Trauma

Trauma and PTSD in First Responders: Support for the Peer Support Team

Trauma and PTSD in First Responders: Support for the Peer Support Team

First Responders face trauma as part of the job. Firefighters, Law Enforcement officers, EMTs, paramedics, dispatchers, and other emergency personnel may regularly encounter fatal accidents, medical emergencies, child injuries, violence, disasters, line-of-duty deaths, and other deeply distressing situations.

Repeated exposure to traumatic events can take a toll on mental health over time. For many first responders, peer support is one of the most trusted and accessible ways to begin addressing stress, trauma, and PTSD.

Yet there is an important group that can sometimes be overlooked: the peer supporters themselves.

Navigating Post-Traumatic Stress

Navigating Post-Traumatic Stress

Awareness is the first step towards understanding and support. If you or someone you care about is grappling with the effects of PTSD, take that step toward nurturing healing and well-being. Let's embrace this month as an opportunity for growth for ourselves and our communities. You deserve compassion, support, and the space to embark on a path toward healing, and Discovery & Wellness Counseling is here to walk alongside you every step of the way.


What is Counseling?

What is Counseling?

The term counseling can be both confusing and intimidating but, when you break it down it is not nearly as scary as it initially sounds. Counseling is simply another word for getting support and help in an area of your life that gets in the way of you living the life you desire.

Owner and primary clinician at Discovery and Wellness Counseling, Heidi Brouelette MA. LPC. believes offering yourself the opportunity to grow and heal is one of the biggest gifts you can give to yourself.  To provide yourself with an opportunity to heal, develop strategies to manage areas of despair and frustration and increase your sense of wellbeing is something that you can always keep with you.