Organizations are only as strong as the employees who serve in them and employees are only as strong as the people who hold them.

We’ve known that for a long time: If we look after our people, if we create a culture of collective effervescence, our teams will be strong, committed, and healthy. Police, Fire, Military, Corrections, and EMS crews experience some of the most traumatic situations on the “front-line” in their job. There is also the continued focus on the “stigma” of talking about mental health and the often-feared PTSD in the first responder world. Let me be clear about one thing: PTSD is NOT a mental illness. It is a psychological injury. Just like a physical injury, if left untreated, it will cause significant pain and disruption. And here’s the kicker – it affects the whole family. Most importantly, it takes a family-effort to heal. There has been a long line of resources developed for the serving member, but very little effort has been directed to the support systems.

This course was created for all the heroes who do this brave work of helping people at their most vulnerable — those who do frontline work (paid or volunteer) and those who hold them. We’ll talk about how this job can affect a whole family — and remind each of you why you matter to our communities, and mostly to each other.

This course is about trauma, when and why it can be a big deal (and what to do about it). We’ll talk all about relationship and connection and timing. And we’ll wrap up this epic course with a plan to help each of you be better than you’ve ever been, and what the “next steps” in shifting culture might look like. I added a final module just for those of you with kids, to watch with them. It’s short and packed with some of the things that first responder families face that are unique, just to you.