PTSD and substance abuse are pandemic among fire fighters.
The International Association of Fire Fighters decided it was time to give them
their own treatment center to help them deal with these behavioral health
issues.
Keeping in mind the 20 percent of
fire fighters who struggle from post-traumatic stress disorder, the
International Association of Fire Fighters is establishing the first
behavioral-health treatment center designed strictly for the profession.
IAFF, with the help of behavioral healthcare management
company Advanced Recovery Systems, has created in-patient programs for the new
Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Treatment and Recovery to support
fire fighters with PTSD and associated substance- and alcohol-abuse problems.
“Fire fighters and paramedics are
subjected to stresses and trauma that can be life-changing, but until recently,
mental health issues have largely been in the shadows,” IAFF
General President Harold Schaitberger said in a statement. “Our
collaboration with ARS will provide the support, treatment, and tools they need
to recover from PTSD and continue to serve their communities.”
The facility, which will open in January 2017 in Prince
George’s County, Maryland, will provide diagnosis, peer counseling, and
treatment to IAFF members, as well as house a gym and running courses. Onsite
teams will conduct related research, and an advisory committee will develop
protocols to ensure effective program follow-up and the proper handling of
behavioral health among fire departments.
“We know that fire fighters and paramedics can be exposed
to significant trauma in the line of duty, which can lead to PTSD and
co-occurring conditions,” ARS Chairman Dr. Lewis Gold said in the release.
“With our expertise in addiction and recovery and comprehensive approach to
care, ARS will be able to fully recognize and meet the needs of IAFF members,
and help them get back to the lives and jobs they love.”
Fire fighters often experience PTSD at the same level as
combat veterans—almost twice the rate of the general public—and so are highly
susceptible to substance abuse and suicide. Escalating the problem, fire
fighters won’t usually seek out help because of the stigma around behavioral
health challenges within the profession, Schaitberger told Associations Now.
“There has been a stigma that has been created around those
that may be dealing with PTSD and other emotional behavioral health
challenges,” he said. “And that then, more typically than not, translates to a
number of addictions: alcohol use as a treatment, drugs, all the unfortunate
co-occurrences that surround these behavioral health issues.”
To begin addressing the problem, IAFF established a peer
counseling program where affected individuals can talk to
counseling-credentialed fire fighters. The program has proven successful and
will be part of the new facility’s programs.
“We needed to first start to try to bring this, what we
call it, behavioral health issue out of the darkness and into the light to try
to create an atmosphere where our members would feel the comfort and the
confidence to come forward and seek help,” Schaitberger said.
For fire fighters using the treatment center, IAFF has
tried “to subtly bring in the elements and the feel [of a fire station] so that
our members who come in for treatment and recovery will feel like they’re more,
if you will, at home,” he said. This will include the strategic use of brick,
color, and the Maltese cross.
Though the facility can’t currently accommodate every fire
fighter suffering from behavioral health issues, Schaitberger hopes IAFF will
open a series of these treatment facilities and include other first responders
in the future.
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