I’m proud to be a member of the Fire Service Psychology Association (FSPA) where, with other fire service leaders and psychologists, we’re working to “build a bridge between professional psychology and the fire service.” We believe that the primary support elements for that “bridge” are:
- Developing culturally competent mental health clinicians who understand what firefighters do, why they do it, under what conditions they do it, and the job stressors that can have a negative impact on a firefighter’s mental health and job performance.
- Developing culturally competent firefighters and fire officers who understand what psychologists do, how they can help individuals and organizations, and what their limitations are (e.g., legal requirements and professional ethics) to eradicate the stigma in fire service culture that prevents firefighters and officers from seeking professional care for their mental health issues.
FSPA papers
White paper · FSPA
Fire Service Cultural Competency Program
This white paper describes the program that FSPA has developed to train mental health professionals to be culturally competent regarding the fire service.
Read the PDFPosition paper · Kristen Wheldon, FSPA Founder and President
Fire Service Psychology
What fire service leaders and mental health practitioners must work together on to create a Fire Service Psychology discipline.
Read the PDFWhite paper · Kristen Wheldon, Psy.D. and BC (Ret.) Robert Avsec
Trauma Risk Management: A Data-Driven Solution to the Post Traumatic Stress Problem in the United States Fire Service?
How Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) should be the next step in peer support programs assisting firefighters following exposure to mental health risks.
Read the PDF