We work with law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, medical professionals, corrections staff, dispatchers, and their families. Several of our clinicians focus on first responder work, including clinicians certified in first responder counseling, and know the culture and the job.
What the work does
Most of what first responders carry builds over a career: other people's worst days, again and again, on top of shift work, short sleep, and a culture that rewards pushing through. Over time that can become complex or secondary trauma. It shows up as hypervigilance that doesn't switch off at home, irritability or numbness, nightmares and poor sleep, pulling away from family, or drinking more. For some it's moral injury, the weight of calls where what happened went against what you believe is right, or where nothing you did was enough.
How we work with it
EMDR is one of the treatments we use most for trauma that has built up over time. It helps memories that still feel live lose their charge, without having to talk through every detail. We also use cognitive behavioral approaches, DBT skills, and practical work on sleep and on coming down after a shift. Couples and family therapy can help with what the job does at home, and substance use treatment is here when drinking or other use has become the way to cope.
Not everything is about the job, either. First responders come in for anxiety, depression, grief, and relationship stress like anyone else.
For support outside of therapy, our Resources page lists organizations for first responders.