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New Behavioral Health Resources Available for First Responders In a recent national survey of firefighters and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, 19 percent reported having had thoughts of suicide, 27 percent reported having struggled with substance use issues, and 81 percent said they feared being seen as weak or unfit for duty if they asked for help. Law enforcement, fire and rescue, and emergency response are professions where communication is mission critical—so why aren’t first responders talking more about their behavioral health? SAMHSA has developed new resources and materials with significant input from first responders. We hope you’ll continue reading to learn more about the following new materials available and share them with colleagues and friends.
An online training opportunity for officers, mental health providers, chaplains, and peer support team members.
Access to lethal means can determine whether a person who is suicidal lives or dies. This course explains why means restriction is an important part of a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention. It will teach you how to ask suicidal patients/clients about their access to lethal means, and work with them and their families to reduce their access. After completing this course you will be able to: Explain why reducing access to lethal means is an effective way of saving lives. Describe the role of impulsivity, ambivalence, and differing lethality of methods in contributing to suicide deaths and attempts. Describe how counseling on access to lethal means fits into suicide prevention counseling. Ask your patients/clients about their access to lethal means. Work with your patients/clients on reducing access to lethal means, particularly firearms and medications, including: Communicate effectively with your patients/clients about this issue. Set goals for reducing access and develop a plan that is acceptable to both you and your patients/clients.
You must create a free online account in order to take this training.
Course Summary The goal of this course to educate IAFF members on behavioral health issues in the fire service. The course provides a basic overview of common behavioral health problems and available treatment options, information on balancing work and life stressors, and how to improve the behavioral health services offered in local departments. Successful completion of this course is a prerequisite for the IAFF Peer Support Train-the-Trainer Program. You must be an active member with the IAFF and create an online account to take this course.
For clinicians, the first step to learning more about providing behavioral health services to firefighters and EMS personnel is to take the free online course, Helping Heroes. This course was developed by the Medical University of South Carolina’s National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. It offers behavioral health professionals easy access to instruction that will enable them to apply the very best evidence-based approaches to the issues presented by their fire service clients. Helping Heroes is a web-based training package designed to run on all popular software and hardware platforms. Each of the 10 training modules requires approximately one hour to complete, and an additional component serves as a session-by-session toolkit guide.
An online training for first responders developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administraion. This training will provide CEU's for both Peer Support Team members and for paramedics.
Stress First Aid has been identified as the recommended protocol following a Potentially Traumatic Event. This online training will provide a working knowledge of the practice and principles of Stress First Aid in the fire service. You must register for a free account with Fire Hero Lerning Network in order to take this course.
Firefighter Life Safety Initiative #13 states: "Firefighters and their families should have access to counseling and psychological support." Stress First Aid (SFA), an important component of fulfilling this Life Safety Initiative, is a set of supportive actions designed to help emergency responders assist each other in reducing the negative impacts of stress. SFA was designed specifically to support firefighters, EMS, and rescue personnel. This module teaches SFA at the awareness level, focusing on:
This method of assisting a co-worker undergoing stress is practical, flexible, and can be tailored to the specific need.
FIRST is provided by a national expert on resilience and trauma-informed care, Dr Ken Yeager, PhD, LISW, who has worked extensively with hospital medical staffs, police and other first responders to address burnout, resilience, and secondary trauma.
FIRST Opioid Response 2018-4.pdf
Illinois Firefighter Peer Support
2019 Symposium Registration
Registration for the 2019 ILFFPS Symposium is NOW OPEN
March 21 – 22, 2019 at the Double Tree Hotel in Oak Brook, IL.
ONLY $100 for both days and $50 for a single day.
Our goal is to not only provide industry-leading resources, but to make this as affordable as possible for you, your family, and your team.
Join us as we learn from an international line-up of industry professionals speaking about the latest information in the many issues facing Fire and EMS first responders. Come expecting to take home practical solutions for dealing with addiction, depression, PTSD, and how to help those around you. In the words of our Executive Director, “Our central goal is to provide practical solutions. We want participants to leave each presentation with new knowledge they can return home and practically put into place. It’s important to me they leave with what they need to make a difference in first responder mental health whether its their own, their family’s, or someone on their team.”
Symposium Schedule
Thursday, March 21:
7:30 am, Check-in and Coffee
9:00 am, Keynote
10:00 am, Morning Breakout Sessions
Noon, Lunch
1:00 pm, Full session panel discussion
2:30 pm, Afternoon Breakout Sessions
Friday, March 22:
9:00 am, Keynote
10:00 am, Morning Breakout Sessions
Noon, Lunch
1:00 pm, Full session panel discussion
2:30 pm, Afternoon Breakout Sessions
4:00 pm, closing comments
Since 1918, members of the Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters have been on the frontlines protecting lives and property of citizens across the Buckeye State – just as the OAPFF has been there to protect the interests and health and safety of those first responders.
The situations first responders are generally faced with are inherently difficul
