Ramblings of an Idiot - Mental Health - Editorial

Police officers across the United States are told that police suicide, and PTSD is the most dangerous mental health condition that is out there. The impacts of PTSD and suicide are great to the individuals directly involved and destroy lives, but there are many more mental health conditions that cause clinical impact on an officers life and wellbeing. As a profession we need to address, Social Anxiety, Anxiety, Depression, and Substance abuse as well and many others. The DSM is close to 800+ Pages of diagnostic/relevant clinical illness that are mental health impactful. During National Police Week week need to focus on every officer. As thought leaders, law enforcement and mental health professionals are we neglecting the rest of the officers/families.

I am actively conducting research into Law Enforcement Wellness, and I have found one agency that officers EAP for spouses of police officers as well as the officer themselves. This is a unique program that should be evaluated, as it is a great thing.

We as both law enforcement professionals and mental health professionals, should start to address all mental health concerns. Looking into viable options to keep others safe within their own minds and families. Mental health spills over and impacts work, home, family and friends.

Across the landscape of the United States it seems people (mental health professionals working with law enforcement), are more concerned with keeping their fiefdom, kingdom or span of influence or control. To demonstrate that "they" alone are the experts in mental health. This includes policy groups PERF/IACP/NSA/Police Foundation/COPS Office as well as practices, and individual providers. If we purely look at the different theories of therapy, and thought schools related to treatment there is no one singular approach that works, otherwise there would be only one approach. This is and will always be a work in progress, as what is old is new age, and new things come out. Thing about the evaluation of EMDR, and ART Therapies, the success of Ketamine assistant approaches, and implications towards all victims of trauma not just law enforcement. Personally, and professionally I am looking forward toward more research of the use of ketamine and other psychedelic treatments.

I contend and believe that more therapeutic benefits to help law enforcement retired and actives are sharing with officers what mental health truly looks like, how to appropriate/reasonably select a mental health professional, look at realistic clinical outcomes, and creating a therapeutic alliance to address mental health concerns.

SOOOOO......what is the real message that needs to be shared. The real message is address stress, addressing and understanding the "common" mental health conditions that are out there in society. As we know as professionals, most officers get some psychological screening before entering the field, so there is some modicum of insurance to demonstrate that officers are not entering the field have a disease or defect that is impacting their overall mental health prior to the start of their career. These would include serious and persistent mental health conditions, or those that align with a personality disorder.

What are the next steps? Well I am glad that you asked, the next steps are to address normalizing mental health in the profession. Normalizing the information that officers have the same "normal" present mental health conditions as the rest of society, which is also ok. It shows that officers are no different than anyone else.

To discuss that when stress increases so generally does anxiety. Anxiety is both a feeling, and avoidance of actions, activities or behaviors. Anxiety may not present itself in running toward danger, but in the benign activities of life. A doctors appointment, a child running late, a supervisor calling over the radio to speak with you, the recruit who was just told they made a mistake on a traffic stop, who is in fear of losing their job. Because as we know all officers are taught during the first year of work, you can lose your job for anything. Officers think the smallest career progressive developmental mistake is a career end, Earth shattering event. There is a reason that officers go to "rookie or recruit" school, then spend a period of time on FTO. It is because there is a growth and learning period. FTO's should be taught, trained to recognize signs of anxiety in recruits, as well as those in charge of training.

But I am allowing my rambling to go on, and that is not the purpose. We need to start working together, and not pushing at each other to help officers. In case, I have any of my Minnesota based colleagues think this is specifically aimed at them, they would be wrong. This is a global/United State policing level view.