Hello! Welcome to Day 13 of the 2022 First Responders Are Human event. The event hopes to encourage mental wellness in first responders through physical fitness. Participants should engage in one deliberate physical activity each day of the event. We will also be sharing a daily resiliency tool that can help first responders be resilient on and off the job. While many of the stressors first responders face are systemic, it is still important that we be able to maintain our own mental health.
Today’s Tool: Professional Resources
The tool for day 13 is professional resources! Our previous tools have mostly focused on things you can do on your own or with little outside resources. However, professional resources are also an important tool to have in your toolbox. The goal of creating a toolbox is to prepare in advance, and having a professional in your corner when needed is part of that preparation.
How Professional Resources Can Help
Developing our toolbox is a great way to maintain mental wellness, but sometimes we can benefit from a tool not in our toolbox. This is where professional resources come in. Professional resources include people like primary care providers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors.
Professional resources are beneficial when your current tools aren’t effective or are overwhelmed. They can help you work through difficult decisions or situations. They can also help you process your emotions. Professionals can also help you refine your tools or give you additional tools to add to your toolbox.
While therapy has some of the most proven effects of any mental health treatment, augmenting therapy with medication can be helpful for some people. Improving your mental health is kind of like growing a garden. They both require a lot of groundwork. If you are having nightmares, not sleeping, and drinking too much, therapy won’t be as effective (just like if you don’t fertilize your garden). In this case, medication to help you sleep can improve the chances of the therapy working.
Many of the topics we’ve covered over the last 2 weeks have a professional aspect to them. There are professionals that use physical activity, breathing, mindfulness, art, and writing in their practice. There are support groups for first responders run by professionals. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is a formal 8 week class taught by professionals.
How to Find A Professional Resource
Finding a professional mental health resource can be intimidating. Especially if you don’t have insurance, are under-insured, or work an atypical schedule. There are also a lot of details about mental health treatment that can be confusing when you are under a lot of stress. Some things to consider when you are looking for a resource include:
What are the main concerns you have?
What are your goals?
Are you seeking medication, therapy, both, or something else?
What kinds of therapy appeal to you?
Would you prefer in-person or video chatting, or either?
Once you have given those questions consideration it can make the search for a professional resource easier. You can look for a professional resource by:
Speaking to a primary care provider, physician assistant, psychiatric nurse practitioner, or psychiatrist if you have questions about medication.
Asking your primary care provider for a referral.
Using your health insurance “provider search tool” to find covered professionals in your area.
Utilizing a third-party search tool, such as the one available at www.psychologytoday.com
Using a search tool provided by the governing body for the field you’re interested in. For example, the art therapist search tools we posted on Day 8, www.emdr.org, or https://www.eagala.org/
Reviewing a resource list maintained by your union, peer support team, or state/province EMS board.
Asking a friend! Many first responders have sought professional help and have a provider they enjoy working with.
Contacting a first responder mental health non-profit that offers referrals.
What To Do Once You’ve Found a Resource
If you’ve never sought professional assistance before the process can be intimidating and frustrating. The upside is that many professionals offer a 15 or 20-minute consultation to see if you will be a good fit for each other. These appointments give you the opportunity to ask each other questions, like a job interview. Other professionals will cover this during your initial visit. In the lead-up to your consultation or appointment, it is a good idea to write down what your concerns are, why you are seeking assistance, what your goals are, and any specific questions or concerns you might have about the process. Some questions you may ask are:
What is your treatment approach?
How do you approach treating substance use/misuse?
How do you feel about therapy without discussing a diagnosis?
Do you treat clients who are experiencing suicidal ideation?
What is your opinion on medication?
Do you believe someone can recover from trauma while still in the traumatic environment?
The last question is especially important for first responders. There are multiple different theories on the most effective way to treat people who have experienced trauma. A subset of professionals believe that the best way to ensure recovery is for the person to change their environment. For first responders, this frequently leads to the suggestion of finding another job, and that suggestion often ends with the client firing the professional. Others believe you can recover while still in the same environment, and will only suggest a change if it is absolutely critical to your well-being.
Myths and Misconceptions
Myth: If I use my agency’s employee assistance program (EAP) my job will find out about it.
The licensed professionals that work with EAP services are bound by the same privacy laws as any other mental health professional. They can not report who has seen them or what they talked about. EAPs do sometimes report generic data, such as the number of people who called the EAP number over the previous 6 months. But these reports don’t include names or other identifying information.
Myth: If I use my work provided health insurance my job will find out about it.
Like individual health care providers, health insurance companies must also abide by HIPAA and other privacy laws. They can not report any information about what services you use to your employer, even if your employer is paying the premiums.
Myth: I have to have a diagnosis to see a professional
You may be resistant to diagnosis because you don’t want a label, and that’s okay! We understand this concern, but it should not prevent you from seeking assistance. While a diagnosis of some kind is necessary for a professional to bill insurance, that does not mean you have to have a specific diagnosis in advance to speak to them. Additionally, if you ask, many professionals will provide therapy without discussing a specific diagnosis during your sessions.
Myth: If I see a professional I will lose my license/job
We are labeling this a myth, with some caveats. As mentioned above, mental health professionals are bound by local and national privacy laws. Broadly, mental health professionals can release info in the following situations:
The patient is a direct and immediate threat to themselves and/or someone else.
In response to a court order.
Events that fall under local mandated reporter laws.
Mandated reporter laws typically do not apply to historical events, such as child abuse that happened 20 years ago. The caveats to this myth are that the public information about a situation is often lacking details. Everyone has seen a story on social media about their buddy’s former co-worker’s partner who was fired for having PTSD. What doesn’t make it on Facebook is that the individual had their driver’s license suspended for driving under the influence, and a license is a requirement of employment (note: this scenario is entirely fictional and any similarity to a real-life situation is coincidental). There are definitely crummy employers out there, but there are also a lot of social media stories that have deviated from the details of the situation.
Myth: My Insurance Doesn’t Cover Mental Health
There is a 95% chance this isn’t the case. In the USA the Affordable Care Act implemented something called mental health parity. This means that health insurance can not treat mental health care differently than other types of healthcare. For example, if you have a $40 co-pay for a physician visit for a sprained wrist, you should have a $40 co-pay for a therapy visit. There are a very small number of insurance plans that are exempt from ACA requirements, but they cover less than 1% of the population.
In Canada coverage is dependent on what province you are in. Some provinces only cover services if they are provided by a specific type of professional or through the provincial health services. It can also depend on if you are seeking help from someone in private practice. Canada is actively working on improving mental health parity.
In both countries, it may be possible to get work-related mental health care covered by Worker’s Comp/WCB. The conditions covered by Worker’s Comp are outlined in state/provincial law. Your employer does not determine coverage, although they may appeal a claim.
Final Thoughts
Accessing professional resources can be intimidating, but are an important tool to have in your toolbox. We encourage everyone to research professional resources ahead of time. Although you might not think you need one right now, it is good for you to preare in case that changes.
Helpful Links & Sources:
To Do:
Follow the event on Facebook, Instagram, and join the Strava group.
Download the daily posters to use on social media.
Reflect on today’s tool and how you’ve incorporated it into your life or how you might incorporate it.
Post your reflection and physical activity on social media or the participant’s group to help spread the word and to encourage accountability and camaraderie.
Use the hashtags #movementismedicine and #firstrespondersarehuman on social media.