the guardian march 2013

In this Issue:

President’s

Message 2

Sheldon Glacier 2

IAEM-APUS

Student Page 3

Upcoming APUS

IAEM SC Elections 4

The Crow 6

Upcoming IAEM

Events 7

Post-Traumatic

Stress Disorder 8

A bimonthly publication of the

International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)

Student Chapter at

American Public University System

March 2013 Volume 7, Issue 2

The Guardian

Greetings:

It seems like just yesterday that

we were ringing in the New

Year; today, I find myself day-

dreaming about warm weather,

barbeques, and the ocean.

Spring is almost here and many

of us are anxious for the changes

that it will bring. Sunshine,

flowers, birds chirping, the

smell of freshly cut grass- it’s all

so picturesque (until, of course,

we remember that we are the

ones that need plant the flowers,

weed the garden, and cut the

lawn!). Spring will also bring

changes to the IAEM Student

Chapter at APUS. As many of

you know, elections are held

each spring; new officers will

succeed to their positions on

May 1. Change is one of those

things that people tend to resist;

as a group of emergency manag-

ers, we know that change is

inevitable. I urge you as a chap-

ter to embrace elections and not

only accept the change, but be-

come part of the change.

Whether running for a role in

the executive board or becom-

ing active in one of our commit-

tees, the modifications you

make to your participation this

year will benefit both you and

the student chapter. Make a

commitment to attend more of

the monthly teleconferences,

join in more emergency man-

agement discussions online, or

join a committee. This group

does not exist without its mem-

bers; as the executive board for

2013-2014 takes office, they

deserve to be backed by the

overwhelming support of our

250+ members. I can tell you

from experience that neither the

President nor the Executive

Board can run this chapter by

themselves; we rely on your

participation. If you can dedicate

a handful of minutes per week

to the chapter, we want to hear

from you. You will be surprised

how involvement in the chapter

will correlate with other aspects

of your lives; I have been

amazed to see how IAEM has

helped me professionally and in

my education.

As Gandhi has famously said,

“Be the change that you wish to

see in the world.”

In this case, I urge you to be

the change that you wish to see

in this chapter. This chapter is

run by members and was cre-

ated for the members; if there

is something that you want to

see happen within the chapter,

do not refrain from speaking

up! I look forward to hearing

from all of you and seeing the

changes materialize this year.

Amanda Metzger,

President

IAEM SC APUS

Message f rom the President

On The Cover: Sheldon Glac ier

Amanda Metzger,

President of the

IAEM Student Chapter

~~~~~

Contact Amanda at:

APUS.IAEM@GMAILCOM

The Guardian

APUS IAEM Officers

2012-2013

President:

Amanda Metzger

Vice President:

Allen Straub

Secretary:

Karyn Harwood-

Myers

Treasurer:

Vacant

~~

~~

Past Presidents:

Craig Mercier

Jim Garlits

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Karen Cieslewicz

Editor, The Guardian:

Victoria C. Locey

Volume 7, Issue 2

View of Sheldon Glacier with Mount Barre in the background, seen from Ryder Bay near Rothera Research Station, Adelaide Island, Antarctica.

A new NASA/British Antarctic Survey study examines why Antarctic sea ice cover has increased under the effects of climate change over the past two

decades.

Image credit: British Antarctic Survey

Photo accessed from NASA at: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/antarctica20121112.html

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/antarctica20121112.html

Volume 7, Issue 2

IAEM @ APUS Student Page

WANT TO JOIN OUR CHAPTER?

go to:

https://www.iaem.com/members_online/

members/newmember.asp

And join as a student for $40

Once you have joined IAEM, you will receive an email

receipt verifying that you joined or renewed. Forward

the email along with your APUS student ID number to:

Amanda Metzger at:

[email protected]

Upcoming Events & Membership Information

You can participate in the IAEM-APUS Monthly

Membership Meetings by calling toll free:

Teleconference Number: (866) 706-1130 ~ Passcode: 4201538

March 16, 2013 12:00 noon

April 20, 2013 12:00 noon

May 18, 2013 12:00 noon

IAEM Student Chapter at APUS

Masters of Disasters: AMU/APU Emergency

Management & Homeland Security Students

APUS_IAEM

Follow us on

FaceBook, Linked In, or Twitter

The Guardian

https://www.iaem.com/members_online/members/newmember.asp

https://www.iaem.com/members_online/members/newmember.asp


UPCOMING APUS -IAEM STUDENT CHAPTER

ELECTIONS

The Guardian Volume 7, Issue 2

A message from the APUS-IAEM SC President:

Fellow IAEM Members,

It is hard to believe, but election time is here! The new executive board will take office on May 1. In order to facilitate a smooth transition, election results will be announced April 1. This will give the departing board and incoming board time to make a successful exchange and avoid any delay in membership activities.

Listed on the next page are the roles of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Please take some time to read them over and determine which role is right for you! If you are interested in running, please email [email protected]. Campaigning will begin immediately. After I announce your candidacy, please use all of the IAEM resources to promote yourself. FaceBook, LinkedIn, The Quad, and Twitter will all be great ways for you to connect with group members. In addition, our next conference call on March 16 will be dedicated to elections; the candidates will have this time to introduce themselves and ex-plain why they are running for office.

Polling will open immediately after the March teleconference and last two weeks: March 16 through March 30. We will be using a site called BallotBin to vote. The link to polling will be provided to you in a separate email.

Keep in mind that running for office is great for your resume! It counts towards your CEM/AEM and can be a stepping stone to a position in in IAEM regional or national office. It is also an amazing networking opportunity. I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you sincerely consider running for office.

Amanda Metzger

President

APUS IAEM SC


Volume 7, Issue 2 The Guardian

The President is the principal Officer of the Chapter and is responsible for leading the Chapter and managing its activities in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Region, IAEM-USA, IAEM, APUS, these By-laws, and the APPs. The duties of the President shall include:

-Serving as the primary Chapter contact to the Region, IAEM-USA, and IAEM -Organizing, setting the agenda, and presiding at all Membership and Executive Board meetings -Distributing pertinent Region, IAEM-USA, and IAEM information to the Membership and the Executive Board

The Vice President is responsible for:

-Performing the duties of the President in his/her absence and assist the President in the management of the Chapter -Other duties as assigned by the President

The Secretary is responsible for:

-Assisting the President in the management of the Chapter -Recording and distributing the minutes of all Chapter and Executive Board meetings to the appropriate persons -Handling official correspondence pertaining to Chapter business -Maintaining all non-financial records of the Chapter -Gathering information and completing all required IAEM and APUS applications and renewals -Other duties as assigned by the President

The Treasurer is responsible for:

-Assisting the President in the management of the Chapter -Facilitating all financial interactions related to the Chapter, including but not limited to collecting funds, making deposits, fundraising, paying bills, facilitating reimbursements, and overseeing the distribution of funds to the Membership -Maintaining the Chapter’s financial records -Serving as the primary manager for all elections -Abide by all IAEM and APUS policies concerning, fundraising, financial recording and reporting -Other duties as assigned by the President

UPCOMING APUS -IAEM STUDENT CHAPTER

ELECTIONS

Greetings Everyone:

I am sorry to say that the March 2013 issue of The Guardian will be the last edition

that I will be publishing. Well, I will be graduating soon and will be focusing all my time and

energy on searching for a full-time job. I am hoping that my wonderful education at APU will

land me employment within the field of Emergency Management.

I have greatly enjoyed preparing each and every APUS-IAEM student chapter

newsletter for you. I think the greatest pleasure was looking for new and unusual photos to

share. It has been a wonderful experience for me and I wish all of you the best as you embark

on your journey and any future endeavors you aim to achieve.

Victoria Locey

THE CROW


The Crow flies to and fro, watching everything going on below.

He notices when an IAEM@APUS chapter member

(or any APUS student in EDM, Homeland Security, or Fire Sciences, really)

distinguishes himself or herself by reaching out to help in time of crisis.

Accolades and attaboys are also welcome.

To crow about your own accomplishments, send a picture and a paragraph to

the editor and we’ll make sure your feats of greatness are properly squawked

about in a future issue of

The Guardian

IAEM 61st Annual Conference & Emergency Management Expo


The IAEM Annual Conference provides a forum for current trends and

topics, information about the latest tools and technology in emer-gency management and homeland security, and advances IAEM com-

mittee work.

Sessions encourage stakeholders at all levels of government, the pri-

vate sector, public health and related professions to exchange ideas

on collaborating to protect lives and property from disaster.

If you are an emergency manager, homeland security official, first

response coordinator, private industry risk manager or contingency planner, you will not want to miss the IAEM 61st Annual Conference

& EMEX 2013 in Reno, Nevada.

Silver Legacy Hotel & Reno Events Center

Reno, Nevada

October 25 - 30, 2013

Other Upcoming Events:

May 29-30, 2013

Disaster Readiness Conference of 2013

Sponsored by Washington State Hospital Association

The Coast Wenatchee Center Hotel & Convention Center, Wenatchee, WA

June 23-26, 2013

2013 World Conference on Emergency Management: “The Power of Global Networking”

Supported by IAEM

Metro Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, Canada

September 9-13, 2013

National Emergency Management Association:

NEMA 2013 Annual Emergency Management Policy and Leadership Forum

Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage, Alaska

For a complete list of events and further details go to: www.iaem.com

http://www.iaem.com

The Problem:

A law enforcement of-ficer's job may consist of high speed pursuits, hostage negotiation, crime scene investiga-tions, and many other variables that can pre-sent stressful situations. These job environment stressors can turn each day or routine situations into atrocities. The offi-cer eventually will deny these horrific events to avoid the personal emo-tional impact, which may turn from verbally dis-cussing these issues to physical symptoms of psychological trauma. The officers who con-tinually endure traumatic events may suffer psy-chological harm leading to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Post-traumatic stress disorder

and lack of proper cop-ing techniques may lead to an officer's inability to manage and properly handle stress, which may provoke intense controversy leading to domestic violence, ad-diction, suicide, and in-appropriate behavior. Conversely, the stigma associated with psycho-log i ca l counse l i ng heightens the complexity of addressing mental and behavioral health concerns. As a result, this lack of psychological counseling may lead to the failure to seek help in resuming the normal course of life from the repeated interrupts of the trauma.

Factors Bearing on the Problem:

1. One of the primary

consequences leading to PTSD occurs when a person constantly works in an environment that frequently involves trau-matic events. Psycho-logical trauma afflicts powerlessness that ren-ders the victim helpless by an overwhelming force (Herman, 1997). These overwhelming forces create havoc over normal human adapta-tions to life. Traumatic events involve threats to life or bodily integrity, a close personal encounter with violence and death that creates intense fear, helplessness, and loss of control and threat o f e x t e r m i n a t i o n (American Psychiatric Association (APA), Diag-nostic and statistical manual of mental disor-ders [DSM-IV], 2000; Herman, 1997; Rees &

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: When Life Becomes Unbearable

The Guardian

Written By:

Sheri Sperin

Volume 7, Issue 2

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, is classified as a severe

anxiety disorder that can occur after witnessing or experiencing a psychologically

traumatic incident that involved threats, injuries, and even death.

PTSD can overwhelmingly affect one’s ability to cope with normal life events

and can last for extended periods of time.

PTSD is most often associated with military personnel but it is also

prevalent among emergency responders who experience post-traumatic stress

and other anxiety disorders after being exposed to disasters or

cataclysmic incidents.

“...PTSD occurs

when a person

constantly works

in an

environment that

frequently

involves

traumatic

events”

Volume 7, Issue 2

Smith, 2007; Solomon & Mikulincer, 2007; Krysin-ska & Lester, 2010).

2. Trauma causes a mali-cious circle of dysfunc-tion that leads to domes-tic violence. When stress occurs from trauma this can cause the police offi-cer to affect his or her family negatively. This may cause resentment from family members due to loss of time spent with the families, a lack of support, conflict with family and friends, and bringing home stress from work (Haines, 2003). 3. Trauma can lead to alcohol addiction that may result in suicide. When police officers work under constant ten-sion they attempt to es-cape stressful events through alcohol con-sumption (Leino, Eske-linen, Summala, & Virta-nen, 2011). Additionally, self-medicating with alco-hol in an attempt to re-lieve anxiety and depres-sion associated with work-related stress can nor-mally be found with po-lice officers suffering from PTSD. 4. The stigma associated with psychological coun-

seling may heighten the complexity of addressing the individual police offi-cer's failure to seek help. Stigma and discrimina-tion has long been prob-lematic in seeking psy-chological counseling for crisis intervention. Police officers look upon this as a detriment to their fit-ness-for-duty status that leads to low self-esteem and hopelessness that deters them from seek-ing treatment, ser-vices, and support (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admini-stration [SAMHSA], 2006). Unfortu-nately, this often leads law enforce-ment personnel to become embar-rassed or ashamed that they camou-flage their symp-toms. Discussion:

At one time PTSD was associated with only military per-sonnel. The psy-chological trauma was first recognized during World War I as shell shock and World War II as combat neurosis (Herman, 1997). Toward the end of the Vietnam

War, there was a large-scale investigation of the long-term psychological effects of combat after extended periods of ex-posure and PTSD was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth E d i t i o n ( D S M - I V ) (Herman, 1997).

Post-traumatic stress

disorder has rapidly be-come a facet within the

law enforcement commu-nity since the terrorist attacks of the 1980s. Post-traumatic stress dis-order has been diag-nosed among fire fight-ers, police officers who

The Guardian

Continued on Page 10


with PTSD. The main category, intrusive auto-biographical memories occur from past negative events common to post-traumatic stress disorder (Solomon & Mikulincer, 2007).

A hallmark feature of

PTSD is re-experiencing the trauma through dis-tressing intrusive memo-ries (DSM-IV, 2000). These intrusive memo-ries emulate the ineradi-cable imprint of the trau-matic instant, which traumatized people re-live the events as though it was constantly recurring (Herman, 1997). When this hap-pens, a person cannot resume his or her nor-mal activities of daily living because the trauma repeatedly inter-rupts (Herman, 1997). Activities of daily living involve functioning mo-bility of the basic tasks of everyday life, such as eating, dressing, paying bills, working, hygiene, grooming, and caring for one’s children.

Furthermore, Rees and Smith (2008) theorize that PTSD is not neces-sarily a mental disorder, though its symptoms may manifest as such,

but its causes are from physiological and emo-tional changes in the body. They further indi-cate that the work police officers do and the way in which they learn how to live with traumatic events, keeps them in an ongoing cycle of retrau-matisation. Robbers and Jenkins (2005) imply that PTSD is an anxiety disor-der with astounding re-membrance of the critical stimuli that can induce numbness, fatigue, ag-gression, rage, or hyper vigilance.

Police officers continu-ally face exposure to traumatic events from injuries or intentional threats of harm, being shot at, exposure to AIDS, or other diseases. Other exposures include seeing someone die, a badly beaten adult, child abuse, making a death n o t i f i c a t i o n , l i f e -threatening high-speed chases, and crime scene investigations of a muti-lated body or human re-mains (Herman, 1997; Robbers & Jenkins, 2005; Alexander & Klein, 2009; Piotrkowski & Telesco, 2011). Furthermore, fre-quency of exposure and the severity of exposure play a key role in a police

search for survivors or dead, other rescue work-ers, recovery cleanup, medical examiners who handled body parts, and support workers at ground zero (Rees & Smith, 2007).

The DSM-IV (2000)

defines trauma as "an event or events that in-volve actual or threat-ened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self and others and the per-son's response involved intense fear, helpless-ness, or horror" (p. 467). The DSM-IV (2000) also groups PTSD into three broad categories that includes re-experience of the traumatic event, avoidance and numbing, and increased arousal. However, Herman (1997) and Rees and Smith (2008) contend that PTSD fall into three main categories that include hyperarousal, intrusion, and constriction.

These three sets of

symptoms from the DSM-IV (2000), Herman (1997), and Rees and Smith (2008) have a mu-tual premise - fixation on the trauma. The trau-matic event predomi-nates the lives of people

The Guardian

Written By:

Sheri Sperin

Continued from

page 9

Volume 7, Issue 2


The Guardian

officer developing PTSD (Weiss et al., 2010).

After September 11th, researchers studying the effects of this traumatic event advocate that im-mense levels of PTSD in police officers may be directly in part to the in-creased numbers of vic-tims, long hours, and the emotional nature of res-cue work they were re-quested to undertake dur ing and a f t e r (Robbers & Jenkins, 2005; Piotrkowski & Telesco, 2011). Other special concerns of symptoms with PTSD was seen in the New York Police Department and the Arlington County police officers who as-sisted the families of vic-tims and death notifica-tions, which were roles the police officers were unprepared to handle (Robbers & Jenkins, 2005; Piotrkowski & Telesco, 2011). Addition-ally, a study of the reper-cussions of the Okla-homa City Federal Build-ing bombing found ele-vated rates of PTSD (Waters & Ussery, 2007).

In the research con-ducted by Alexander and Klein (2009), they high-light that stressful events

Volume 7, Issue 2

involving potentially dis-turbing stimuli to PTSD include experiences in observing and handling bodies, mutilated corpses, coping with dying victims, and uncovering individu-als with grotesque and serious injuries. They also suggest that police offi-cers dealing with deeply distressed individuals, families, and even com-munities play a factor as well. Weiss et al. (2010) supports these findings; however, they also found that the following fre-quent exposures, in order of most severe to less severe, play an important role:

-Mistake that injures/ kills colleague

-Colleague killed intentionally -Mistake that injuries/ kills bystander -Colleague killed accidentally -Being taken hostage -Colleague injured intentionally -Loved ones threatened -Being shot at

-Badly beaten child -Being seriously beaten -Kill or injure in the line of duty -Sexually assaulted child -Exposure to AIDS or other diseases -Severely neglected child -Trapped in life- threatening situation -Threatened with a gun (p. 738) Unfortunately, there is

no doubt that law en-forcement personnel are more adept to experience additional acute and chronic life stressors than any other profession and are susceptible in devel-oping post-traumatic symptoms (Waters & Ussery, 2007).

Other researchers studying the effects of traumatic events recog-nize police work as a stressful occupation with a greater certainty of ex-posure to traumatic events; comparing police work to "civilian com-bat" (Violanti et al., 2007). The actualization




that a police officer be-gins his or her career in excellent physical health and retires early or dies from job related stress disorders demonstrates the penalty of continual pressure and the need for continuing emotional readjustment (Waters & Ussery, 2007). There is little doubt that police officers are susceptible to more acute and chronic life stressors than the mainstream working-age groups and are vulner-able to the development of most of these symp-toms.

PTSD and lack of proper coping techniques may lead to an officer's inability to manage and properly handle stress, which may provoke in-tense controversy lead-ing to domestic violence, addiction, suicide, and inappropriate behavior. When stress occurs from trauma this can cause the officer to act nega-tively toward his or her family or foster a dys-functional environment. This may cause resent-ment from family mem-bers leading to the loss of time spent with the families, lack of support, developing confl icts among family and friends, and bringing

stress home from work (Haines, 2003).

According to Herman

(1997), as time contin-ues, the negative symp-toms become the promi-nent feature of the PTSD, and it may be mis-taken for the enduring attributes of the police officer's identity. This occurs because of pro-longed, repeated trauma that develops as an in-sidious progressive form of PTSD that invades and destroys the personality. As a result, the worst fear of any traumatized person is that the mo-ment of horror will recur causing the amplifying symptoms of hypervigi-lance, anxiousness, and agi tat ion (Herman, 1997).

Police officers suffer

many other stressors from their supervisors, shift-work resulting in loss of time with family, fellow officers, and low pay as well as experienc-ing traumatic events (Haines, 2003). Never-theless, amplifying symp-toms of PTSD increase domestic violence and divorce. Research shows that there are 60,000 to 180,000 or 20% to 40% law enforcement families

involved in domestic vio-lence each year (Oehme et al., 2011).

Often police officers

choose to spend their off-duty time with only fel-low officers who under-stand their careers and problems leading to iso-lation of the families. In-stead of talking to their significant other, they spend time venting about their frustrations with other officers who under-stand how job stress is affecting their life (Haines, 2003). These officers rationalize that they receive a supportive response from fellow po-lice officers who may mitigate the impact of the event, whereas a hostile or negative re-sponse from a significant other may compound the damage and aggravate the traumatic syndrome (Herman, 1997)

In retrospect, many victims of domestic vio-lence report incidents that involve behavior, such as choking, punch-ing, hitting, beating, and killing their intimate part-ners and family members as well as pushing them down stairs, shocking them with stun guns, raping them, and threat-

Written By:

Sheri Sperin

Continued from

page 11



ening to kill them (Oehme et al., 2011). This type of violence represents physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and sometimes stalking. The need to re-gain control over a per-son's life suffering from PTSD often leads to his or her need for power and control is habitually interlaced through do-mestic violence regard-less of the type of abuse (Haines, 2003).

Conversely, PTSD also

causes psychological losses that can result in a state of depression. This protracted depression is the most common finding in clinical research that every aspect of the po-lice officer's life experi-ences from prolonged trauma to aggravated depressive symptoms (Herman, 1997; Violanti et al., 2007). The hy-perarousal of the intru-sive symptoms of PTSD fuses with the vegetative symptoms of depression resulting in insomnia, nightmares, and psycho-somatic complaints (Herman, 1997; Krysin-ska & Lester, 2010; Piotrkowski & Telesco, 2011), thus leading to domestic violence, alco-hol abuse, and suicide

(Krysinska & Lester, 2010).

The problems with al-cohol consumption are a significant and growing dilemma among working-age populations (Leino et al., 2011). The National Vietnam Veterans Read-justment Study did the largest and most com-prehensive investigation into PTSD and found that 75% of men with this disorder developed prob-lems with alcohol abuse or dependence (Herman, 1997). Addit ionally, workers who endorse escapist reasoning for alcohol intake are at a greater risk of increasing alcohol consumption when working under stress (Leino et al., 2011).

However, Leino et al., (2011) observed that there is evidence that even though the nature of police work is stress-ful, they assert that po-lice organizations and the behavior of the people within them generate the greatest amount of stress. Organizational problems include ex-tended working hours, shift work, and the nega-tive image that citizens may have of law enforce-

ment personnel (Leino et al., 2011; Piotrkowski & Telesco, 2011; Robbers & Jenkins, 2005). When police officers are ex-posed to some of these traumatic incidents, they are encouraged to react unemotionally toward dead bodies, injured vic-tims, and abused chil-dren (Leino et al., 2011; Herman, 1997).

On the other hand, Leino et al., (2011) claim that police officers in the United States with alco-hol-related consumption is considered more haz-ardous and harmful than that of the all-inclusive population. Alcohol con-sumption among police officers in the United States consist of 23% versus 32% in Australia and the United Kingdom, whereas there is an esti-mated 48% male and 40% female police offi-cers who have a serious drinking problem (Leino et al., 2011).

Although mental disor-

der is the most compel-ling risk factor that evokes suicidal tenden-cies, practically every mental disorder is linked to an increase risk of sui-cide (Krysinska & Lester, 2010). Accordingly, in



“PTSD is not

necessarily a

mental disorder,

though its

symptoms may

manifest as

such...”


Krysinska’s and Lester's (2010) article there is support that corroborates the existence of an asso-ciation between PTSD and suicide. Despite that a small minority suffer from PTSD, only 19% have made suicide at-tempts, whereas 15% were constantly preoccu-p ied with suic ide (Herman, 1997).

In their report, Krysin-

ska and Lester (2010) found that two-thirds of patients with PTSD were successful in their suicide attempt and had a co-morbid disorder (a dis-ease that occurs simulta-neously with another), which most often con-sists of an affective dis-order (one resulting from emotion) and substance abuse. Both the affec-tive disorder and sub-stance abuse were found in every high-risk suicide (Krysinska & Lester, 2010). Krysinska and Lester (2010) go on to suggest that PTSD and affective disorders ap-pear to interact and in-crease the level of suici-dal tendencies in pa-tients. Secondly, the most important finding in Krysinska’s and Lester’s (2010) research was that numerous individuals

with PTSD also experi-enced depression, which is a major predictor of suicidal behavior.

When feelings of stress

arise from exposure to specific conditions at work, it is routine for someone to make an ef-fort to receive a debrief-ing to reduce the imbal-ance that comes from the demands placed on the police officer (Leino et al., 2011). However, the stigma associated with psychological coun-sel may heighten the complexity of addressing the individual police offi-cer's failure to seek help (Waters & Ussery, 2007). Stigma and discrimina-tion has long been prob-lematic in seeking psy-chological counseling for c r i s i s i n te r ven t i on (Alexander & Klein, 2009; Krysinska & Lester, 2010; Rees & Smith, 2007).

The research of Waters and Ussery (2007) sup-ports the premise that police culture compels officers in believing they are a special population that has superhuman abilities and no weak-nesses. There is a need for specific recognition of law enforcement as an

occupation-at-risk for environmental, cultural, and personal factors to institute new prevention and treatment efforts toward physical health, mental health, and resil-iency tools for survival (Waters & Ussery, 2007). Unless there are more emphases on the impor-tance of mental health training and crisis inter-vention within law en-forcement departments, the individual police offi-cer will continue to ex-perience major stressors on-duty and in their pri-vate lives (Waters & Ussery, 2007). Other contributing factors in efforts to avoid seeking help include police offi-cers who tend to avoid discussions about sui-cides and are highly re-sistant to any form of educational prevention programs and treatment for imminent acts of self-destruction (Waters & Ussery, 2007).

Conclusion:

Police work is definitely a stressful occupation and exposure to trauma is inherent in police work. Police officers face many stressors and are at risk for potential strains that may lead to symptoms of stress.

Written By:

Sheri Sperin

Continued from

page 13


“...empower

preparedness

planning to

arrange for and

respond to

anticipated

disruptions and

potential

hazards...”



These stress symptoms include digestive disor-ders, cardiovascular dis-ease, alcoholism, domes-tic violence, depression, and thoughts of suicide, all of which leads to PTSD.

The occupat iona l stresses of the chronic working conditions in po-lice organizations will continue to plague those who choose to work in this field. Therefore, it is important that the lead-ers in law enforcement become aware of these symptoms and warning signs that their personnel may display during nor-mal working and non-working hours. Knowing the impact of prolonged occupational stress on police officers is critical to how they perform their duties; how they act in their professional and personal lives; and how the outcome could potentially cause concern for public safety.

The public looks upon police officers to be problem solvers. They expect the police officer to be in control of his or her own emotions. Police officers must be strong, resilient, and unaffected by violent and vicious behaviors that they en-

counter daily. Thus, those in command posi-tions should positively encourage police officers to seek help and provide encouragement in trau-matic transference that counters negative reac-tions and helps prevent the symptoms of PTSD.

Recommendations:

The most important recommendation is to make sure that the police organizational structure, from the top down, goes through formal training in recognizing the symp-toms of PTSD and coping skills. This will help alle-viate the stereotyping of counseling and provide encouragement to seek treatment. This will also help to address feelings that have been repressed and address these prob-lems through proper screening, training, on-going prevention pro-grams, early interven-tions, and treatment-based programs.

Fur thermore, the physiological, social, and psychological aspects of working in stressful con-ditions must also be taken into account if there is to be adequate training support for po-lice officers. This training

will help others to be alert to the physiological, social, and psychological symptoms. This will em-power preparedness planning to arrange for and respond to antici-pated disruptions and potential hazards follow-ing exposure to trau-matic events. Through preparedness, police offi-cers can prime them-selves to cope during the initial critical period of the traumatic event. In addition, this will help supervisors and superiors to serve as a crucial and intervention resource ca-pable of performing im-mediate response to the individual officer faced with the traumatic events of the job.

Research has shown that police officers tend to avoid discussion about stressful situations and highly resistant to any form of education pro-grams or treatment. The stigma associated with seeking professional counseling is a barrier in confiding with superior officers, coworkers, and family members.

Therefore, a second recommendation is the creation of a COP-2-COP confidential hotline with appropriate counselors



with prior law enforce-ment backgrounds (Waters & Ussery, 2007). The COP-2-COP program would allow police offi-cers to contact someone when feelings of depres-sion consume their wak-ing moments. Addition-ally, this would assist in helping police officers report their fellow offi-cers in confidence who may be too ashamed to seek help.

This program will help to resolve the issues sur-rounding the strong cul-tural influences of the law enforcement profes-sion, such as police offi-cers are superhuman, have no weaknesses, and peer pressures. This will aid the police officers in seeking treatment in the first stage of trauma immediately following a disaster response. Fur-thermore, this will build team well-being because it will encourage peers to work together to support those most affected by the traumatic event. Thus, bringing about in-dividual awareness of post-traumatic symptoms while allowing minimal long-term effects of a traumatic event that may emerge weeks, months, or even years after the actual event.

Finally, team well-being will help to encourage supervisors to invite mental health profession-als trained in Critical Inci-dent Stress Management (CISM) to conduct a Criti-cal Incident Stress De-briefing (CISD). The CISD is a formal group process held between one to three days after a traumatic event to help first responders cope with the harrowing epi-sode. The CISD should not be used as a stand-alone prevention but should be used in con-nection with other pre-vention programs such as the COP-2-COP, edu-cation, and emergency mental health training.

Even though Police work is a stressful occu-pation and exposure to trauma is inherent, these programs will help to serve as a model in the prevention and treatment efforts. Therefore, result-ing in physical health, mental health, and resil-iency tools for survival. Successful intervention of PTSD among police offi-cers may be defined as developing a crisis inter-vention program that fa-cilitates access to the next level of care, rather than affecting cure. This would mitigate or lessen

the consequences of critical traumatic incident stress and to accelerate the recovery process.

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A massive winter storm is coming together as two low pressure systems are merging over the U.S. East Coast. A satellite image from NOAA's GOES-

13 satellite on Feb. 8 shows a western frontal system approaching the coastal low pressure

area.

The satellite image, captured at 9:01 a.m. EST, shows clouds associated with the western frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico.

The comma-shaped low pressure system located over the Atlantic, east of Virginia, is forecast to

merge with the front and create a powerful nor'easter. The National Weather Service expects the merged storm to move northeast and drop

between two to three feet of snow in parts of New England.

Image credit: NASA/GOES Project

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2445.html

Powerful Nor'easter Coming Together February 8, 2013

Blizzard Moves Through February 9, 2013

This image was taken from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7:01 a.m. EST.

Two low pressure systems came together and formed a giant nor'easter centered right over New England creating blizzards from Massachusetts to

New York.

The image was created by NASA's GOES Project at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,

Maryland.

Image credit: NASA/GOES Project

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2446_prt.htm





the guardian march 2013

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