Managing Trauma - Survivor's Guilt and Suicide (Staff)

Course Preview

Course Author(s)

Adam Linehan - Sgt./Medic U.S. Army, Jonathan Hickory - Master Police Officer - Virginia, Byron Greenberg Ph.D.

Course Summary

Overall General Course Goal(s):
The goals of this course is to help first responders cope with acute trauma and lessen the long-term traumas first responders are exposed to while on the job.

Learning Objectives:
1. To understand trauma from the perspective of a first responder who has experienced this from an early age.
2. To comprehend how trauma affects the mind and body, and how to deal with trauma in YOUR life.
3. To gain a perspective of trauma from Adam Linehan, a soldier who faced trauma when a suicide bomber killed 6 of his friends right in front of him.

SUMMARY

Right now, It is an increasingly difficult time to be in law enforcement.  And yet, you stand with a courageous heart and for that we applaud you, and your nation applauds you.  Law Enforcement is a calling that is only for a chosen, courageous few. This calling is why we continue to persevere, faced daily with the darkness, the death, the abuse the stress, and the brokenness of humanity that we face on daily basis. 

The incidents and the trauma you are exposed to will affect you, your view of the world, and your beliefs in humanity.

A career in law enforcement will also affect your relationships with others, your marriage, your family, your children.

But be encouraged.  You can survive this career, and you can thrive in it.  But you have to take care of yourself.  You cannot pour from an empty cup.  

In this course you will hear from Master Police Officer Jonathan Hickory as he tells his story of childhood trauma, combined with the trauma faced while on the job. How it nearly destroyed his life and how he overcame the trauma.

Next, police psychologist Dr. Byron Greenberg presents a class to educate us all on the effects of trauma on the mind and body, and how to deal with trauma in YOUR life.

You will also hear from Adam Linehan, a soldier who faced trauma when a suicide bomber killed 6 of his friends in front of him. That trauma, like many things that police officers have to deal with, can haunt you the rest of your life if you do not find the courage to get help, and to take your life back from the darkness.

Course Syllabus

  • Module 1 - Jonathan Hickory: Don't Let Trauma Destroy Your Life

    • Introduction and Early Trauma
    • A Career Derailed
    • Get Help
    • Summary
    • Assessment
  • Module 2 - Dealing With Trauma: An Officer's Guide, by Dr. Greenberg

    • Introduction to Trauma
    • Trauma and Statistics
    • Stories of Traumatic Injuries
    • Traumatic Stress
    • Stress and Performance
    • Impact of Trauma on the Officer
    • Physical Conditioning, Pre-incident Factors
    • Pre-event Factors, Incident Factors
    • Post-event Factors
    • Conclusion
    • Assessment
  • Module 3 - Survivor's Guilt and the Adam Linehan Story

    • Introduction and Events in Afghanistan
    • Survivor's Guilt
    • Moving On Isn't Running Away
    • Types of Survivor's Guilt
    • A Lesson from the Vietnam Memorial
    • A Lesson from Grandfather
    • PBS News Hour Interview with Adam Linehan
    • Resource
    • Assessment