Paramedic

Suicide, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and many more emotional and stress-related problems plague the first-responder community. Hundreds of thousands of these brave public servants have unwittingly become victims of the professions they once loved. However, the suffering that results from a professional life of sacrifice and service can be prevented and mitigated. As a thirty-year law-enforcement veteran, retired police captain, and police academy instructor, Dan Willis has witnessed the damage of emotional trauma and has made it his personal mission to safeguard and enhance the wellness and wholeness of police officers, firefighters, EMTs, emergency-room personnel, and soldiers. Bulletproof Spirit offers field-tested expertise designed to be used by all first responders -- and their families -- to heal themselves and continue serving with compassion and strength.

The stress that comes with being a first responder has been known to lead to depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide. However, few clinicians are informed about these health concerns and how to adequately treat them in this population. Therefore, there is an urgent need for practitioners to understand the latest information regarding treatments that will be useful to this specific population.

This book shows mental health providers how to understand PTSD in first responders, and outlines practical, evidence-based approaches to assess and treat PTSD in these populations.

A meditation expert shares tools for coping with the first responder way of life, and personal stories of overcoming trauma through mindfulness.First responders have the difficult job of running toward danger and putting other people's lives ahead of their own. Kim Colegrove knows from personal experience that what they endure on the job can be deeply traumatic. After thirty years in law enforcement, her husband took his own life. This agonizing experience inspired Kim to help first responders develop the tools they need to handle the profound stress they face.I