Specialized Therapy Services for First Responders in SoMD at Hope and Healing Therapy and Wellness Center
Are there specialized therapy services for first responders with PTSD in Southern Maryland? This is a commonly asked question among our community at Hope and Healing Therapy and Wellness Center. Based in Southern Maryland, we provide trauma-informed care, with staff members who know first hand the importance of specialized care and familiarity for emergency workers.
In addition to providing therapy, we incorporate holistic approaches and physical wellness into our process that are beneficial for managing stress. The job is not only demanding on the mind, but also on the body and spirit. At Hope and Healing, we see the weight of the day to day of first responders.
There are a multitude of ways in which first responders experience both obvious trauma from acute, life-threatening incidents, and subtle, often unrecognized, trauma resulting from cumulative on-the-job stress and the unique culture of emergency services.
These occupational hazards can be categorized as follows:
1. Obvious/Acute Trauma
These are the apparent, “immediate psychological wounds triggered by specific critical incidents.” (happyminds.net)
Intrusive Memories & Flashbacks: involuntary thoughts and recollections or distressing dreams of a specific incident resulting in tragedy or violence
Avoidance Behavior: Going out of your way to avoid places, people, types of emergencies, or instances that could prompt memories of a traumatizing call.
Exaggerated Startle Response: Panicking, jumping, or being excessively “on edge” as a result of loud noises, sirens, or other specific auditory triggers.
Severe Mood Swings: Sudden shifts of mood, without apparent cause, toward anger, paranoia, or depression.
2. Cumulative/Subtle Trauma
Instead of a one-time occurrence, this is the result of the culmination of occupational stress over months or years, often normalized by the industry and the responders it affects.
Numbing & Detachment: Emotional numbing or protecting the mind by losing the ability to feel empathy on calls, minimizing or using humor/joking about incidents as a coping mechanism
Hypervigilance Off Duty: The mind is unable to shift in and out of being “on duty.” Despite being home or off the clock, surveilling and assessing for danger is occurring in non-threatening environments
Compassion Fatigue & Burnout: Some call it the feeling of trying to pour from an empty cup, or having nothing left to give. Apathy and hopelessness developed on the job can affect personal relationships.
For these reasons (and even more beyond them!) trauma therapy for emergency personnel in Southern Maryland is non-negotiable. If you’re looking for confidential counseling for paramedics, law enforcement officers, EMTs, dispatchers, firefighters, or social workers, contact Hope and Healing Therapy and Wellness Center today.