Changing The Culture

Author, coach, and speaker John C. Maxwell said that good management of bad experiences leads to growth, and that what we do with these experiences defines who we become.

Too often, maladaptive coping mechanisms are utilized by law enforcement to deal with the everyday bad experiences of the job. Having to respond to a dead body; notifying next of kin of a deceased family member; deescalating a hostile situation with a violent felon or drug addict; these are all examples of the everyday bad experiences for law enforcement. Healthy management of these experiences is often blocked by what often times is first an officer's inability to even realize they may be struggling to process their experiences. And an all-too-common coping mechanism once off the clock for such stresses is alcohol, which if unaddressed can become more damaging to an officer's emotional and physical well-being than the trauma of the daily activities while in uniform. When alcohol becomes a means to a desired end it becomes the problem itself. And let's face it, our law enforcement culture does its fair share of enablement as we de-stress together over alcohol, leading to our continued self-medicating at home with further drinking alone. What we are quick to dismiss as necessary in order to deal with the outsized stresses of the job can easily become a problem we both individually and collectively struggle in identifying.

This cultural enablement is not without plausible sources. For example, in the New York City Police Department's Detective Bureau, most detectives perform what is called a “4 & 2”. The work week will start at four PM and end at one AM (if you are lucky enough to end on time, which isn't often) on your first and second day. Your third day begins at eight AM (just six hours after your second day's shift ended, and it bears repeating, if you end on time) and ends at four PM (and repeats on your fourth day). More often than not, each day blends into the next and all four begin to feel like one exhausting day. While the rest of the non-law enforcement world may admire a four-day work week, within our seemingly one long day masquerading as four days are murders, shootings, robberies, witness interviews, reports that will become evidence at trials, derision and distrust from the communities we serve, constant threat to life, to name a few of those unique experiences we attempt to leave at the office and not take home. And then on top of that we experience the same stress of being good employees and performant at our jobs as the non-law enforcement communities who may think our four-day work week is enviable.

It is not a stretch to say that post-traumatic stress is a very real component of our line of work. It is important we give that name to what we experience on a daily basis if for no other reason than to collectively identify our problem as something recognizable to the mental health community, and where there are well-documented unhealthy and healthy coping mechanisms. Let's begin with the unhealthy.

The time between the second and third days of an NYPD detective’s work week is known as the “turn-around," the six hours between the end of your second shift and the beginning of your third. When the local bar is still open at 2AM, within walking distance of the station house, it is all too easy to employ unhealthy management tactics. To imagine the cycle, what begins with drinking with your fellow officers at the bar over time extends to your home. Families can become shut out, the officer rationalizing their inability to understand the job's stresses. What is already at this point an unhealthy work-life balance begins taking on more of the qualities of an abusive relationship. The grueling schedule and repeated unhealthy habits leave little to no time in between the "work" and the "life" parts to allow the officer to find his or her center again. “Hypervigilance keeps officers alive on the street," says Kevin M. Gilmartin, Ph.D. in his book Emotional Survival For Law Enforcement, "but they return home to a state that is opposite of hypervigilance. Without awareness of the effects of the rollercoaster, an officer’s life can become controlled by this pendulous effect.” When substances are used to numb out the very negative effects of this pendulum it creates a dangerous environment for the officer, the officer's family, and anything that exists within the officer's world.

Our analysis does not draw its last breath here. Where there is post-traumatic stress, we can find opportunities for post-traumatic growth. There is a unique brotherhood (or sisterhood) and group cohesion familiar to anyone who has been a member of a sports team, a club, served in the military or part of any number of other such groups where the single greatest experience within any of them is the trust that your tribe has your back. This is experienced exponentially by law enforcement. Their shared experiences and shared understanding of those experiences (e.g., what it's like to come upon a multi-vehicle accident with fatalities) is rarely if ever understood by non-law enforcement, the result of which is law enforcement often not extending their trust beyond the boundaries of their law enforcement tribe. This has compounding effects when you consider just how reluctant law enforcement is to ask for help. But this is where we are going to focus on the post-traumatic growth opportunities rather than stresses. By beginning with our unique understanding of what our officers endure on a daily basis, we are uniquely positioned to help them and to do so more effectively than others. In providing them with the best tools and resources for managing their unique experiences, we allow them the opportunity to extend their trust into a larger “tribe”.

What I ended up learning by the end of my career in the New York City Police Department would have served my family and I better if it were part of the curriculum from day one in the academy. The tactics we are taught around officer safety is paramount in ensuring a successful return home at the end of a tour, but what about “preventative mental tactics.”? One example where this is offered is the outstanding peer support program in the NYPD's Health and Wellness Section I was privileged to be a part of in my final years. They are taking on the task of equipping its members with the educational tools needed in learning how to effectively manage a difficult career in law enforcement from day one. Their Warr;or 21 resiliency program created by Det. Jeff Thompson, Ph.D. gives its participants an opportunity to learn more effective ways in processing their daily experiences. It's through such initiatives that I believe we are changing the way we look at taking care of our officers, and therefore our officers may begin to change how they look at taking care of themselves.

At Veteran and First Responder Healthcare we are committed to the health and wellness of our fellow human beings that have decided the cost of their life is second to the preservation of yours—those that go to work each day to make sure your day is the best it can be and in the best of environments for you and your family. Let us do our part to make it the best for them and their families so they can continue protecting us. We are Veterans and First Responders serving Veterans and First Responders.

About VFR Healthcare

VFR (Veteran & First Responder) Healthcare, the sister company of Strive Health, is a veteran-owned and operated organization that is committed to increasing the access to, and quality of, outpatient addiction and mental health treatment for Veterans, First Responders, and their families. VFR has developed clinical programming designed specifically for veterans, first responders, and their families and incorporates these principles to all programs and services provided. All Strive centers proudly serve VFR Healthcare and offer a wide range of confidential, trauma-informed outpatient treatment programs and services for adults and adolescents suffering from Substance Use Disorder and/or co-occurring mental health conditions, including intensive outpatient programs, outpatient programs, and early intervention services.

About Strive Health Centers for Recovery and Community Health

Strive Health (Strive) was founded to become the premier provider of high-quality, cost-effective, evidence-based outpatient addiction and behavioral health treatment in the United States. Strive programs and services are designed to provide high-quality, trauma-informed and client-centered outpatient treatment to help individuals in recovery maintain their life in the “real world” as they rebuild healthy, self-directed lives, reach their full potential, and achieve long-lasting outcomes.

Strive Health is proud to have developed a network of Centers for Recovery and Community Health united in its mission of providing the highest quality care to individuals and families striving to live healthy, self-directed lives. Strive centers provide a wide range of trauma-informed outpatient treatment programs and service for Substance Use Disorder and co-occurring mental health conditions that address the multi-level needs of its patients. Further, Strive programs utilize evidence-based treatment modalities, and offer medication-assisted treatment (MAT), such as Vivitrol, to patients as clinically and medically appropriate.

All Strive centers proudly serve its sister company, VFR Healthcare, and offer a wide range of confidential, trauma-informed outpatient treatment programs and services designed specifically for Veterans, First Responders, and their families.

Jason M. Palamara

VFR Healthcare, LLC

Director | First Responder Operations

(516) 314-1873

[email protected]

www.vfrhealthcare.com