How committed are we to the mental health of our firefighters?

Tough question, huh? One of my fire service colleagues and a fellow member of the Fire Service Psychology Association- Admin related an anecdote the other day about a firefighter in a neighboring fire department who'd sought help for their mental health issue. After successfully completing therapy under the care and direction of a licensed mental health clinician, their fire department would not allow them to come back to work (Yes, a WTF is certainly in order here).

I certainly don't know how widespread such incidents might be, but I do know that with the speed and reach that social media has these days even one or two incidents can quickly become perceived as being an "epidemic."

How can we say, on one hand, that taking care of the psychological needs of our firefighters is important, and yet on the other hand have a fire department deny a firefighter the opportunity to resume their career because they sought professional care for their psychological needs? It makes no sense.

Another fire service colleague, Dena Ali , a battalion chief with the Raleigh (N.C.) Fire Department, says it's not solely the calls--that create most mental challenges for firefighters and officer--but rather the organizations that they work for or belong to. Poor--or non-existent--leadership, poor or non-existent policies and SOGs, along with unaddressed problems like sexual harassment and workplace violence are just some of the mental health challenges that present to not only individuals but groups within the organization.

At the Fire Service Psychology Association- Admin , fire service leaders like me, psychologists, and other mental health clinicians are working to bridge the gap between professional psychology and the fire service. The components of that bridge must address much more than just intervention services, aka, treatment after a problem has arisen, and those other components are the other four domains of psychology:

Read Next: Why firefighters choose unsafe actions when they know better

Here's an excerpt from the article to whet your appetite to read the whole piece if you haven't already:

Have you ever wondered why firefighters who know how and when to use their SCBA take it off during a structural fire or overhaul? It’s like grabbing a bag of chips when we know we should be having a salad.

Much like there is a gap between people knowing what is healthy to eat and what they actually consume, there is a gap between firefighters knowing how to do their job safely and complying with safety. The FIRST Center named this gap the “Black Box of Decision-Making.” Firefighters know that they will be exposed to toxins and carcinogens from combustion, but often remove their SCBA nonetheless.

Why do firefighters sometimes make decisions that conflict with their knowledge?

This is one significant reason that we need more insights and input from the discipline of psychology in the fire service. Psychology can help fire service leaders to better understand the "why" that's needed to accomplish the "what."

In his January 2024 FireRescue1 article, Is it time to add a psychological section to our NIOSH reports?, Dr. Burton A. Clark, EFO , wrote that "We need to apply psychology to real incidents, specifically occupational traumatic fatalities, to get a clear picture of the mind to understand our behavior at the individual, interpersonal, group/team, organizational, discipline, and societal levels."

Washington, D.C., Here We Come

Hopefully, if you've not previously given thought to how psychology can help fire service organizations to improve, beyond just providing intervention services, my words today have created some spark to get "that fire" going.

Now I'm inviting you to join FSPA and get involved in "building that bridge!" And I'm also inviting you to come to the 7th Annual Conference of the Fire Service Psychology Association in Washington, D.C., October 3-4, 2024.

There you'll have the opportunity to hear great presentations like those from last year's conference in Atlanta, network with other fire service leaders,

psychologists, and other mental health clinicians, and begin your work to become "bi-lingual" (You understand both "Fire Speak" and "Psychology Speak!).