People ask me all the time what I do for a living. The short answer is that I’m a police psychologist. The longer answer is that even after I explain it, most people are still confused.

While many people assume that police psychologists spend their days conducting evaluations or providing counseling, the reality is far broader. No two days in police psychology are ever the same. In the right organization, a police psychologist can serve as a strategic resource, clinician, consultant, trainer, crisis responder and partner to leadership. 

Over the years, both agencies and clinicians have asked me what this work actually looks like. Many departments have expressed interest in creating similar positions, while many psychologists have wondered how to carve out a comparable role.

This article is intended to provide a practical look at the work — not as a blueprint that must be followed exactly, but as an example of what is possible when organizations invest in psychological services beyond the traditional model.

First and foremost, being a police psychologist is not a nine-to-five career. Crises don’t happen on a rotating schedule, bad guys don’t care what my family plans are and organizational needs often supersede my own. That does not mean boundaries aren’t important, limits can’t be respected or that I can’t have a full and meaningful life outside of work. It simply means that days and weeks do not always look the way I want or expect them to, and flexibility is part of the job description.

I have a front-row seat to some of the most challenging moments people will ever experience.

I’m up at the crack of dawn most days — not because I’m an overachiever (I am 100%, but that’s not why I wake up early), but because I have young kids. As I’m making their breakfast, getting their backpacks ready and checking their homework, I’m also reading and answering emails and firing off some texts. In public safety, we don’t know when the next emergency will be, and sometimes it’s good to get the “everyday” stuff out of the way … just in case.

After dropping off my kids, If I don’t have a meeting or training, I’m working out in my home gym. That’s about as “regular” and “consistent” as my days get. Well, that and the semi-occasional glass of white wine because balance in all things, right?

Primarily, I am responsible for assessing and managing cases involving targeted violence, attending county meetings, teaching crisis intervention, managing the department’s wellness and peer support team, responding to crisis negotiation callouts, supporting operations and conducting clinical work. I also travel quite a bit and speak at conferences across the country. “If you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life.” In my opinion, that is some Hallmark-level BS. However, loving your job can make it more palatable to do the hard things, such as spending time away from your family and working 20-hour days.

Gratefully, when I began my career, I was afforded the opportunity to carve my own path. I developed my expertise around where I found the greatest need and what I liked doing most. As I stated earlier, no two days look the same, but most days involve a little bit of everything.

I get to help organizations solve difficult problems and support people when they need it most.

Behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM)

BTAM has become one of the most dynamic and impactful areas of modern police psychology. On any given day, I may be consulting on cases involving concerning communications, threatening behavior, fixation, grievance development or other indicators associated with targeted violence. The role of the psychologist is not to provide a dramatic, television-style profile. It is to help agencies conceptualize behavior, understand psychological drivers, evaluate risk factors and develop practical intervention plans.

Wellness program leadership

Managing a wellness program means balancing strategic planning with practical implementation. One moment may involve discussing budgets and program expansion with leadership. The next may involve supporting a peer support member after a difficult incident or coordinating services for an employee in crisis.

Crisis negotiation and operational support

When critical incidents occur, psychologists may provide consultation to crisis negotiation teams, command staff and operational personnel. A carefully planned day can change instantly with a single phone call.

Training and professional development

Throughout the year, I provide training on topics such as wellness, resilience, suicide prevention, leadership, behavioral threat assessment and management, crisis intervention and operational psychology.

I enjoy training because it allows me to have an impact beyond a single case or employee. If I can help a supervisor recognize early warning signs, teach an officer how to communicate more effectively with someone in crisis or help a threat assessment team intervene before violence occurs, that knowledge can have a ripple effect far beyond the classroom.

Clinical practice

People are often surprised to learn that I maintain a separate private clinical practice in addition to my role with the department. I work exclusively with first responders and specialize in trauma. That distinction between my work with the department and my clinical practice is important. For ethical and boundary reasons, I do not provide clinical services to employees of the agency where I am employed. Those worlds remain intentionally separate. My private practice allows me to continue doing the clinical work I love while maintaining the integrity and trust necessary for my role within the department.

The reality of the job

When people hear the title “police psychologist,” they often imagine one thing. The reality is that the job can be 20 things before lunch. I might start the morning reviewing a BTAM case, spend the afternoon discussing wellness program budgets, take a call from a peer support member, teach a crisis intervention class and finish the evening answering emails from an airport while traveling to a conference.

Some days are exciting. Some days are emotionally exhausting. Some days are filled with bureaucracy, budgets and meetings that probably could have been emails. Most days are a combination of all three. Despite the unpredictability, I genuinely enjoy the work.

I have a front-row seat to some of the most challenging moments people will ever experience, but I also get to witness resilience, growth, recovery and extraordinary acts of service. I get to help organizations solve difficult problems and support people when they need it most. So what does a police psychologist do all day? The honest answer is: it depends.

But somewhere between managing threat cases, supporting wellness initiatives, teaching, consulting, responding to crises, attending meetings, answering late-night phone calls and occasionally reheating the same cup of coffee three times before drinking it, we help people. At the end of the day, that’s really the job.