First Responder Psychological Support

WTF is Borderline?

I go thru the criteria for this diagnosis, suggest treatment, and welcome you to my new podcast: MINDSET at https://anchor.fm/sarah-gura3

UnFcK Myself

10 Ideas for making it thru difficulty

Do This Laying Down

Allostasis: state changing. This is a guide to chillax.

UPDATE

Hello! It’s been since September 2021. This is a brief podcast to say hello and welcome back. Cheers!

The Ego & It’s Defenses

Ego: id, ego, and super-ego will use “defense mechanisms” to protect you. Becoming more aware of your ego’s patterned defenses is a helpful pre-requisite for choosing to change.

F3 & F4: Feeling (Your) F$&@ing Feelings

I explain why feeling your f$&@ing feelings is wise.

Meditation

As we start Season 4 in crazy times, I encourage you to meditate. Here is a starting point. Whatever you get out of it, you get out of it. Whatever stirs, can be insightful. Enjoy. Note: Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

Policy IV

Intervention strategy up for debate. Shadow contributed as usual, lol

Policy III

I’m reading you what I have written in the past, lol, don’t fall asleep. Shadow pug hacks in the background on this one too. Enjoy!

Policy II

Bullet point topics for your first responder psychological support policy is here!

Policy Part I

This is for all the first responder activists who ask me for psychological policy information. It’s just a start, but maybe someday we can make a positive, relevant, and significant difference for first responders.

It doesn’t EVER get better

It doesn’t get better or easier, but you can get wiser. Life will always be challenging. You have a choice to face difficulty or not. My hope is that you learn to cope. Dog snores in the background, enjoy!

You Are NOT the Job

A quick message to remind you: you are a human. Your goal is to sleep well at night, eat healthy, hydrate, and choose joy. If you don’t love you, who will?

Psych Meds for First Responders

We all should support first responders who are prescribed psych meds by a psychiatrist without judgment. First responder careers are doozies & sometimes the occupational hazards are psychological (not just physical).

Body Before the Mind

A suggestion about coping: address your physical need to state change first. Other coping skills: intellectual, cognitive, emotional, physical, social, behavioral, and spiritual.

Nate Carroll

Interview with Nate Carroll, Push Through Challenge, Tunnel2Towers Foundation Link: http://Tunnel2Towers.org Video Link to watch: https://fb.watch5c68uT82jb/

Reminders for Leaders

First responder careers are stressful; don’t be a dick. Be awesome: appropriate, available, and fun!

Men’s Psychology

Just a few thoughts about my experience as a shrink for mostly men, and how a counseling set of sessions go down.

Ate Up With a Dumbass

Let’s talk about feeling bad, and then how to recognize the patterns that cause it. Also, I visit ideas about coping and self-care when you’re feeling like shit.

After a Bad Call, The Basics

Did you recently experience a bad call at your department or while on duty? Listen to this podcast to learn about the first 24-72 hours. You’ll learn about acute stress disorder, what’s normal, and what trauma therapists may start off with for suggestions (self care).

Interview with DC Naydenoff (Police)

Scott and I have presented and consulted with each other about first responder behavioral health in the past. We’re both happy to provide another discussion for “food for thought” regarding this near and dear topic.

Dr. Carrie Steiner

In this episode, I interview Dr. Carrie Steiner, who was a Chicago Police Officer. She is now a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who treats first responders.

AnxiousAF

I explain some ideas about anxiety (where it comes from and how to navigate it). Seeing your own patterns and lovingly approaching your Boogieman is the main focus.

AddictedAF

I define addiction and the scale: use, misuse, abuse, tolerance, addiction, dependence, withdrawal. I emphasize how addiction is a self-love deficit and that you have to treat addiction like it’s a wound you have to heal (not ignore, deny, minimize, or numb).

Life is Life Threatening

As I plan to outline Season 3 (with more interviews and specific information about different mental health symptoms and diagnoses), I have been noticing what I keep repeating in therapy sessions. This episode covers 11 ideas that I revisit with first responders OFTEN.

Voodoo & Anger

Voodoo: I tell you about my funky bracelets I wear everyday. Anger: I talk about anger as a way you communicate to yourself & others -and how to think about anger so you can cope with it better.

Little Drummer Boy

When you’re worried, and you can’t sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep (and listen to the Little Drummer Boy). You’ll fall asleep. Haha! Many people ask me for “tips and tricks” for how to cope. My favorite answer is explained in the Little Drummer Boy lyrics. https://youtu.be/0w3dhTejMI0

First Responder Relationships

Jessica McCormack, LMFT, couples counselor and I talk about first responder relationships. www.insightandconnection.com

Stop Blaming My Childhood

I spend the whole podcast blaming your childhood! However, my hope is you understand how precious you are; and that you treat yourself with loving kindness (always).

Self Love Stigma

I talk about the reasons first responders don’t think self-love is a good idea. I discuss what thinking errors they have about self-love & self-care. I also give some ideas about how to address this.

Know Thyself, Love Thyself

This is my most yogi, Buddhist Psychology podcast yet. But! We spent Season 1 talking about trauma and introductory information about the psychology of first responder careers. Somewhere, in the midst of this insanity -I wanted to introduce knowing and loving yourself through it all.

Mental Health Professionals

I explain psychology professional degrees, licenses, release of information, subpoena, and court order.

Patty Dirilten, First Responder Therapist

Patty and I have our first public conversation about our careers with First Responders. We discuss our wish for policy and our hopes for the future of first psychological support. https://insightandconnection.com/

Reflecting with Sarah

Season 1 is over! 12 of 12 episodes are complete; and I recap the highlights for you. I also have some ending thoughts about first responder psychological support for your consideration. I invite you to listen in for Season 2!

The Limbic System

In this episode, I use $100 words that explain your brain structures and functions. I explain the brain’s process of taking in stressful, overwhelming, and/or traumatic experiences -and how human it is (aka how normal it is) to have a reaction to upsetting information/exposures. My dogs hijack us at the end.

Intro to Treating Trauma

I discuss how I initially started treating first responder traumas. I introduce my use of Francine Shapiro’s EMDR/AIP Model, as well as other therapy processes. Resource: emdria.org for more information and a national registry of EMDR therapists.

Intro to Trauma

In this episode, I describe how I assess you & your trauma. I define 3 categories of trauma, including: complex trauma (under 21yo), PTSD (critical incident or potentially traumatic event) and trauma (repetition compulsion/reliving or recreating trauma).

Having is Wanting

This podcast discusses the sensitive and controversial topic of how you cause your own suffering by not being conscious of repetition compulsion. Humans make several seemingly unimportant decisions that amount to us reliving our traumas.

Pain is Inevitable, Suffering is an Option

In previous podcasts, I provided a vocabulary for identifying how first responders are in pain, and how I have noticed they react to pain. This episode provides an introduction for how to respond to pain.

Intro to Mindfulness

I remind you that you have everything you need to succeed. I explain you have two sources of knowledge (head and heart) that must be aligned; and I discuss how time & mental health are relevant to each other. This podcast starts the explanation for how to cope with everything (yes, everything) in life.

Make It Safe & Resource Folder

After the intro podcast and sharing signs & symptoms, I wanted to plant the seed for how we “Make it Safe” in your department to have a psychological support culture. I also review what should be in your resource folder on a shared drive for everyone to have access to at your department.

Signs and Symptoms of First Responders

Some of the repeat-experiences/observations in the therapy office and on ride-alongs are discussed. Categories include: cognitive, emotional, physical, behavioral, social, and spiritual.

Intro to First Responder Mental Health

This podcast reviews behavioral health as an occupational issue. Vocabulary covered: PTE, SIC, suicide ideation levels, types of trauma, vicarious trauma, trauma bonding, empath/co-dependent and compassion fatigue, and relationship concerns.

Who is Sarah

This first segment explains my journey to becoming a first responder therapist, and how I got to this point in my career. The following episodes will dive right into first responder behavioral health topics.

First Responder Psychological Support (Trailer)