We owe it to them. Let’s figure it out.
Written by Shonda Feddema
Program Director, Before Operational Stress
As I sit down to write this piece, I do so with a great amount of reflection. I’m often behind the scenes, so for those who don’t know me, let me give a bit of background before I jump into my message.
I serve as the Director of the Before Operational Stress Program. As many have heard me say, when I came to work for Wayfound Mental Health Group in 2018, I genuinely didn’t know what I didn’t know about this thing called operational stress. For starters, I made quite the industry leap, from working in the joint venture sector of the oil and gas industry, right on over to a psychology business specializing in the trauma treatment for uniformed service personnel. How does one get from point A to point B in this scenario, you may ask? I offer the simplest of explanations; the universe had a plan. I needed a change and a more meaningful “why” to my career. I went searching and landed right where I was meant to land.
So, there I was, new to the world of mental health and new to working with Public Safety Personnel (PSP). In a nutshell; So. Damn. Much. To. Learn.
Right around the time that I made this move, the CEO and founder of the practice, Dr. Megan McElheran, was piloting a brand-new program she had recently developed. After years of working in the field of PSP and military mental health with uniformed service members, and treating psychological injuries late into their career trajectory, she was offering a new and proactive approach. This innovative new program aimed to provide tools to help PSP mitigate the effects of operational stress, aka the effects of just doing their job. I wasn’t totally green to the common-sense knowledge that no one calls 911 on a good day. I knew that a first responder was very likely to encounter the worst of the worst when responding to an emergency, and of course, that must impact them in many ways.
What I didn’t know was the extreme degree to which their careers could impact their mental health, and I didn’t know how little PSP were provided in terms of education on these impacts prior to serving. That didn’t feel acceptable to me. Our first responders are there to answer our calls and expected to walk into the face of trauma without question. How could this expectation come without proper mental health training? Quite frankly, I found this to be an injustice to those who serve and protect our communities. Dr. McElheran’s s unwavering passion and vision for changing this narrative very quickly became my own. Shortly after joining the team and gaining this knowledge, I was fortunate enough to watch the pilot group come together for the first ever delivery of the Before Operational Stress (BOS) program.
BOS. It’s an acronym I would come to eat, sleep, and breathe as the program grew. Since that first pilot weekend with a small cohort of 10 participants, the program has grown to more than 74,000 registered across various delivery modalities. The program has also undergone independent research from the word “go”, with the first publication released in 2021. Since that time evaluation has continued with new publications expected to be released in 2024.
A big part of my role has included working directly with PSP organizations on the practicalities of bringing BOS training to the frontline. To say there have been lessons learned and strong beliefs formed between that first pilot group and 74,000 registrants would be an understatement. After countless conversations with PSP leaders and working closely with their teams to implement the BOS program, I have a plethora of thoughts to share, but one core commonality lies in all of them: We owe it to our PSP, and all high-risk professions for that matter, to provide comprehensive mental health support, including training and education for mental health literacy.
A recent study of PSP across Canada showed 44.5% of the sample screened positive for a mental health disorder (Carleton et al., 2018). I find this number staggering, and no matter how many times I see this data, it gives me pause every single time. While you will never hear myself, or anyone from BOS, claim that we can prevent this outcome, we will passionately advocate for education. There is not a magic button that will eliminate the realities PSP face; however, we can and must educate them on the impacts of those realities. Providing mental health literacy and coping skills for our PSP is such an important step. Understanding the impacts of their work may help in combatting more severe outcomes, and it’s more important now than it ever has been.
Change isn’t easy or quick. For those PSP leaders who may be reading this, I certainly don’t have to tell you the stressors and barriers you face to implementing change in this realm. For those new to this conversation, the list is long and consists of budget restraints, time, staffing shortages and burnout, along with unprecedented demand, just to name a few. But what happens if we continue to let the barriers dictate the future? The answer is quite simple. Nothing changes, and that’s not ok. If I have said it once, I have said it a million times. Change starts with a conversation. As I mentioned, I have had countless conversations on bringing a more proactive mental health approach through training. If there is one thing that rings true in my experience, it’s that there is not a “one size fits all” approach to making it happen. Each organization has its own set of challenges. Sometimes it starts small, but it starts. It starts with a conversation and a common goal to just simply figure it out. To all of those who have worked to find a way, to those of you who have implemented such important support and education, whether it be BOS or other, I sincerely commend you for your commitment.
For anyone who’s wanting to start the conversation, let’s talk. If not us, that’s ok. Just start somewhere. We owe it to them to figure it out.
Carleton, R. N., Afifi, T. O., Turner, S., Taillieu, T., Duranceau, S., LeBouthillier, D. M., …
Asmundson, G. J. G. (2018a). Mental disorder symptoms among public safety personnel in
Canada. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 63(1), 54-64. doi:10.1177/0706743717723825