Individual Consulting and Group Consulting
First responders will be exposed to a variety of incidents through out their careers. In addition, many of these incidents will demand a high level of energy and focus from the individual, yet these incidents will go unnoticed and not have an immediate impact on the person. Consequently, continuous exposure to traumatic incidents can negatively affect a person’s physical and mental health.
Unfortunately, many agencies will refer individuals to professional counseling services not properly equipped to address the needs of first responders. Referrals are often made to professional counselors when the individual might not need such a level of treatment.
At Ascent Consulting, we meet with the individual and provide guidance about what level of treatment might be most beneficial. Together, we navigate through the impact a critical incident might have on the individual and explore ways on how to mitigate negative impacts long-term. With the use of different screening tools and assessments, we help the individual find solutions.
Mental Health Wellness Assessments can be beneficial interventions in helping a person better understand their strengths and further gain some awareness about areas needing further attention. The use of different assessment tools allows for the individual to create a plan on how to best address any needs related to overall well-being. Wellness checks can provide opportunities to explore topics such as compassion fatigue, burnout, stress due to work or family, financial concerns, substance use concerns, anxiety, depression, and individual strengths.
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing is essential in mitigating the impact from exposure to a traumatic incident. Furthermore, this process can provide guidance and education to the individual of what a typical response (physical and mental) might be due to the exposure to a significant incident. Lastly, these types of debriefs allow for the facilitator to make appropriate referrals to outside providers if an individual can benefit from further services. Debriefs can be completed for individuals as well as groups.
Relationship Concerns are at times at the core of many struggles for first responders. Relationships with a significant other, family, peers, or community members, demand time and energy. Still, there are techniques which can be adopted to help balance the demands of our profession and personal relationships.
Organizational Training
Preventative training empowers first responders, families, and their organization to be healthier. Nowadays, wellness-related trainings and effective communication techniques are essential for anyone in the workforce.
Ascent Consulting offers training in the following topics:
Crisis Communications (de-escalation) is a necessity for any first responder. Most of our daily contacts with the public involve some type of communication. Through this training, topics of self-awareness, theme development, tactical considerations, empathy, active listening skills, and recognition of emotions are explored. In addition, crisis communication includes assessments of suicidal individuals and teaches techniques on how to remain calm during a stressful situation. Lastly, the topics and techniques discussed in this training are applicable to our daily interactions and communications. This topic can be customized to fit the needs of the organization.
Resilience training explores stress management and coping techniques. Furthermore, resilience training can include topics related to finances, mental health concerns (signs and symptoms), and techniques on how to become more resilient.
Officer Wellness is of the upmost importance if we want to have a long and healthy career. In this module, typical stressors associated with law enforcement and ways to combat the negative effects are explored. In addition, this module discusses ways on how to enhance our resilience and ways to connect with our individual strengths. This training can be customized to the needs of the organization and can further be a resource to families of first responders.