• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • Seeking the right kind of help
      “Why does that call keep haunting me?”
      Mentoring: Leave ’em better than you found ’em
      A message to those considering suicide
      The power of teamwork
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • “Wow, our career together is over”: Missouri police department...
        Heroic Pennsylvania officer saves father and daughter from drowning...
        Denver law enforcement struggle to divert low-level offenders to...
        “The good guys won”: Fugitive convicted murderer captured after...
        “Service was running through his veins”: Condolences pour in for...
    • Labor
      • San Francisco “workhorse” deputy earns millions in overtime pay...
        “A financial tsunami”
        LAPD officers receive raises, bonuses
        Minnesota police force faces disbandment as chief resigns amid salary...
        We quit!
    • Tech
      • The rise of I2P
        Ann Arbor Police Department adopts AI technology to analyze body...
        Ohio law enforcement adopts powerful ballistics technology to combat...
        AI-powered surveillance program raises concerns over privacy rights...
        Chesterfield County announces real-time crime center to enhance...
    • Training
      • Investigating “swatting” incidents
        Leaders take note: A handwritten note goes a long way
        CIT training is not for everyone
        Mentoring: Leave ’em better than you found ’em
        Ohio struggles to secure permanent funding for law enforcement...
    • Policy
      • Texas enacts stricter laws to combat illegal street racing and...
        New Mexico Supreme Court clarifies police authority to question...
        New Texas law gives local law enforcement greater control over...
        Diversity in law enforcement
        Florida attorney general and John Walsh partner in new Crime Stoppers...
    • Health/Wellness
      • The emotional rucksack
        What threat does to the brain
        Seeking the right kind of help
        Working through grief
        Responding to trauma
    • Community
      • Florida police department launches SPORTS initiative to build...
        Naperville police officer inspires generations of kids through reading
        Stockton P.D. launches Your Way Registry Program to protect...
        Committing to outreach
        Scam callers pose as law enforcement to trick victims into paying for...
    • Offbeat
      • “This little piggy didn’t make it to the market”:
        Seattle police find burglary suspect guzzling gasoline in victim’s...
        Univision Chicago TV crew reporting on armed robberies held at...
        California Highway Patrol arrests man on horseback for DUI
        Runaway lemur leads Missouri police on wild chase
    • We Remember
      • Headstone finally marks grave of Pennsylvania officer who gave his...
        Memorial for the fallen: The sacrifice continues
        Paying Tribute to the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
        “He was like a protector …”: Genesee County sheriff’s deputy...
        Deadly police pursuit claims life of 19-year-old Vermont police...
  • On the Job
    • “Wow, our career together is over”: Missouri police department...
      Heroic Pennsylvania officer saves father and daughter from drowning...
      Denver law enforcement struggle to divert low-level offenders to...
      “The good guys won”: Fugitive convicted murderer captured after...
      “Service was running through his veins”: Condolences pour in for...
  • Labor
    • San Francisco “workhorse” deputy earns millions in overtime pay...
      “A financial tsunami”
      LAPD officers receive raises, bonuses
      Minnesota police force faces disbandment as chief resigns amid salary...
      We quit!
  • Tech
    • The rise of I2P
      Ann Arbor Police Department adopts AI technology to analyze body...
      Ohio law enforcement adopts powerful ballistics technology to combat...
      AI-powered surveillance program raises concerns over privacy rights...
      Chesterfield County announces real-time crime center to enhance...
  • Training
    • Investigating “swatting” incidents
      Leaders take note: A handwritten note goes a long way
      CIT training is not for everyone
      Mentoring: Leave ’em better than you found ’em
      Ohio struggles to secure permanent funding for law enforcement...
  • Policy
    • Texas enacts stricter laws to combat illegal street racing and...
      New Mexico Supreme Court clarifies police authority to question...
      New Texas law gives local law enforcement greater control over...
      Diversity in law enforcement
      Florida attorney general and John Walsh partner in new Crime Stoppers...
  • Health/Wellness
    • The emotional rucksack
      What threat does to the brain
      Seeking the right kind of help
      Working through grief
      Responding to trauma
  • Community
    • Florida police department launches SPORTS initiative to build...
      Naperville police officer inspires generations of kids through reading
      Stockton P.D. launches Your Way Registry Program to protect...
      Committing to outreach
      Scam callers pose as law enforcement to trick victims into paying for...
  • Offbeat
    • “This little piggy didn’t make it to the market”:
      Seattle police find burglary suspect guzzling gasoline in victim’s...
      Univision Chicago TV crew reporting on armed robberies held at...
      California Highway Patrol arrests man on horseback for DUI
      Runaway lemur leads Missouri police on wild chase
  • We Remember
    • Headstone finally marks grave of Pennsylvania officer who gave his...
      Memorial for the fallen: The sacrifice continues
      Paying Tribute to the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
      “He was like a protector …”: Genesee County sheriff’s deputy...
      Deadly police pursuit claims life of 19-year-old Vermont police...
  • Between the Lines
    • Debunking the perpetual narrative of racial bias in policing
      The unspoken truth behind the recruitment and retention crisis
      The police reform goal: use of force without options
      The imprisonment of law enforcement technology
      Persecution of the LEO is classic schadenfreude
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Health/Wellness

Advancing peer support

Reactive, proactive and coactive wellness MODELS

Dr. Heather Rose-Carlson Published September 14, 2021 @ 9:00 am PDT

iStock.com/Motortion

As an officer, admitting you have a need for support and reaching out can be difficult. In a reactive wellness program, an individual must self-identify their need for contact and find the appropriate avenue for care. While this reactive method is the norm, there are additional structures that can be integrated into an agency’s peer support programming that allows for additional connection opportunities: proactive and coactive support. Proactive wellness programs have become more popular recently because they ensure that all officers have a peer support check-in on a regular schedule. This means that every member of an organization will have a conversation at a set or maximum frequency, providing a consistent opportunity for officers to begin discussions early, before issues compound.

A proactive peer support interaction allows for a colleague to take on the awkward first step of reaching out to someone to communicate that “I am here. You are not alone. I will walk with you.” This helps the supported person know they have support from someone who they do not have to explain their job to; the person “gets it.” The role of peer support is not to be a counselor, but rather to walk alongside as someone with shared experience, to support a fellow officer to reach out to professional help if and when they need to and perhaps just as importantly, to follow up and continue the conversation when it is necessary. Sergeant Dave Bohdal, a police peer support coordinator at a large service, says, “You have to have channels in place where people can reach out, of course, but to ensure you’re covering and looking after as many of your colleagues as possible, you need to find ways to be proactive; you can’t always sit back and wait for them to come to you.” Proactive check-ins take on the awkwardness of reaching out to peer support and get peer supporters actively and regularly reaching out to their peers. 

Jonathan Woodbeck, a health and wellness coordinator, says that “conversations may be brief or an engaging opportunity to let members know that there is always a peer available to talk to when they need it. Proactive check-ins work to normalize the idea of talking with the peer support team, helping employees to become familiar with the stories and faces of your trained peers and reducing the stigma of reaching out later on when a need or crisis does occur.”

Crisis does not always work on a neat and tidy timeline, so wellness programs need to ensure that a conventional reactive solution is still available alongside a proactive one. Here in Duluth, Minnesota, our teams use an app-based solution where an officer can curate a standing list of preferred peer supports and, with a button press, indicate they would like to talk. 

Crisis does not always work on a neat and tidy timeline, so wellness programs need to ensure that a conventional reactive solution is still available alongside a proactive one.

But what is coactive peer support? Departments that do not have a large enough staff base to incorporate a peer support team have established a coactive model where they share access to peer supports from other agencies. Being coactive ensures that smaller departments that do not have as many internal resources are able to foster a successful and proactive wellness program and allows members of large and small departments that would prefer to meet with a trained or certified peer outside of their own agency’s walls a safe way to do so. Peer support in smaller departments can sometimes feel “too close to home” and discourage officers from reaching out. With coactive sharing, officers can get the distance they need to feel comfortable when they reach out to another department’s peer support team. Cultivating these cross-departmental peer support relationships strengthens the wellness program for all departments involved and gives officers and other first responders choices on who they can reach out to.

Wellness programs continue to change and evolve. Proactive and coactive approaches provide opportunities for departments to offer robust peer support to their members that work to strengthen the mental health and well-being of officers. Transitioning from a solely reactive peer support approach to a reactive, proactive and coactive model ensures that officers, no matter their department location or their hesitancy to reach out for support, are provided with the avenues for care and resources they need to live healthier lives and continue doing their job at a high-functioning level.

Dr. Heather Rose-Carlson

Dr. Heather Rose-Carlson

Dr. Heather Rose-Carlson, Psy.D., LP, is a clinical psychologist and board-certified. Dr. Rose-Carlson has worked with military, first responders and traumatic incidents for over 20 years. She worked as a clinical consultant for the Veterans Center and volunteered with Project New Hope providing therapeutic retreats for combat veterans and their families. Dr. Rose-Carlson is the first to introduce interagency sharing of peer support teams between fire and police departments in Minnesota and possibly North America. 

View articles by Dr. Heather Rose-Carlson

As seen in the September 2021 issue of American Police Beat magazine.
Don’t miss out on another issue today! Click below:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Categories: Health/Wellness

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • “This little piggy didn’t make it to the market”:
  • Florida police department launches SPORTS initiative to build positive community relationships
  • Seattle police find burglary suspect guzzling gasoline in victim’s garage
  • The emotional rucksack
  • Naperville police officer inspires generations of kids through reading
  • “Wow, our career together is over”: Missouri police department bids farewell to retiring K-9 Tank
  • Investigating “swatting” incidents
  • Univision Chicago TV crew reporting on armed robberies held at gunpoint
  • Stockton P.D. launches Your Way Registry Program to protect individuals with mental and neurological disorders
  • What threat does to the brain

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

Seeking the right kind of help

Seeking the right kind of help

September 26, 2023

“Why does that call keep haunting me?”

“Why does that call keep haunting me?”

September 20, 2023

Mentoring: Leave ’em better than you found ’em

Mentoring: Leave ’em better than you found ’em

September 19, 2023

A message to those considering suicide

A message to those considering suicide

September 18, 2023

Privacy Policy | Your Privacy Options | Notice at Collection | Copyright © 2023 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.