Resilience Development in Action: First Responder Mental Health

Send us Fan Mail A call can end, the scene can clear, and your body can still be on the call months later. We sit down with clinical psychologist Dr. Stacy Raymond to talk about what actually works for first responder mental health when the job leaves you with nightmares, intrusive images, a short fuse, and sleep that never fully comes back. We also dig into why the “tough it out” culture quietly pushes people toward avoidance and alcohol instead of recovery. We get practical about EMDR ther...

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2026

Send us Fan Mail A lot of first responders can talk anyone through a crisis, then go home and quietly self-destruct. That tension sits at the center of my conversation with Joe Smarro, a former cop known for crisis work who’s also honest about the parts of his life that didn’t look “resilient” at all: shame, compulsive numbing, relationship fallout, and the kind of hopelessness that puts a gun belt in the room as a real option. Joe walks me through the moment he finally chose help, not hiding...

Transcribed - Published: 27 May 2026

Send us Fan Mail A “mental health call” rarely looks like a calm conversation in a quiet office. It looks like uncertainty, pressure, split-second decisions, and a room full of risk factors that do not fit neatly into a checklist. I sit down with Joe Smarro, former Marine and former San Antonio Police Department officer who spent 11 years full-time on a mental health unit, to unpack what actually works when the goal is simple and urgent: keep everyone safe and lower the temperature fast. ...

Transcribed - Published: 20 May 2026

Send us Fan Mail Five years ago, I hit publish with a simple goal: make mental health easier to talk about and easier to access. Now, Resilience Development in Action is built specifically for first responder mental health, because police, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and dispatchers carry stress and trauma most people never see, then get told to just push through it. I’m sharing what’s kept this podcast steady for weekly Wednesdays, including the behind-the-scenes support that makes the ...

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2026

Send us Fan Mail One call can change the way you breathe, drive, sleep, and even trust your own judgment. I sit down with paramedic Emma Irwin to talk through a suicide scene that hit hard, the moment she cried on scene, and the quiet belief that too many first responders carry: “I should be able to handle this.” We name what that pressure does to police, fire, EMS, dispatchers, and paramedics when trauma exposure finally breaks through the professional mask. Emma walks me through what...

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2026

Send us Fan Mail A lot of people assume first responder stress is mostly about what you see on calls. Emma Irwin, a UK paramedic who worked both London and Kent, helps us name the other half of the story: the system you work inside. We compare how ambulance “trusts” operate, what shifts when call volume spikes, how response targets change the feel of a day, and why a 30-minute transport can be a big deal when it reshapes decisions about hospitals versus community care. If you care about EMS l...

Transcribed - Published: 29 April 2026

Send us Fan Mail The day you retire, the job doesn’t just end. Your identity can crack wide open. I sit down with Kemmi Sadler, a recently retired law enforcement professional, to talk about what it really feels like to go from “in the club” to “civilian” overnight, and why that change can pull years of grief and trauma straight to the surface. We get honest about the quiet moments after a career of composure, and the uneasy question so many first responders carry: if I’m the protector, who p...

Transcribed - Published: 22 April 2026

Send us Fan Mail The job can send you to the hardest places on earth, then expect you to come home and act like nothing followed you back. We talk with Kemmi Sadler, a retired supervisory special agent from the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, about what two decades of protective missions, investigations, and overseas tours can do to your inner life. From her early years in local law enforcement to contracting overseas after 9/11 and then serving across posts like Iraq, A...

Transcribed - Published: 15 April 2026

Send us Fan Mail Supervision used to be something you could reach for without fear or apology, and a lot of us built our careers on that kind of steady mentorship. Recording with Dennis Sweeney, Chris Gordon, Bob Cherney, Andy Kang, and Pat Rice, we get real about what’s changed in mental health and first responder support, and what it costs when clinicians and teams try to do complex work in isolation. We dig into why the supervision relationship matters so much for crisis intervention, add...

Transcribed - Published: 8 April 2026

Send us Fan Mail If you think police wellness is mostly about eating better and “handling stress,” this conversation will challenge you fast. Kevin Gilmartin returns and gets blunt about what the job does to the body and brain over years of hypervigilance, and why the usual scapegoat (donuts) misses the real drivers: cortisol, adrenaline, sleep debt, and a culture that treats prevention like an optional perk. We talk through the metabolic health side of first responder mental health, includi...

Transcribed - Published: 1 April 2026

Send us Fan Mail A lot of police wellness talk starts after something terrible happens. We wanted to start earlier and go deeper, into the daily mechanics of the job that slowly shape sleep, mood, relationships, and long-term health. I’m joined by Kevin Gilmartin, a retired law enforcement veteran and clinical psychologist who’s been watching the evolution of first responder mental health since the 1970s, and he brings a blunt, practical view of what actually changes outcomes. We dig into wh...

Transcribed - Published: 25 March 2026

Send us Fan Mail You can do everything “right” on the job and still end up quietly falling apart at home. Part two with Nikki Mason gets real about what first responder mental health support actually needs to look like when the stakes are high and the window for help is small. We start with the hard conversation many departments avoid: how to get chiefs and administrators to back real treatment instead of rushing someone back after a few required days off. Nikki explains why a first responde...

Transcribed - Published: 18 March 2026

Send us Fan Mail The hardest part of getting help often isn’t the therapy—it’s knowing who to trust when everything feels at risk. We sit down with treatment navigator Nikki Mason to open the black box of first responder mental health: how to spot programs that truly understand police, fire, EMS, and dispatch, why families are the first to notice cracks, and what happens when a call for help goes unanswered. Nikki shares a clear rule that guides her work—if she wouldn’t send a loved one, she ...

Transcribed - Published: 11 March 2026

Send us Fan Mail What do first responders actually need from therapy to make it stick? We unpack fresh survey results from 46 clients and more than 30 first responders to surface what’s working, what’s missing, and the changes we’re rolling out next. From session length and structure to real follow-up and safer groups, this is a candid look at the nuts and bolts of care that moves the needle. We dig into why 60 minutes often isn’t enough and how a 90-minute option creates space to warm up, p...

Transcribed - Published: 4 March 2026

Send us Fan Mail Stigma keeps too many first responders silent, and silence can cost careers, health, and lives. We sit down with a former deputy sheriff and burnout expert AK Dozanti to map clear, practical ways leaders and peers can replace fear with trust—without waiting for a crisis to force the issue. From the first honest check-in to a policy that actually protects time for care, we unpack what real support looks like on and off shift. We talk about the gap between leadership and...

Transcribed - Published: 25 February 2026

Send us Fan Mail When a split-second choice could become tomorrow’s headline, how do you stay human under the uniform? We sit down with former deputy sheriff turned coach and author AK Dozanti to unpack the real toll of first responder life—and the science-backed tools that help you heal without losing your edge. AK traces a rare path: undercover ICAC work at 19, road patrol, officer of the year, rapid burnout, then a pivot into victim advocacy, graduate study in criminology and victimology,...

Transcribed - Published: 18 February 2026

Send us Fan Mail The hardest stories rarely get told in the places that need them most. Susan Roggendorf and I open the door to how confidentiality truly works for police, fire, EMS, dispatchers, and medics—and why airtight boundaries are the backbone of real therapeutic change. No nods in public that out you, no name drops across departments, and no casual mentions that break trust. HIPAA is the law, but it is also a lived ethic that lets you speak freely without risking your reputation or y...

Transcribed - Published: 11 February 2026

Send us Fan Mail Ever been told to “suck it up” after a call that split your world in two? We challenge that script with a grounded, respectful look at how first responders can access care that actually helps. Steve sits down with licensed clinician and podcaster Susan Roggendorf for a candid, unfiltered conversation about culture, stigma, and practical support for police, fire, EMS, dispatch, ER, ICU, NICU, and corrections. We unpack why the tired question “What’s the worst thing you’ve see...

Transcribed - Published: 4 February 2026

Send us Fan Mail If you’re the one everyone turns to, you might be carrying more than you realize. We sit down with psychotherapist and mental wellness consultant Leah Marone to unpack the “serial fixer” habit—why it thrives in first responder culture and how it quietly fuels burnout, resentment, and frayed relationships. Leah works extensively with police, fire, EMS, and dispatch, and she brings sharp, compassionate insights you can use today without adding hours to your schedule. We break ...

Transcribed - Published: 28 January 2026

Send us Fan Mail In part 2, the calls keep coming, but the solutions don’t. We sit down with crisis clinician and EMDR therapist Morgan Yaskus to trace how a frayed safety net pushes first responders into impossible roles—and how that mismatch breeds moral injury. From long drives to the nearest DMV or ER to midnight discharges with no plan, we map the structural barriers that turn compassion into exhaustion and good intentions into public criticism. Morgan shares what mobile crisis teams ca...

Transcribed - Published: 23 January 2026

Send us Fan Mail The toughest calls rarely end when the sirens go quiet. We sat down with Alaska-based counselor Morgan Yaskus to explore how real support for police, fire, EMS, dispatchers, and paramedics takes shape in small communities where everyone knows your truck, your shift, and your business. Morgan spent three years on a nonprofit-led mobile crisis team working alongside first responders through MOUs, navigating scenes that were neither strictly medical nor criminal. That proximity ...

Transcribed - Published: 21 January 2026

Send us Fan Mail Strength without silence. That’s the thread running through our conversation with Jeff Dill, a former battalion chief turned licensed counselor and the founder of the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance. Jeff has spent years validating firefighter and EMS suicide data, building workshops from real-world stories, and leading behavioral health efforts for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue. He brings hard-won clarity on what actually helps: simple language, daily habits, and policies...

Transcribed - Published: 14 January 2026

Send us Fan Mail In part 2 with Alexa Silva, we discuss how love doesn’t clock out when the tones drop. We sat down to unpack what really happens when a first responder’s world of shift work, hypervigilance, and on-call stress collides with the everyday demands of family life—and why even strong couples can drift into silence, scorekeeping, and resentment without clear structure and care. Across a candid, fast-moving conversation, we dig into how intimacy has to evolve over time, especially ...

Transcribed - Published: 9 January 2026

Send us Fan Mail The badge asks for everything, then hands you a shift change and a smile. We sat down with returning guest, licensed clinical social worker Alexis Silva, to dig into the quiet realities behind the uniform: why trust is scarce, why stigma is sticky, and how substance use becomes a steady companion long before it becomes a crisis. Alexis works almost exclusively with first responders, military, and veterans, and brings her own sobriety and family experience to the table. ...

Transcribed - Published: 7 January 2026

Send us Fan Mail The most downloaded conversation of the year returns for a reason: it’s the raw, practical guide first responders and their families keep asking for. We sit with Sgt. Michael Sugrue—Air Force security forces veteran, Walnut Creek Police sergeant, and author of Relentless Courage—to talk about the weight of hundreds of traumatic calls, how a 2012 shooting upended his life, and the exact steps that pulled him back from the edge. Michael breaks down why suicide remains the top ...

Transcribed - Published: 31 December 2025

Send us Fan Mail From crime and trauma scene cleanup to midnight dispatch and station kitchens, we gathered the most powerful lessons from a year of conversations with first responders, clinicians. Here are the links for all the episodes: Krista Gregg (E.188): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-188 Jessica Jamieson (E.192): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-192 Beth Salmo (E.204): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-204 Elizabeth Ecklund (E.207): https://podcasts.apple.co...

Transcribed - Published: 26 December 2025

Send us Fan Mail When the lights are flashing and the clock is ticking, we train for everything—except the weight we carry home. We sit down with Coast Guard veteran and grief coach Justin Jacobs to unpack the invisible load of moral injury, the shock of losing the uniform, and the quiet ways unprocessed grief leaks into performance, relationships, and health. From the chaos of capsized boats to the stillness after a tough outcome, Justin names what many feel and few say out loud. We explore...

Transcribed - Published: 22 December 2025

Send us Fan Mail What if the most powerful tool on a crisis scene isn’t a badge or a diagnosis, but a practiced partnership? We continue our conversation with Dr. Sarah Abbott about co-response and unpack how pairing clinicians with police changes the outcome of calls involving mental health, substance use, and high-stress events—from domestic incidents with kids present to house fires and welfare checks where information is thin. We trace the arc from a pioneering certificate at William Jam...

Transcribed - Published: 19 December 2025

Send us Fan Mail Crises rarely look like TV. Most calls aren’t bank robberies; they’re frantic welfare checks, neighbor standoffs over fences, a parent terrified for a missing teen, or someone hearing voices at 2 a.m. We sit down with Dr. Sarah Abbott, a pioneer of the police–clinician co-response model, to unpack how pairing a trained clinician with officers at the point of contact reshapes outcomes: fewer arrests, fewer injuries, and far more dignity for the person in distress. Sarah share...

Transcribed - Published: 16 December 2025

Send us Fan Mail The silence after the last shift can be deafening. We dive into what really happens when the badge comes off and the calls stop, tracing the steep drop from team identity and adrenaline to isolation, substance use, and rising suicide risk. With honesty and urgency, we unpack why retirement hits first responders so hard and outline a practical safety net that works in the real world. We talk through the addictive rhythm of police, fire, EMS, and corrections work—why the cultu...

Transcribed - Published: 12 December 2025

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to build mental health care that first responders actually trust? We sit down with former Revere police officer Joe Rizzuti, whose journey from stacked line-of-duty trauma and alcohol use to peer support leadership strips away the clichés and gets to what works. Joe’s story starts with a tough childhood, a military turnaround, and a policing career shaped by high-stakes cases and a deep love for community. It also includes administrative betrayals, devastati...

Transcribed - Published: 9 December 2025

Send us Fan Mail A culture that actually protects first responders doesn’t happen by accident—it’s built on day-one expectations, family inclusion, and leaders who tell the truth even when the news is hard. We sit down with Doug Wyman to map what real organizational wellness looks like and why “Inside the Box” has become a powerful framework for shifting identity, policy, and practice in policing. We start where most programs fail: leaving wellness to HR or EAP and forgetting families. Doug ...

Transcribed - Published: 3 December 2025

Send us Fan Mail The story begins where many first responder lives converge: relentless calls, court dates, and a small department that never truly sleeps. Then the personal hits. Former New Hampshire police chief Doug Wyman opens up about parenting through a son’s addiction at the height of the opioid crisis, supporting a younger child through identity shifts, and the morning that changed everything—when his wife died by suicide with his duty weapon. What follows is a rare, unguarded look at...

Transcribed - Published: 27 November 2025

Send us Fan Mail As we continue the conversation with Lisa, Trusas. Stigma is a quiet siren—it keeps people from asking for help, and it teaches the rest of us to look away. We open up about what addiction really looks like inside emergency services and at home, from dispatch centers and correctional facilities to ERs and patrol rooms. We talk about growing up in households where chaos felt normal, why “functioning alcoholic” gets a pass while heroin use gets a scarlet letter, and how the wor...

Transcribed - Published: 25 November 2025

Send us Fan Mail The first voice on a 911 call carries a lot more than a headset. In this candid, unfiltered conversation with veteran dispatcher and recovery coach Lisa Trusas, we pull back the curtain on what really happens at the console: juggling multiple emergencies at once, coaching panicked parents through CPR, catching danger in a whisper, and making judgment calls with lives on the line. Lisa’s story reframes dispatch as the heart of public safety—where police, fire, and EMS meet—and...

Transcribed - Published: 19 November 2025

Send us Fan Mail Change that lasts doesn’t come from a one-time high or another sleepless night patched by a pill. It comes from disciplined, daily work that your brain can actually keep—paired with leadership that people trust when it matters most. Steve sits down with Marine veteran and CEO Tony Crescenzo to unpack how audio-driven brain signals can turn short-term “state” shifts into month-later “trait” changes, especially for first responders who need real restorative sleep, calmer stress...

Transcribed - Published: 14 November 2025

Send us Fan Mail Ever wish you could quiet the story in your head without having to relive it? We sit down with Marine veteran and defense-tech CEO Tony Crescenzo to explore a practical, science-backed way to downshift the nervous system using neuroacoustic entrainment. Tony opens up about the years he spent running hot—rage, hypervigilance, and fractured sleep—and how a targeted audio protocol shifted his sleep from barely restorative to deeply replenishing. The conversation gets real about ...

Transcribed - Published: 12 November 2025

Send us Fan Mail The hardest part isn’t the call. It’s what your body and mind carry after the sirens fade. We go straight at the myth that strength means silence, and trade it for a practical blueprint to complete the stress cycle, name emotions without fancy language, and rebuild trust through honest conversation. Stephanie Simpson continues to share simple, fast tools first responders can use to process stress on and off scene. We break down why compartmentalizing is necessary in the mome...

Transcribed - Published: 7 November 2025

Send us Fan Mail What if the hardest grief in your life isn’t about death, but about change—leaving a team, dropping a title, or stepping away from a community that once defined you? That’s where our conversation with coach and educator Stephanie Simpson begins, and it’s where many first responders secretly live: in the space between who we were and who we’re becoming. Stephanie shares how her evolution from dancer and teacher to professional coach reshaped her understanding of loss. We dig ...

Transcribed - Published: 5 November 2025

Send us Fan Mail Some conversations ask you to sit up a little straighter. This one asks you to relax your shoulders, tell the truth, and feel what you’ve been carrying. We dive into the messy overlap of trauma and grief in first responder and military cultures, where silence is rewarded and honesty is too often punished, and we share a different path built on authenticity, peer support, and practical skills. Blythe Landry joins us to map the line between privacy and secrecy, and why crossin...

Transcribed - Published: 29 October 2025

Send us Fan Mail The hardest conversations often happen in the quiet minutes between calls. We sat down with clinician and co-response partner Amanda Rizoli to explore how real support for first responders is built—on language, trust, and the discipline to show up when services are thin and the need is loud. Amanda works alongside the Milford Police Department’s Family Services Unit and partners with Community Impact, Chris’s Corner Recovery Resource Center, and New England Medical Group to c...

Transcribed - Published: 22 October 2025

Send us Fan Mail In this continued collaboration with Milford TV, we explore how burnout rarely makes a scene—it slips in as irritability, isolation, and the quiet urge to shut out the world. This episode is the conclusion of episode 225 and we open the door on how those whispers grow louder inside the fire service and EMS, why “just call this number” isn’t care, and what it really takes to protect crews before a bad day becomes a disaster. Our guest, Renea Mansfield, shares honest, lived exp...

Transcribed - Published: 15 October 2025

Send us Fan Mail Burnout doesn’t just come from the calls—it grows in the silence after, inside a culture that either catches you or drops you. We sit down with Renae, a former firefighter-paramedic who now coaches first responders on burnout recovery and nervous system regulation, to unpack how leadership betrayal, union politics, and the loss of seasoned mentors quietly shape morale, retention, and the quality of care on scene. Renae walks us through two starkly different departments: one ...

Transcribed - Published: 8 October 2025

Send us Fan Mail How do we treat our physical health versus our mental health? Former London Metropolitan Police officer Jonathan Kemp spent 12 years in law enforcement while battling undiagnosed bipolar disorder, depression, and dyslexia—yet refused to seek professional help until his late 30s. "I was determined to fix myself on my own," Kemp reveals in this powerful conversation. "I saw it as an insult to go and see a doctor. It was a weakness or admission of defeat." This mindset, particu...

Transcribed - Published: 1 October 2025

Send us Fan Mail The weight of trauma doesn't stay at work—it comes home. For first responders, this reality shapes not just their professional lives but transforms family dynamics, relationships, and personal wellbeing in profound ways that most people never see. In this revealing conversation, therapist Erin Sheridan shares her unique perspective as both a mental health professional specializing in first responder care and someone who understands the lifestyle intimately through personal c...

Transcribed - Published: 24 September 2025

Send us Fan Mail When a fellow firefighter confessed suicidal thoughts to Adam Neff one night at the firehouse, it changed everything. Despite his decades of experience handling emergencies, Adam found himself unprepared for this particular crisis. That moment became the catalyst for his remarkable transition from assistant chief of operations to licensed professional counselor specializing in first responder mental health. During our conversation, Adam reveals the profound disconnect betwee...

Transcribed - Published: 17 September 2025

Send us Fan Mail The weight of caring for others can become unbearable when we forget to care for ourselves. This powerful conversation with Deidre Gestrin, a licensed clinical professional counselor and certified health coach, takes us deep into the reality of burnout among first responders and helping professionals. Deidre shares her profound personal journey through burnout - a harrowing experience that led her doctor to deliver the stark warning: "Your job is killing you." With remarkabl...

Transcribed - Published: 10 September 2025

Send us Fan Mail Steve Bisson welcomes Bill Dwinnells, a licensed mental health counselor with over 30 years of experience and a background as an EMT, to discuss their joint venture, Gambit Counseling, and its innovative approach to first responder mental health. The conversation explores why traditional mental health services often fall short for first responders. As Dwinnells eloquently explains, "First responders see a very unique slice of American life that the vast majority of people kn...

Transcribed - Published: 3 September 2025

Send us Fan Mail The IAFF Center of Excellence stands as a sanctuary for firefighters navigating the complex terrain of mental health challenges. In this revealing conversation with Hannah Elmore, Clinical Outreach Coordinator, we explore how this specialized treatment facility has become a lifeline for nearly 4,000 firefighters across North America. Hannah takes us behind the scenes of this unique 15-acre campus in Maryland, explaining how every aspect—from the station house-style sleeping ...

Transcribed - Published: 27 August 2025

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful conversation, Hannah Elmore, Senior Clinical Outreach Coordinator for the IAFF Center of Excellence, reveals the critical role of culturally competent care in supporting firefighter mental health. Drawing from her extensive background in clinical social work and deep immersion in fire service culture, Hannah illuminates the often-overlooked nuances of how mental health challenges uniquely manifest in first responders. The discussion takes us behind the curta...

Transcribed - Published: 20 August 2025