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Peer Support, Mental Health Services – Save Lives
He had contemplated suicide. After losing 19 comrades in the 2013 Yarnell fire, how was he to move forward? In his stirring presentation at the 2016 PSPSA Conference, wildland firefighter Brendan McDonough spoke openly about the burden he carried. So heavy were his memories of surviving the fire that he drove to an isolated area and prepared to shoot himself with the loaded gun he carried.
An unexpected journey with PTSD; A Commentary on One Man’s Story
By Nancy Bohl-Penrod, Ph.D., Director of the Counseling Team International (TCTI)
In the summer of 2015, San Diego firefighter/paramedic, Benjamin (Ben) Vernon developed post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) after surviving a violent knife attack while on duty. His personal account of that day and what followed, can be found in Unexpected Nightmares, published February 2016 in JEMS magazine. 1
How To Heal From Psychological Injuries; 7 recommendations following the 2015 San Bernardino Shootings
By Nancy Bohl-Penrod, Ph.D., Director of the Counseling Team International (TCTI)
We are trained to respond to traumatic and inconceivably sad situations. On December 2, 2016, our Critical Incident Stress Management Team (CISM) was dispatched to the site of the San Bernardino, Inland Regional Center attacks, just blocks from our Headquarters office. What awaited us was the “active” situation of innocent people being escorted by law enforcement to safety, while other officers were securing the area, looking for victims and conducting a manhunt for the shooters.