Fighting Mental Illness in Law Enforcement
Violent crime would generally be considered a life-altering event. It scars, it molds, it changes people whether they like it or not. This is why therapists and psychologists play such a large role in the prevention and study of crime because it has so much to do with the mind and its triggers. But when the people responsible for bringing justice take on the burden of these crimes, who takes care of them?
According to Dr. John Violanti, a researcher at the University of Buffalo, it is estimated that approximately 15% of law enforcement officers suffer from PTSD symptoms. This number is likely much higher due to the stigma of mental illness as a member of law enforcement. “This is dangerous”, says Dr. Janet and David Shucard. PTSD affects executive mental function and when the brains that handle weapons and are supposed to protect the public aren’t working at their best, people get hurt. Police officers, in particular, make decisions involving deadly force. Having quick and calculated mental functions is important to not killing someone innocent.
The American Psychological Association offers many solutions for those who have been formally diagnosed with PTSD. They’re variations of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which focuses on changing the connections the mind makes with certain behaviors and feelings. It’s designed to remodel the pathways of the brain and change dangerous and dysfunctional associations. Cognitive Processing Therapy focuses on the traumatic event itself and aims to redefine the pain one associates with it. The treatment is typically delivered over 12 meetings with a psychologist. Cognitive Therapy is another variant and is designed to modify the memory of the trauma. This is an intensive treatment plan and requires over three months of commitment to weekly meetings and group events. The last variant of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is Prolonged Exposure Therapy. The hope of this form is that through gradual exposure to the memories in safety and with the aid of a psychologist, one will learn that the trauma itself cannot hurt them. The pain is only present in the actual event, not in its memory. This form also requires a three-month treatment period with more frequent check-ins as remembering traumatic events can make one more vulnerable to panic attacks and triggers as they begin their healing process.
PTSD as a concept is continuously being studied. Researchers from across the globe devote their lives to understanding how to fix minds that have experienced trauma. Members of law enforcement are particularly vulnerable to developing PTSD by the nature of their profession. They are trained to avoid their natural instinct to run from danger and instead tasked with standing up against it. This is why PTSD symptoms should be carefully monitored before they develop into something more. Members of the New York State Department encourage the use of trauma-inoculation training and trauma awareness so that officers can take their mental health into their own hands. It is by helping the people that are trained to help us, that we can make the world a better place.
Sources
David Shucard and Janet L. Shucard, “Electrophysiological and Neuroimaging Studies of Cognitive Control: Introduction to Special Issue,” International Journal of Psychophysiology 87 (2013): 215–216, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2013.03.009.
König, J. (2014). Thoughts and Trauma – Theory and Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder from a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Perspective. Intervalla: platform for intellectual exchange, 2, 13- 19.
T.J. Covey, Janet L Shucard, John M Violanti, and David Shucard, “The Effects of Exposure to Traumatic Stressors on Inhibitory Control in Police Officers: A Dense Electrode Array Study Using a Go/NoGo Continuous Performance Task, International Journal of Psychophysiology 87 (2013): 363–375, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2013.03.009.
Waltman, S. H. (2015). Functional Analysis in Differential Diagnosis: Using Cognitive Processing Therapy to Treat PTSD. Clinical Case Studies, 14(6), 422-433.