First Responder Trauma Recovery Guide and Workbook

Stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bullying, and burnout have all become “accepted realities” for first responders in the modern workplace. This workbook unpacks contemporary workplace realities, educates you about trauma, and helps you build your personalized recovery plan for transformation, recovery, and healing.

Some careers include a higher likelihood of experiencing traumatic events that can lead to the development of PTSD.

This recovery program has eight core purposes:

Validate your current situation. This recovery program begins by validating your experiences and breaking through any denial you may be experiencing by examining all the ways you could be traumatized at work.

Identify your realities. Once you understand how you’ve been traumatized, you’ll learn about how trauma develops and how to break through the defenses that protect you from the painful experiences you’re facing.

Understand workplace trauma. Armed with a deeper understanding of what trauma is, how it develops, and how you react to trauma, you will be able to identify the support you’ll need to heal and recover.

Build your recovery team and develop your action plan. Useful tools and techniques will help you connect with and build your team of support professionals and advocates. Once you begin working with your team, you’ll start the recovery process by acquiring a set of skills and techniques to help you weather the storm and begin healing.

Grieve, mourn, and let go. Recovery will take you on a journey of grieving, mourning, and letting go, which will transport you to a new sense of calm and acceptance. I’ll break down this journey into the stages you’ll travel through to get to the other side.

Maintain your recovery. Finally, I’ll share helpful ways to maintain your recovery, manage setbacks with compassion, and track your progress so you can proactively navigate the inevitably choppy waters as you continue your healthy and productive recovery.

Adapt and adjust to the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The COVID-19 global Pandemic has left a lasting impact on all our lives. This section will review the Pandemic’s mental health, physical health, and social implications with helpful tools and techniques to help you manage the trauma and stress the Pandemic brings. In addition, gems of wisdom and learnings within the research literature will help you navigate the Pandemic and Post-Pandemic worlds effectively.

Learn interactively with workbook exercises. Workbook exercises will help you digest the content, reflect on your situation, learn from that reflection, and incrementally create a personalized recovery plan. Each exercise in the workbook walks you through a process of self-reflection and self-discovery to help you understand and make sense of your situation.