“Three Reasons Police Officers (first responders or public service personnel) Stay Away From Mental Health Professionals… And How to Change That”

• Courtesy of Jason Childers PhD.

For various – and some very legitimate – reasons, the overwhelming majority of officers (first responders or PSP) will not seek treatment from a mental health professional. Most officers (first responders or PSP) choose to live with their symptoms rather than admit and confront the internal challenges they face. However, the failure to recognize and address mental health problems within law enforcement (first responders or PSP) has led to the sad statistic that more die of suicide than from gunfire and traffic accidents combined.

The first and foremost reason officers (first responders or PSP) don’t seek out help is the same reason many others within society keep their difficulties to themselves: the stigma surrounding mental health. Unlike typical medical treatment for a physical disease or condition, there is a perception of “there is something wrong with you” that goes along with mental health treatment. Something such as a musculoskeletal injury or diabetes is considered to be external in a sense that it has happened to a person, while mental health problems are viewed as something internally wrong with someone and as a part of who that person is as a human being.

Of particular concern for police officers (first responders or PSP) living with PTSD is how this stigma affects their career, including promotional opportunities and job assignments, courtroom testimony, and worrying about being placed on desk duty or even being fired by administrators or other officials who have little to no understanding of mental health issues.

However, the large number of officers (first responders or PSP) who continue to work and function within their departments despite their symptoms is a testament to the fact that police officers are highly capable of performing their duties even when they meet the criteria to be diagnosed with PTSD.

This is not to say that there are not certain severe and debilitating cases that warrant light duty or even termination or resignation, but overall, police officers (first responders or PSP) are mentally capable and competent to handle the demands placed upon them, even when they may be struggling to control their symptoms.

On top of issues surrounding mental health stigma is the culture of stoicism, which can be defined as the endurance of pain or hardship without a display of feelings and without complaint. Digging further into it, Wikipedia (n.d.) provides the following information:

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished throughout the Roman and Greek world until the 3rd century AD… According to its teachings, as social beings, the path to happiness for humans is found in accepting that which we have been given in life, by not allowing ourselves to be controlled by our desire for pleasure or our fear of pain, by using our minds to understand the world around us and to do our part in nature’s plan, and by working together and treating others in a fair and just manner.

To a point, this philosophy is necessary in police (first responder or PSP) work. Separating one’s feelings and emotions from the trauma and stress of the immediate scene is about the only way to see an incident through to its conclusion. They would be unable to do their jobs otherwise. But to completely and permanently separate yourself from your feelings and emotions is to lose your humanity. Those emotions have to be processed at some point, or they remain bottled up inside. That is where the second part of stoicism comes in

… by using our minds to understand the world around us and to do our part in nature’s plan…

Police officers (first responder or PSP) play a vital role in maintaining civilization. The problem is, it can be difficult to truly understand the world in which they operate, even for officers. Though they all come from various backgrounds, their life experiences are generally “normal” before they are thrust into an abnormal world of violence, trauma and human misery. Almost immediately, they are exposed to an abnormal world in which people kill or savagely maim other human beings; in which monsters molest children; and in which people are seriously injured or killed through accidents, assaults, and suicides. And perhaps most abnormal of all is for someone to go to work every day and face the very real threat of violence being inflicted upon them by another person. Even though cops are prepared through training to confront all of these things, the images, sounds, smells, and emotions are not things the psyche can easily process over and over throughout one’s career.

The world of police works leads to the third reason police officers (first responders or PSP) don’t seek out mental health treatment – their distrust of mental health professionals (and just about everyone else who isn’t a cop). Police officers live within a very closed society, having very few friends outside of their jobs. Though there are other factors involved, one of the main reasons is they get tired of trying to explain their work to people who can’t and often won’t understand. Of all people who should understand are mental health professionals, but even then, it isn’t guaranteed. Once officers have reached a point where they may need to reach out for mental health treatment, they’ve also reached a point of self-imposed isolation and distrust of much of the rest of society.

So they go to work, day in and day out, many living with untreated symptoms of PTSD. Their personal and work relationships suffer, they become stressed and burnt-out, and some self-medicate with alcohol.

This needs to change. Especially if one wants experienced and capable officers to provide high levels of quality service throughout an entire career without becoming mentally and emotionally spent.

If you’re a cop reading this, I encourage you to take some action to help yourself and your fellow officers. Increase awareness of stress and PTSD within your department. Teach a class on stress management, or bring someone in to put it on if you don’t have the expertise. Talk about it as an issue that needs to be addressed and extend empathy and understanding to co-workers who may be going through a rough time. Reach out to local mental health professionals to establish a working relationship and educate them on police work before they’re needed. If you’re an administrator, put something in place for your officers! Make it clear to them through policy and your actions that their jobs will not be placed in jeopardy for seeking professional help. If you cared enough to rise up through the ranks, the wellness and health of your officers should be at the top of your mind.

If you’re a mental health professional reading this, reach out to your local police agencies (first responder or PSP). Give them a free course on mental health issues and get to know the officers on a first name basis. Having a familiar face and a name to reach out to when they need help will break down some of the barriers. Help eliminate the stigma of mental illness, both within police agencies (first responder or PSP) and your community. Not only will local officers benefit, but so will the communities they serve. Educate officers on the differences between seeing a licensed counsellor, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, or a typical medical doctor, how these differences play out in medical records, and how these records are protected.