This course is focused on the daily work traumas of the law enforcement (or any first responder) profession: how these traumas can cause suicide, post-traumatic stress, unprofessional service, excessive force issues, and a host of emotional, mental, and physical health problems. The class also focuses on specific evidence-based wellness strategies to promote post-traumatic growth and effective ways to enhance resiliency and heal from trauma. The long-term goals of this course will be to enable officers to practice daily proactive wellness strategies; improve community relations; improve their overall resiliency, health and well-being; and improve organizational wellness.

The class will cover the impact of the daily work traumas of officers on their overall physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness and resiliency. It will also cover a range of interventions and proactive wellness strategies that tend to negate the negative effects of trauma and promote not only increased survivability, wellness, and resiliency, but also promote more professional, effective, and compassionate service to make a meaningful difference in the community, within the agency, and with one’s colleagues. The class material is based on the emotional survival and wellness guidebook Bulletproof Spirit: The First Responders Essential Resource for Protecting and Healing Mind and Heart, which is required reading at the FBI National Academy for senior police management.