At Health Psychology Group, we offer
individual treatment to help manage the stress inherent in police work. We have provided evaluation, treatment
and in some cases documentation to a department to provide support during administrative
procedures.
We have provided short-term
interventions to help in managing critical incidents, psychotherapy and
completed pension disability applications.
Dr. Steinberg is a Board Certified
Disability Analyst, Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress and trained in
Critical Incident Stress Management.
Police Officers experience unique stress as a result of
their profession including:
- Dealing with shift work
- Perceived unnecessary paperwork
- Antagonistic “subcultures” within the department
- Perceived favoritism within the department
- Perceived lack of public support
In addition, officers are often confronted with Critical
Incidents, which are sudden, powerful events, outside the realm of normal
experience.
- These events include:
- Line of duty death/shooting
- Serious Injury
- Police Suicide
- Mass Casualty event
- Death/Maltreatment of a child
- Prolong events ending unfavorably
- Excessive media interest
- Events with personal meaning
- Administrative abandonment
- Other significant incidents
As a result of these critical events, police often
experience “normal” reactions to “abnormal” events for a period of time. Changes can be experienced physically,
cognitively, emotionally, or behaviorally.
There are factors that influence an officer’s experience
with Critical Incident Stress including:
- The nature of the event, degree of loss or threat
- The officer’s role in the scene
- The amount of control over the stressor and degree of
warning
- Experience with prior similar events
- Current life stressors and existing coping mechanisms
- Departmental Procedures
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