Peer Support & Mentoring

By Safe Call Now's Captain Brian Nanavaty

We make a living by what we get.  We make a life by what we give” – Winston Churchill 

Peer support andmentoring programs are usually found in the most effective and Innovative organizations. Employee peer support and mentoring promotes a smoother transition for new hires and results in long-term individual and career growth and crisis avoidance. However, less than 1% of public agencies have formal peer support and mentoring programs and most provide little or no training or referral resources. 

Peer support is an integral part of early crisis intervention and involves trained peers responding quickly and effectively to peer distress. Mentoring enhances peer support programs in that it is developmental based and long term. This 2-day Bulletproof Series instructional course provides Peers and Mentors with a proven methodology of successful crisis identification, peer interaction and internal and external resource utilization to promote the healthy development of employees at work and at home. This training is a natural complement to CISM and other peer support training programs.

*Consultation on designing and implementing an employee peer support and mentoring program for your agency is available.

For more information contact Safe Call Now®’s Director of Training and Curriculum, Captain Brian Nanavaty at bn@safecallnow.org or 317-339-5118

#1stresponders... How Do You Know if You Have PTSD???

By Safe Call Now's Dr. Laura Brodie Ph.D.

National statistics report that six out of every ten males and five out of every ten females will experience a serious, traumatic event in their lives. Although the trauma may be painful to experience, not every person who goes through a trauma will develop PTSD. Statistics also say that only 7-8% of these people will develop PTSD.   That is a relatively low number in the general population. The exact statistics of how many first responders develop PTSD is not known but to compare, it is estimated that 30% of Vietnam veterans developed the disorder.  It certainly does occur and is painful and devastating when it does occur but there is also a phenomena that occurs where people simply assume that since the individual has been through a trauma, then they have PTSD.

Working in the mental health field and teaching doctoral students I see this a lot. Because there is a trauma, the therapist simply assumes that all of the problems the individual is having are due to that trauma and they slap the diagnosis of PTSD onto the person. This is wrong and harmful. None of an individual’s psychological issues are caused by one defining moment. Individuals are much more nuanced and multifaceted to have every problem come from one source. It may make the individual feel better initially to believe that if they simply solve the one problem they will be “fixed” but it is a naïve belief and they are soon letdown when not everything is fixed.

Having a reaction of horror or disbelief in the early stages of a trauma is normal. Many times it is abnormal not to have a reaction a strong reaction to trauma. To pathologize a normal emotion to an abnormal situation robs the individual of his own ability to synthesize the trauma into his own psyche and work it through.  It tells the individual there is something wrong with you for having a normal reaction.

Life of a Corrections Officer in Recovery

By Safe Call Now Peer Advocate Tammy Norton

The public watches many new TV episodes these days of “Orange is the New Black” or “Prison Break” and they wonder, what is it really like to work in a prison setting? Sean prompted me to write a piece for the blog and intimidated I was, not because I didn’t have plenty to say, I have worked in prison settings for the past 21 years-I just didn’t know how to say it.

When you hire on as that new Correctional Officer you never know until you walk through those gates that lock you in-and THEM out-how you are going to feel about this new career choice you have made. I have seen many new recruits turn around and head straight back out the gate once they heard the sounds of the locking mechanisms that are prevalent in my work environment-slam shut. T.V. can’t describe that feeling you get when you are outnumbered 200 to 1 and all you carry is a set of keys, a radio, and if you are lucky, a small canister of pepper spray.

In our profession, we manage the worst personalities that society has deemed unacceptable to maintain in a free environment and we place them all together. We are expected to act in a professional and non-judgmental demeanor to deal with individuals who have committed atrocities against children, other law enforcement officers or members of their communities and maintain safe and secure yet humane environments for them to reside-protecting them and us from each other when necessary.