that trigger an adrenaline rush or a survival response can quickly fill our mind and body with stress that tends to stick around and resurface at the most inconvenient times. If you imagine our body is a container for unprocessed stress, there might be signs that your container is too full. Through our Trauma-Informed therapy practice and evidence-based treatment modalities, we can assist you in clearing away what has accumulated by targeting the experiences themselves and the way the body has held them. We help you by capitalizing on the opportunity you have for Post Traumatic Growth. We specialize in treating trauma, but we don’t settle for helping you manage your symptoms. We want to help you live a truly satisfying and sustainable life.

REASONS TO SEEK COUSELING:

Stress or trauma

Anxiety, panic

Sadness, depression

Grief and loss

Family Conflict

Relationship issues

Alcohol or substance abuse

Performance challenges

Couple therapy

Life transitions: divorce, parenthood, marriage, empty-nest, retirement, etc.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy:

A Faster Road to Recovery from Trauma, Depression & Anxiety

“ART doesn’t change personality, it unveils a person’s true self under the hurt.” Dr Millard Brown, MD, COL, Chief at Tripler Army Medical Center Psychiatrist

Below are links to more information on ART:

Two Minute Intro to Accelerated Resolution Therapy by Dr. Diego Hernandez at ART International

TED Talk on Accelerated Resolution Therapy

Fire & EMS Wellness Program Components