Backing the Line: Strategies for Assisting First Responders In Your Communities

Summary: 

Offering Trauma Recovery Network (TRN) or individual services to first responder communities can be challenging due to their reluctance to trust outside resources, yet ongoing exposure to trauma compromises their health, relationships, and judgement in the field. The population demands culturally competent clinicians to hold the space and make a difference for them and their families. TRN teams and individual clinicians need skills to be successful and trusted when they are called to help the helpers!

Gain perspective with an overview of the present day challenges they face, and evaluate your clinical and personal abilities to meet their very specific needs. Videos from first responders will complement the content as well as strategies to meet, greet and treat those in your community.

Be advised: some content may be considered to be graphic and emotionally charged.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will demonstrate a current perspective of the population, and the demands and challenges facing first responders in an era of expanded scrutiny, oversight and changing public opinion.
2. Participants will identify a framework in which to evaluate clinical and personal qualities needed to work with occupational trauma, violence, post traumatic stress injuries, ethical self responsibility, use of EMDR, culturally competent supervision and bias for a TRN or private practice.
3. Participants will demonstrate how to evaluate their community and consider practical and creative ways to engage with first responders in order to provide culturally competent services for a TRN or private practice.

About the Presenter:

Catherine Butler, Ed.D., LMFT, former San Diego TRN co-coordinator is in private practice taking care of local, state and federal first responders. Experienced in building trusted relationships with many agencies, she works to build cultural competence and support for clinicians to care for those who care for us.