HEALTH & WELLNESS
Sustaining strength for crisis leadership and resilience
CHERIE CASTELLANO Cop2Cop
So instead of focusing on what is wrong in law enforcement , this year at Cop 2 Cop we are looking at what is strong in law enforcement , and we are building on that foundation of strength .
Based on a variety of meetings and discussions with the NJ State PBA , state and federal leaders , and the NJ Chiefs Association and the IACP , our work at Cop 2 Cop is focused on developing partnerships to renew strength in all of you moving forward . We know that approximately 80 percent of our callers are not in crisis ; in fact , they have challenges that we all share .
Our Cop 2 Cop peer counseling offers a perfect coping mechanism to discuss the challenges of everyday life and regain a new perspective to improve the quality of life . Half of all calls do not require formal treatment . Our retired cops are trained in the national best practice model of “ reciprocal peer support ,” which involves connections , information gathering and risk assessment , care management , and resilience building with an average of 12 calls during a six-month time period — then back to “ normal ,” whatever that means for you .
At Cop 2 Cop , we can do prevention work with trainings like Question , Persuade , and Refer ( QPR ) as a buddy-to-buddy system . However , our training efforts have already been offered to 11,000 officers , and they want something new ! We also know that the Cop 2 Cop crisis response unit is doing 100 crisis response debriefings a year . That Cop 2 Cop “ postvention ” effort links cops to peer counseling and referrals after the debriefings , so it all is working seamlessly . But we can ’ t stop the crisis , trauma and vicarious exposure to trauma that cops in New Jersey face every minute of every day .
So thanks to President Pat Colligan for requesting that we explore building resilience for members of the NJSPBA . Thanks to Gerald McAleer , Middlesex County Prosecutor ’ s Office Chief , for requesting that we design a course for his “ high-risk ” officers in units like sex crimes and homicide . Using focus groups and a new framework for resilience , we are moving in the right direction .
In a recent high-level leadership meeting at which I was presenting a Cop 2 Cop briefing , a chief said in my introduction that all the leaders in the room had to do more to address the psychological well-being of those they lead . After 20 years of working in the field of police psychological services , that introduction was a sign of something new .
The military has devoted significant resources to resilience building coursework for its service members . Now experts at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a skillset that is being adapted from the military culture to the law enforcement culture , and we are actively working on a pilot project .
Chief McAleer requested that a Cop 2 Cop Resilience Course be developed as a pilot for his officers involved in “ high-risk ” work in terms of trauma exposure , and we will launch the “ Sustaining Resilience ” course in November . We began with a focus group to explore what really happens to officers exposed to trauma on a regular basis and what realistically may help . I met with two retired cops with tons of experience in units with trauma exposure and a group of officers from the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office to design the course curriculum , and we will deliver the course and evaluate it next month .
In addition , President Colligan and the State PBA will continue to create an infrastructure that supports members with psychological on-site service through Dr . Gene Stefanelli , as well as training for delegates in Cop 2 Cop QPR techniques and crisis response to ensure that police psychological prevention , intervention and postvention are available when needed . Our Cop 2 Cop team will brief the NJSPBA Executive Committee on trends in the state related to calls for peer support , training , suicides and crisis debriefing support in an attempt to partner with leadership to offer more .
Here ’ s a glance at the UPENN Resilience Skillset upon which we based our Cop 2 Cop pilot project , with simple definitions as an overview . These six pillars of resilience are addressed in our new course , with activities and ideas to help enhance these traits in cops in New Jersey .
• Self-awareness . The ability to pay attention to your thoughts , emotions , behaviors , and physiological reactions . Conscious knowledge of one ’ s own character , feelings , motives and desires .
• Self-regulation . The ability to change one ’ s thoughts , emotions , behaviors and physiology in the service of a desired outcome .
• Mental agility . The ability to look at situations from multiple perspectives and to think creatively and flexibly .
• Strength of character . The ability to use one ’ s top strengths to engage authentically , overcome challenges and create a life aligned with one ’ s values .
• Connection . The ability to build and maintain strong , trusting relationships .
• Optimism . The ability to notice and expect the positive , to focus on what you can control , and to take purposeful action .
Following a crisis , law enforcement leaders must assess :
• What are my people going through ? What is my organization going through ? What does this mean ? What can I do ? Leadership during times of stress and crisis begins with understanding how stress impacts the people you lead .
• The “ psychosocial impact of trauma ” with each survivor ’ s disaster is unique . Each survivor is unique , and they will have individual responses in areas such as physical , emotional , cognitive , behavioral , spiritual and life-view .
• With “ life-view and spiritual ” reactions to trauma , one is coming to terms with one ’ s own mortality . Questioning one ’ s religious beliefs and faith practice . Questioning whom / what can I trust ? As a result , spiritual beliefs may
76 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ NOVEMBER 2017