First responders attend work each day knowing
that they will be dealing with the crises or disasters in the community around
them. Their daily experiences of trauma are often more than the average person
would be able to tolerate. Yet these professionals day after day witness and
experience these events as part of their job, relying on their brothers and
sisters to help them cope with the trauma.
What happens when the community impacted, is the
community in which they live? What happens when the person(s) impacted by the
crises or disaster is one of their own? At these times, professional trauma now
becomes personal.
For professionals it is important that we have an
understanding of the layers of trauma that develops in these instances. When
first responders respond to calls in their own community, their sense of duty
or responsibility may be increased. This is due to the fact that the area that
they need to keep safe is where they live - the neighborhood of friends and
family. If a call does not go as planned and the community is impacted the
first responder may experience a greater sense of guilt.
Another layer of trauma can occur when first
responders lose one of their own. When a first responder loses a colleague they
are losing more than that, they are losing a member of their family. This
might be a person with whom they have ran calls, went through the academy with,
or someone they turn to for support with difficult calls. The job does not stop
in order for the first responder to grieve their loss.
It is common for a first responder to return to
duty where he/she is one again dealing with the trauma of the community around
them, while trying not to focus on the reminders of the person who is not
there. Even so, many times the triggers arise and great efforts are necessary
to avoid, contain, or numb from the impact.
First responders all cope differently depending
upon the line of duty he/she serves. Fire service personal, as they often work
in a group, turn to each other for support through difficult times, and become
much like a professional family. Law
enforcement may often be assigned to work in groups, but on patrol are often
alone. There is no one to process with or time to debrief. But no matter where
they turn, it is difficult for this population to turn to “outsiders”. They
have a built in support system that comes with the job, this is whom they trust
- this is their family. There is often
an assumption that those not in the profession, do not understand. That it takes living the life of a first
responder to understand and with that brings trust.
Therapists working with first responders need to
be cognizant of the goal of respecting that first responders need emotional
protection to survive in the career.
This emotional protection becomes a cumulative process in that the wear
and tear of the career cannot be dissected to one critical incident. There are many – some fade and some
remain. Therapists need to build trust
with first responders and the department in which he/she serves.
