By nature of their profession, first responders see more trauma than other citizens. The exposure to trauma takes its toll, but a stigma about asking for needed help exists among law enforcement officers, firefighters, dispatchers, emergency medical technicians, crime scene investigators, and other first responders. Vince Van Hasselt, Ph.D., is working to overcome that challenge through the First Responder Research and Training Program at the NSU College of Psychology.
“It’s estimated that at least 25 percent of first responders suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” Van Hasselt said. “Now, you may say that means maybe 70 or 75 percent don’t. But when you look at civilian levels of problems like PTSD, substance abuse, anxiety, and depression, they’re almost consistently at or around 5 or 6 percent.”
A member of the NSU faculty team for more than 30 years, Van Hasselt joined the staff because NSU was very supportive of the College of Psychology and wanted faculty members who were willing to teach and conduct research. When he began working with first responders as a consultant, his audience was appreciative of his effort but also informed him that unless he did the job, he wouldn’t understand it.
“Frankly, I got tired of hearing that,” Van Hasselt said. “I thought, let me go through the academy. Let me get certified. They were right. I tell my students they don’t have to become a police officer or a firefighter to work with them. But they sure better get a pretty good understanding of the nature of their jobs.”
After graduating from the police academy, Van Hasselt became a part-time officer of the City of Plantation Police Department while maintaining his full-time job at NSU. His on-the-job experience opened up possibilities in terms of mental health applications with law enforcement. Over the years, his work expanded to include fire rescue personnel, crime scene investigators, emergency communication operators, as well as detention deputies.
The first responder program focuses on two primary areas—assessment and prevention. NSU offers behavioral health training to help first responders prevent major mental health issues—anxiety, depression, substance use, sleep problems, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide risk.
Peer support training is also conducted, integrating coactive listening skills, relationship building, rapport building, and scenario-based training exercises. Volunteers learn how to identify high-risk behaviors or problem behaviors, signs, and symptoms of difficulties in their peers, with the goal of early identification, detection, and prevention.
Van Hasselt’s First Responder Research and Training Program also offers an Optimizing Performance Program, with a focus on sports-oriented diet, nutrition, health, and exercise. The initiative was initially created for fire rescue personnel and has received a very positive response thus far. There is also a research component that studies all first responders. Each and every one of them has significant trauma exposure, putting them at particularly high risk for mental health problems. What’s traumatic for a police officer or a firefighter is going to be different from a crime scene investigator or dispatcher.
Dispatchers, for example, deal with individuals experiencing the worst 10 to 15 minutes of the worst days of their lives. They have to decide what kind of response is needed and then move on to the next call. They get no resolution. Crime scene investigators may spend hours processing the site of a horrendous murder and be exposed to tremendous trauma while doing their jobs.
“Part of our goal is to educate and encourage first responders to feel more comfortable opening up, seek help when necessary, and to fight back against that culture and stigma,” Van Hasselt said. “When I started, there was very little discussion of anything having to do mental health and few services or training programs of any kind available. That has changed significantly, although we’re not where we need to be yet.”
Students in the College of Psychology play a large role in the first responder program. Doctoral candidates in clinical psychology serve as trainers in the behavioral health and peer support workshops. They learn how to engage the first responders and not rely solely on statistics, numbers, and PowerPoint slides. First responders want information that translates to their lives and their jobs. Students are also encouraged to participate in ride-a-longs with police officers, fire rescue personnel, and EMS trucks to interact with first responders and better understand their jobs. Stress management training—the ability to debrief first responders after a critical incident such as the death of a child or a serious injury in the line of duty—is another component students experience.
“An important part of my position is to provide students with the opportunities they need to gain experience working with the first responder groups,” Van Hasselt said. “I want students to come out of our program ready to go to work with a first responder agency and know what to do and how to do it. I’ve had many of my students over the years go right into positions at local, state, and federal levels. And it’s largely because they have experience.”
Van Hasselt’s First Responder Research and Training Program also collaborates with agencies and organizations to provide peer support and conduct research opportunities, including a recent effort with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office that offered peer support training to corrections officers. The First Responder Program also completed a recent project with the U.S. Marshal Service on the National Wellness Survey for Public Safety Personnel. That effort involved 14 different first responder groups, including professional and volunteer firefighters, wildlife firefighters, dispatchers, homicide detectives, and EMS.
In addition, the first responder program received a Quality of Life grant from NSU to assess the stress and resilience of emergency communications operators.
Van Hasselt would like to see even more being done for first responders, including applied research for behavioral health assessments, more peer support, and further development and expansion of current programs.
“I feel very strongly about this area and the people doing this work. I just think they don’t get the attention they deserve,” Van Hasselt said. “I’m very grateful for my experience at NSU. There’s always been a lot of support and encouragement for the work I’m doing.”
For more information on how you can support the First Responder Research and Training Program at Nova Southeastern University, contact Susanne Marshall, executive director of development, at (954) 262-3014 or msusanne@nova.edu.