Increasing Resilience in Police and Emergency Personnel

Increasing Resilience in Police and Emergency Personnel illuminates the psychological, emotional, behavioral, and spiritual impact of police work on police officers, administrators, emergency communicators, and their families. Author Stephanie Conn, a board-certified police psychologist as well as a former police officer and dispatcher, debunks myths about weakness and offers practical strategies in plain language for police employees and their families struggling with traumatic stress and burnout. Sections of each chapter also offer guidance for frequently overlooked roles such as police administrators and civilian police employees. Using real-world anecdotes and exercises, this book provides strengths-based guidance to help navigate the many complex, and sometimes difficult, effects of police and emergency work. The second edition offers a variety of new first responder and wellness resources and addresses current demands placed on first responders, including exposure to chronic suffering, staffing shortages, burnout, organizational betrayal, and moral injury. It includes significant expansions of practical strategies based on advances in sleep science, optimizing performance and cognitive functioning based on developments in neuroscience, advanced peer support practices, and innovations in health and wellness.

Stephanie M. Conn, PhD, ABPP, is a former police officer, as well as the daughter and wife of police officers, and currently works as a therapist in private practice, contracted with multiple first-responder agencies and specializing in police stress, trauma, work-life balance, coping, and resilience. She began as a dispatcher/call-taker before becoming an officer with the Fort Worth Police Department and earning her doctorate in counseling psychology. She is board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in Police and Public Safety Psychology. She has also presented widely to emergency responders, sharing wisdom gained from her police experience, her research, and her therapy practice.

1 Are Police Resilient? 2 Challenges to Police & First Responder Resilience 3 Critical Police Incidents: Reactions and Recovery 4 Secondary Traumatic Stress: Uncomplicated Strategies for Complex Trauma 5 Non-Operational Stressors: Catching the Sneaky Resilience Thief 6 Building Resilience: Mental & Emotional Armor 7 Building Resilience: Social Support & Life Design 8 Building Resilience: Healthy Living 9 Help to Be Resilient 10 Agency Resilience Programs Appendix: Suggested Resources