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First Responder Care: Prevention, Intervention & Postvention

In-Person
3 CE Hours

Presented By

Dates and Times

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    In-Person

Location

Description

Fire service personnel, law enforcement officers, emergency medical technicians and dispatchers witness more trauma, abuse & harm from their anticipated, day-to-day experiences than most people will face in a lifetime (Violanti, 2021; Ângelo & Chambel, 2015; Miller et al., 2018). And these day-to-day experiences don’t include the abrupt, major disasters and crises that impact the communities they serve (Farrell et al., 2020; Muhlhausen et al., 2019). The cumulative effects of their work can result in a variety of mental health concerns that require comprehensive & culturally responsive care (Jackson-Cherry & Perron, 2021). In this panel discussion, we will start by reviewing the importance of understanding first responder culture to effectively build therapeutic relationships. Then we will transition to sharing best practices for prevention, intervention and postvention clinical work with first responders. During the review of the three stages of first responder care, panelists will highlight their experiences utilizing assessment tools, psychoeducation resources, treatment strategies, outcome evaluations and resilience building skills with working alongside the first responder community. 

 

Two of our panel speakers are internationally renowned first responders who will speak about their lived experiences in law enforcement and professional experiences advocating for mental health care. Both have made meaningful contributions to the profession through presentations, publications & global initiatives on topics such as vicarious trauma, the influence gender on first responders, stress & burnout after critical incidents, suicide prevention and suicide psychological autopsies. Our two other panelists lead higher education programs, therapeutic initiatives and scholarly endeavors for current and future counselors providing trauma-informed and culturally responsive care. As both clinicians, educators and scholars they have participated in a range of international through local initiatives promoting research, clinical practice and advocacy in the areas of first responder mental health, resilience, trauma, disability, autism and the intersection of race, sex & gender in counseling.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Identify & understand how first responder culture influences mental health and clinical work.

  • Assess first responder internal and external resources for education, support, & prevention.

  • Apply evidence-based models, strategies, & techniques for specific crises for tailored treatment.

  • Evaluate & plan for continued care, professional vitality & building resilience.

CE Policy
This course is fiscally sponsored by Exchange Events. There may be potential biases or conflicts of interest inherent to this relationship, and it must be disclosed to participants. These conflicts of interest have no bearing on the course content and have been resolved.
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Debra Ainbinder

Debra L. Ainbinder is a Professor and Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, Clinical Mental Health Program at Lynn University.  She is a founding member, officer and executive board member of the International Association for Resilience and Trauma Counseling, a new division of the American Counseling Association. Dr. Ainbinder is the administrator for the Lynn University Resilience Toolkit, a series of interventions to inspire resilience in the higher education community.  She is the Vice Chair of the Academic Resilience Consortium. Dr. Ainbinder also has a private mental health counseling practice in the community and has been on various editorial boards, academic committees, and presented Internationally and nationally on self-care, trauma, resilience, supervision, and counselor education. Debra’s focus is on counselor competency in working with the first responder community and  the associated skills for crisis, trauma and resilience counseling.

Ali Cunningham
Liz Pol

Elizabeth Pol is Chicago Police Officer with 20 years of experience on the job. She has a master’s degree in forensic psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Elizabeth focuses on First Responder Trauma and Suicide Psychoeducation and started a not for profit organization, Resilient Heroes, NFP. She is instructor certified and has her curriculum certified by The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standard Board (ILETSB).

 

Elizabeth is a certified Suicide Psychological Autopsy investigator and has conducted psychological autopsies of officers that have taken their lives by suicide. Elizabeth is also a dog handler of Arlo, a bullmastiff that is a certified Trauma Therapy Dog. She is a published author and has been serving on the Northern Illinois Critical Incident response team (NISCM) responding to critical incidents and conducting debriefings and diffusions.

 

Elizabeth has worked with The Quell Foundation on the First Responder Resilience Project (FRRP). She currently serves on the Lynn University’s Crisis Resilience and First Responder Trauma Training Advisory Council (CRAFT-AC).  

Chris Scallon
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