Tuttle first responders prioritize mental health

Just reading detailed reports about the work police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical professionals do can be traumatizing.

It raises curiosities into how first responders can see these traumatizing things with their own eyes and continue doing their jobs every day while remaining professional and courteous.

Many people grow up believing that mental health is negligible, that to consider it at all is a weakness, or an excuse one gives themselves to underperform.

“That’s a common misconception,” Detective Shana Berryhill of the Tuttle Police Department said Wednesday, April 9. “Mental health, up until recent years, has been stigmatized, especially in careers like law enforcement, firefighting, nursing, and medicine. You’re expected to handle these things and be strong.”

Sharing insights into the emotional and psychological challenges faced by law enforcement officers, Detective Berryhill said, “Unfortunately, there’s a very dark side of society that law enforcement has to deal with every day, and it’s not just the bloody wrecks and that sort of thing. People understand that part. First responders are going to see people who are getting ready to die, a lot of blood, and that’s something society knows they deal with, but then there’s the darker side that law enforcement deals a little more closely with, and also caseworkers from DHS. They deal with that, and it’s something that society doesn’t really understand or realize. Sometimes, it’s a daily occurrence depending on an officer’s job description, department, or specialized task forces.”

Detective Berryhill emphasized that while the job can involve disturbing experiences, there’s a growing focus on wellness and mental health support.

“For a law enforcement officer,” she said, “especially a male officer, if you’re affected by something and seek help or take a mental health day, you might fear being labeled as weak. Fortunately, that stigma is starting to go away. People are more accepting now. It’s still a work in progress, but we’re getting there. People need to understand that seeking counseling or taking a mental health day doesn’t make you weak. It means you’re taking care of yourself so you can continue to serve those who depend on you.”

Tuttle Fire Chief William Smith agreed that those stigmas are starting to go away.

“There is a tremendous push for mental health in first responders now,” Chief Smith said. “The City of Tuttle has a plan in place that allows the firefighters to seek this help. I can set up sessions with counselors for individuals, or even groups. This comes at no cost to the firefighters.”

He added that emergency mental health support is also readily available.

“Our medical director, Heartland Medical Direction, has a PEER support group in place that I can contact immediately after events to speak with anyone who might feel affected, on-site or remotely.”

Detective Berryhill said veteran officers often step up to look out for the mental well-being of newer recruits.

“We look after each other,” she said. “The veterans, those who’ve been here for a while, we kind of look out for the new officers. If they’ve seen something particularly disturbing or gruesome, or if they seem surprised or affected by it, we ask them, ‘Hey, how are you doing? Are you alright?’ We remember the first time we saw something like that, like a gruesome car wreck or a dead body. So, we make sure to check on each other when it’s someone else’s first time. At our department, we encourage officers to seek help or counseling if they need it, especially if they’ve experienced something particularly disturbing. We encourage them to go to the chief or assistant chief and ask for time off or a wellness day. They’re very receptive and supportive. Insurance companies have become more supportive as well, and it’s getting better. It used to be worse, but as awareness grows, it gets better every day. There’s still a lot of work to do, but it’s definitely better than it used to be.”

Within the last ten years, there have been well over a dozen major studies carried out by organizations such as the National Institute of Justice, the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance, the University of Buffalo, the National Mental Health Innovation Center, and plenty more.

“Mental Disorder Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel in Canada,” published in 2018, featured a sample size of over 5,800 law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, dispatchers, and corrections officers. Findings showed that first responders across that country were feeling the impact of PTSD, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation at a rate of approximately 23 percent, compared to 9 percent in the general population.

The JAMA Network’s Open Study in 2020 featured a sample size of 56,388 first responders, mostly Japanese. It studied the prevalence of mental health problems affecting first responders involved in natural disasters, terrorist attacks, major car accidents, and major industrial accidents, finding that 2.7 percent of first responders are likely to develop PTSD within the first month of their careers, and that was before they could factor in the COVID-19 response.

Several of the most highly-regarded studies on the mental health impact of COVID-19, including 2021’s “RAPID Study on EMS Responders,” 2022’s “Meta-Analysis on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among First Responders,” and 2022’s “CDC Report on Public Health Workers,” all showed that prolonged exposure to COVID-19 response activities either created or worsened mental health challenges for tens of thousands of American first responders.

The International Association of Fire Fighters Report, in 2016, revealed PTSD levels in North American fire-fighters and paramedics were comparable to combat veterans, because of the repeated exposure to traumatic events. There was also a correlation to the mental health outcomes experienced too, like the desire to end their career, substance abuse, trouble sleeping, entertaining the idea of suicide, or anxiety disorders.

The RAND Corporation’s systematic review in 2021,”Stress Control for Military, Law Enforcement, and First Responders,” analyzed 115 studies, including 38 controlled trials, studying first responders from the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. It found that the coping mechanisms, and other successful methods for recovery, were also very similar between first responders and combat veterans.