DEC 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 12
FEATURES 56 COVER STORY IACP OFFICER OF THE YEAR, OFFICER THADEU HOLLOWAY 68 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE DEPARTMENTS 6 PUBLISHER’S THOUGHTS 8 EDITOR’S THOUGHTS 12 GUEST COMMENTARY - BILL KING 14 NEWS AROUND THE US 46 HEALTH & AWARENESS 52 COP CAR NEWS 84 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 86 REMEMBERING OUR FALLEN HEROES 92 WAR STORIES 98 AFTERMATH 102 OPEN ROAD 108 CLASSIFIEDS 110 HEALING OUR HEROES 112 DARYL’S DELIBERATIONS 114 LIGHT BULB AWARD 116 RUNNING 4 HEROES 118 BLUE MENTAL HEALTH WITH DR. TINA JAECKLE 120 OFF DUTY WITH RUSTY BARRON 124 ADS BACK IN THE DAY 124 PARTING SHOTS 130 BUYERS GUIDE 150 NOW HIRING - L.E.O. POSITIONS OPEN IN TEXAS 202 BACK PAGE
FEATURES
56 COVER STORY
IACP OFFICER OF THE YEAR,
OFFICER THADEU HOLLOWAY
68 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
DEPARTMENTS
6 PUBLISHER’S THOUGHTS
8 EDITOR’S THOUGHTS
12 GUEST COMMENTARY - BILL KING
14 NEWS AROUND THE US
46 HEALTH & AWARENESS
52 COP CAR NEWS
84 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
86 REMEMBERING OUR FALLEN HEROES
92 WAR STORIES
98 AFTERMATH
102 OPEN ROAD
108 CLASSIFIEDS
110 HEALING OUR HEROES
112 DARYL’S DELIBERATIONS
114 LIGHT BULB AWARD
116 RUNNING 4 HEROES
118 BLUE MENTAL HEALTH WITH DR. TINA JAECKLE
120 OFF DUTY WITH RUSTY BARRON
124 ADS BACK IN THE DAY
124 PARTING SHOTS
130 BUYERS GUIDE
150 NOW HIRING - L.E.O. POSITIONS OPEN IN TEXAS
202 BACK PAGE
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AROUND THE COUNTRY<br />
Mental Wellness Check-ins<br />
What they are and how they help.<br />
By Marie Ridgeway,<br />
Imagine you have a car you depend<br />
on but don’t take care of. You<br />
fill it with gas and drive it every day,<br />
but never change the oil, rotate the<br />
tires, or add coolant or other fluids.<br />
When the “check engine” light illuminates,<br />
you just keep driving. More<br />
warning lights come on, but you<br />
ignore them. After all, the car has<br />
been going for years without any<br />
serious problems. Why shouldn’t it<br />
keep running forever?<br />
Many of us treat our minds the<br />
same way. We use them every day,<br />
fill them up with experiences (both<br />
positive and negative) but otherwise<br />
take them for granted. We<br />
actively ignore problem thoughts<br />
and behaviors, assuming they’ll just<br />
go away or somehow take care of<br />
themselves. Unfortunately, like a<br />
poorly maintained car, neglecting<br />
your mental health can result in an<br />
eventual breakdown.<br />
The primary goal of mental wellness<br />
check-ins is to provide public<br />
safety employees with increased<br />
quality of life as well as tools to<br />
manage their response to stress and<br />
trauma.<br />
First responders deal with difficult<br />
situations almost every day. They<br />
see accidents, experience violence<br />
and witness some of the worst<br />
humanity has to offer. All those<br />
images, incidents and experiences<br />
can get internalized in their minds<br />
as trauma.<br />
Unfortunately, the stigma against<br />
seeking help for this trauma can<br />
cause the problems to multiply.<br />
Many in public safety turn to alcohol<br />
or other substances to dull<br />
the pain. Some (as many as one<br />
in four) consider taking their own<br />
lives. In an effort to improve mental<br />
health, reduce negative perceptions<br />
of treatment and break the cycle<br />
of neglect, my practice, Ridgeway<br />
& Associates, has put together a<br />
program that combines mandatory<br />
mental wellness check-ins and<br />
optional follow-up therapy sessions<br />
in a package for law enforcement<br />
agencies.<br />
MENTAL WELLNESS CHECK-IN<br />
PROGRAM<br />
Going back to the hypothetical car<br />
mentioned earlier, mental wellness<br />
check-ins are a lot like checking<br />
fluids and rotating tires. They provide<br />
an opportunity for every person<br />
in a law enforcement agency<br />
to literally check in with a therapist<br />
with no pressure or expectations<br />
– at no cost to the participant and<br />
with complete confidentiality.<br />
If everything is fine … great! The<br />
person has satisfied the requirement<br />
and nothing else has to happen<br />
until next year. If the participant<br />
decides they could benefit from<br />
therapy for any reason, they can<br />
come back for follow-up counseling<br />
(which is also completely confidential).<br />
Also, if the person doing<br />
the check-in has unresolved trauma<br />
or other issues but is hesitant to<br />
commit to therapy, at least they’ll<br />
have established a relationship with<br />
a therapist and know someone they<br />
can call when they eventually decide<br />
to seek help.<br />
WHAT IS A CHECK-IN?<br />
Some of the agencies we work<br />
with refer to mental wellness<br />
check-ins as “a checkup from the<br />
neck up.” A check-in is an annual,<br />
mandatory 50-minute session in<br />
which someone sits down and talks<br />
with a therapist.<br />
Sounds straightforward, right? In<br />
the case of law enforcement employees,<br />
it’s a private conversation<br />
between a public safety professional<br />
and a mental health professional<br />
who really understands public<br />
safety and the challenges that go<br />
along with the profession. Since<br />
they’re mandatory, check-ins ensure<br />
every department employee has a<br />
chance, at least once a year, to talk<br />
about any problems they might be<br />
experiencing and determine whether<br />
they might need additional help.<br />
The primary goal of mental wellness<br />
check-ins is to provide public<br />
safety employees with increased<br />
quality of life as well as tools to<br />
manage their response to stress<br />
and trauma. Check-ins help prevent<br />
suicide by building positive relationships<br />
between law enforcement<br />
personnel and therapists certified<br />
to work with them so that officers<br />
understand there is always someone<br />
who knows how to help and something<br />
that can be done when stressors<br />
become overwhelming. These<br />
relationships might pay off now or<br />
in the future, depending on each<br />
person’s frame of mind and individual<br />
needs.<br />
WHAT A CHECK-IN ISN’T<br />
Imagine going to your dentist for<br />
a checkup and saying, “Hey, while<br />
I’m here, can I get a quick root<br />
canal?” That’s not how it works<br />
– you’ll need to make a separate<br />
appointment (or multiple appointments)<br />
for that. Dental checkups<br />
and mental wellness check-ins are<br />
both about prevention, not treatment.<br />
A mental wellness check-in is<br />
not a therapy session. During the 50<br />
minutes, the therapist will not evaluate<br />
you or diagnose you. But that’s<br />
not to say that a check-in can’t lead<br />
to therapy. In fact, between 10% and<br />
20% of the people who come to us<br />
for annual check-ins end up scheduling<br />
additional sessions. Like the<br />
check-ins, the cost of those additional<br />
voluntary counseling sessions<br />
are included in the contract our<br />
practice has with the agency so that<br />
you can continue to see the person<br />
you completed your check-in with,<br />
if you choose. They’re also protected<br />
by the same umbrella of confidentiality.<br />
(Read more about this<br />
below.)<br />
WHAT DO WE TALK ABOUT?<br />
With mandatory annual checkins,<br />
the baseline requirement is that<br />
the employee make an appointment<br />
and show up at the allotted time.<br />
There is no expectation of what a<br />
participant shares, nor that they<br />
stay the full 50 minutes, but nearly<br />
everyone does feel comfortable<br />
enough to stay and to share.<br />
In a typical check-in, the therapist<br />
will take time to get a general<br />
idea of how that individual is doing.<br />
If the individual is open to some<br />
coaching, the therapist may also<br />
review some of the ways people<br />
in law enforcement can maintain<br />
mental wellness, including:<br />
Physical factors like sleep, exercise,<br />
hydration and nutrition Mental<br />
factors like mindset, work-life<br />
balance and coping strategies<br />
Social factors like support structures<br />
(family, friends, workplace<br />
and coworkers) and group activities<br />
How stress accumulation can impact<br />
a person’s physical well-being,<br />
mood and cognitive function<br />
The benefits of receiving professional<br />
mental health counseling and<br />
therapy and how it works<br />
If the person participating in the<br />
check-in doesn’t want to talk about<br />
any of this stuff, they might tell the<br />
therapist about last weekend’s fishing<br />
trip, or the lake house they love<br />
to get away to. Most participants<br />
are interested in talking about<br />
wellness and their unique situation.<br />
The important thing is the visit, the<br />
touchpoint and the relationship. As<br />
therapists, the one takeaway we<br />
want every public safety employee<br />
to leave with is that we’re here for<br />
them when they need us – today,<br />
tomorrow, 24/7 and on into the<br />
future.<br />
CHECK-IN CONFIDENTIALITY<br />
Mental wellness check-ins are<br />
not therapy, but the rules of confidentiality<br />
that apply to therapy<br />
sessions also apply to check-ins.<br />
46 The BLUES The BLUES 47