CopShock: Second Edition
Surviving Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
by Allen R. Kates, MFAW, BCECR
Publications
Many worthwhile publications about trauma,
police and first responder issues exist. The following are but a few.
American Academy of Experts in
Traumatic Stress (AAETS)—Traumatic Stress Library
See
National Center for Crisis Management bookstore.
American Psychiatric
Association
The American Psychiatric Association publishes
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text
Revision (DSM-IV-TR), used by mental health professionals to diagnose mental
conditions. Among other disorders, the Association describes PTSD symptoms and
treatment on its website.
The organization also publishes a pamphlet
series covering many areas such as anxiety disorders, depression, eating
disorders, Panic Disorder, PTSD, and substance abuse.
Go to: http://www.psych.org or http://healthyminds.org. Write: American Psychiatric Association, 1000 Wilson
Boulevard, Suite 1825, Arlington, VA 22209. . Call toll-free: 888-357-7924. From
outside the US, call 703-907-7300.
American Psychological
Association
The American Psychological Association offers a
number of articles on topics such as anger, anxiety, trauma, depression, eating
disorders, therapy and PTSD. The website also provides news releases, and access
to information about books and abstracts from hundreds of scholarly
journals.
Go to: http://www.apa.org/topics. Write: American Psychological Association, Office of Public Affairs,
750 First Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-4242. Phone: Toll-free 800-374-2721
or 202-336-6123.
Clinical
Handbook
A Clinical Handbook/Practical Therapist Manual
For Assessing and Treating Adults with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),
written by Donald Meichenbaum, Ph.D., a well-known expert and author on
PTSD, covers a great deal of ground.
Primarily for counselors, it includes
sections on combat veterans, crime victims, positive outcomes from traumatic
events, suicide, flashbacks, substance abuse and stress inoculation. The book
describes how to assess PTSD, how to use and modify critical incident stress
debriefing methods, and how to conduct different kinds of intervention and
treatment.
Voted one of the ten most influential psychotherapists, Dr.
Meichenbaum has also written Stress Inoculation Training, Pain and
Behavioral Medicine, and Cognitive Behavior Modification: An Integrative
Approach, which is considered a classic in its field. In addition to
conducting a private practice, he is Research Director of the Melissa Institute
for Violence Prevention.
Write: Dr. D. Meichenbaum, University of
Waterloo, Department of Psychology, Waterloo, ON N2L-3G1, Canada. Phone:
519-885-1211, ext. 2551.
Crisis, Stress, Trauma Books
and Videos
Chevron Publishing publishes and distributes books
and videos which promote the understanding and management of crisis, stress,
trauma and violence. They specialize in books relevant to disaster mental
health, emergency services, crisis intervention, and rescue professions,
including books by the founders of the International Critical Incident Stress
Foundation (ICISF), and several of the ICISF faculty members. Please check out
their selection of publications online.
Go to: http://www.chevronpublishing.com.
Write: Chevron Publishing Corporation, PO Box 6274, Ellicott City, MD 21042.
Phone: 410-418-8002.
Developing A Law Enforcement
Stress Program
The National Criminal Justice Reference
Service (NCJRS) provides clearinghouse support for the National Institute of
Justice (NIJ) including distribution of NIJ publications. Developing a Law
Enforcement Stress Program for Officers and Their Families by Peter Finn
and Julie Esselman Tomz, 1997, is an invaluable NIJ reference for police
administrators, union representatives, peer counselors, police officers and
their families.
You can download the
entire 222-page book published by the National Institute of Justice for free at:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/163175.pdf or
order a photocopy.
Other significant Justice Department reference books
that can be ordered free from the NCJRS are Critical Incidents in Policing,
Law Enforcement Families: Issues and Answers and Psychological Services for Law
Enforcement. Important books that may be purchased are Coping With
Police Stress and Preventing Law Enforcement Stress: The Organization’s
Role. The contents of some of these books may be found at NCJRS’ website,
the Justice Information Center.
Go to: http://www.ncjrs.org. Write: NCJRS,
Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000. Call toll-free: 800-851-3420. Phone:
301-519-5500.
Grief, Loss and
Healing
Gifts My Father Gave Me: Finding Joy After
Tragedy was written by Sharon Knutson-Felix, Executive Director of the 100
Club of Arizona, with the assistance of Allen R. Kates, author of
CopShock. The 100 Club is a benevolent organization that helps police
officer and firefighter families in times of need. At one time, members from
this organization knocked on Sharon’s door. Her police officer husband had been
killed in-the-line-of-duty. Several years before that, her six-year-old son was
killed by an impaired driver. The book is a remarkable story about surviving
loss and grief, and finding love and joy again. It includes a Grieving and
Healing Guide. I had the privilege of assisting Sharon in the writing of her
book.
Go to: http://www.giftsmyfathergaveme.com.
It’s OK Not To Be OK—Right
Now…
How to Live Through a Traumatic Experience
It’s
OK Not To Be OK is a book and separate audio tape written and narrated by
Mark D. Lerner, Ph.D. Dr. Lerner provides practical information to help you
understand what’s happening to you during a crisis and how to regain a sense of
control. I advise anyone who has experienced a traumatic incident to read this
excellent 5-star book that will ease your emotional pain and teach you how to
survive and thrive. The book and audio tape can be ordered separately through
Amazon.com or from Dr. Lerner’s website.
You will also find on his website
a lot of information about stress and trauma, as well as many other publications
he has been involved with to help you through a crisis.
Go to: http://www.itsoknottobeok.com.
I Love A Cop, (Revised
Edition):
What Police Families Need To Know
This
easy-to-read self-help book prepares cops and their loved ones for coping with
the stress of police life and work. Author Ellen Kirschman, Ph.D., a renowned
police psychologist, has worked with police officers and their families for over
twenty years.
For reviews and to order I Love A Cop, search www.Amazon.com.
Magazines for Law Enforcement
Officers
There are many excellent online and print magazines
for law enforcement officers that feature articles that keep you informed about
everything from equipment, armor, tactics and weapons to peer support and how to
cope with stress. Reading articles by other cops keeps you part of the law
enforcement community at times that you feel isolated and alone because of
stress and trauma. Here are some of them.
9-1-1 Magazine, managing emergency communications. Go to: www.9-1-1magazine.com.
American Cop: tools and training for real cops. Go to: www.americancopmagazine.com.
Blue Line: Canada’s National Law Enforcement Magazine. Go to: www.blueline.ca.
Chief Learning Officer: for academy directors and training supervisors. Go to: www.clomedia.com.
Chief of Police Magazine: subjects that would influence decision-making within police departments. Go to: www.aphf.org/thechief.html.
Corrections Forum Magazine: for senior corrections management. Go to: www.criminaljusticemedia.com.
Corrections Today: a publication of the American Correctional Association. Go to: www.aca.org.
Dispatch Monthly: news and information about public safety communications. Go to: www.911dispatch.com.
Evidence Technology Magazine: for evidence/crime scene technicians or those engaged in forensic analysis. Go to: www.evidencemagazine.com.
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin: monthly. Go to: www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/leb.htm.
FLETC Journal: an unofficial law enforcement training magazine published by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Go to: www.fletc.gov.
Law & Order Magazine: publication for police management, and everybody else in law enforcement. Go to: www.hendonpub.com/publications/lawandorder.
Law Officer:
tactics, technology and Training for Today’s
Law Enforcement Officer. Go to:
www.policeone.com
Law Enforcement Technology: for law enforcement decision-makers. Go to: www.officer.com/magazines/let.
National Institute of Justice Journal: research, development and evaluation agency of the US Department of Justice. Go to: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals.
PI Magazine: professional investigator magazine. Go to: www.pimagazine.com.
Police and Security News: information source for law enforcement and Homeland Security. Go to: www.policeandsecuritynews.com.
Police Chief Magazine: official voice of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Go to: www.policechiefmagazine.org.
Police Marksman Magazine: tactical excellence in law enforcement training. Go to: www.policeone.com/policemarksman.
Police Magazine: for the community of cops. Go to: www.policemag.com.
PORAC Magazine: publication of the Police Officers Research Association of California. Go to: www.porac.org/news.html.
Police Review: a magazine for UK police published by Jane’s, the same people that publish military books. Go to: www.policereview.com.
Public Safety IT Magazine. Go to: www.hendonpub.com/publications/publicsafetyit.
Security Management: a magazine published by ASIS Inter-national, an international organization for security professionals. Go to: www.securitymanagement.com.
Sheriff Magazine: publication of the National Sheriff’s Association. Go to: www.sheriffs.org/publications.
SWAT Digest: a platform that meshes the tactical skills, training and knowledge of both law enforcement and military special operations. Go to: www.swatdigest.com.
Tactical Response: the publication for Special Enforcement. Go to http://www.hendonpub.com/publications/tacticalresponse.
The Blues Police Newspaper: Texas’s oldest and largest police newspaper. Go to: www.thebluesnews.com
Women Police Magazine: official publication of the Inter-national Association of Women Police. Go to: www.iawp.org.
Peer Support Training
Manual
On police psychotherapist Nancy Bohl’s website, she
offers a series of very helpful articles including crisis intervention, critical
incident trauma, and trauma in the workplace. She also offers breathing and
relaxation techniques and surveys and self-tests for compassion fatigue,
depression, work addiction risk, alcoholism, stress and anger.
Go to:
http://www.thecounselingteam.com.
Write: The Counseling Team, 1881 Business Center Drive, Suites 11 & 12, San
Bernardino, CA 92408. Call Toll-free: 800-222-9691. Phone:
909-884-0133.
National Center for Crisis
Management Bookstore
The National Center for Crisis
Management (NCCM), in collaboration with The American Academy of Experts in
Traumatic Stress (AAETS), have an excellent bookstore that distributes books and
other resources for the professional and survivor alike.
They offer books
that help professionals address crisis situations and the emergent psychological
needs of those exposed to traumatic events. Many of the books address traumatic
stress and crisis management.
These publications include subjects such as
crisis response in our schools, university crisis response, becoming
stress-resistant, community response to terrorism, acute traumatic stress
management, how to deal with anxiety and nervous fatigue, group crisis support,
depression, crisis intervention and many more.
Go to: http://www.aaets.org. or http://www.nc-cm.org. Write:
AAETS/NCCM, Administrative Offices, 368 Veterans Memorial Highway, Commack, NY
11725. Phone: 631-543-2217.
Spiritual Survival for Law
Enforcement
The book titled Spiritual Survival for Law
Enforcement by Cary A. Friedman is a must have for every police officer.
Too often we focus on our emotional, psychological and physical wellbeing, but
forget that we are primarily spiritual creatures having a physical experience.
The book provides spiritual fortification for officers faced with horrific
experiences that challenge their most deeply held personal beliefs. Focused on
inner peace and finding clarity, this practical guide is jam-packed with
exercises, tools, and insights that you can’t do without. As Friedman says, it
“nourishes the spirit of everyday heroes.”
A much admired chaplain and
rabbi, Friedman writes about coping with trauma regardless of religious
denomination. He is the spirituality consultant to the FBI’s Behavioral Science
Unit in Quantico, Virginia, and to the law enforcement community in
general.
The author of five books, he has also written the book Wisdom
from the Batcave. In 18 lighthearted chapters, he uses Batman’s example to
illustrate profound truths such as How to Triumph over Adversity, the Value of
Inspiring Others, and A Better Definition of Victory. Focusing on relationships
with self, others and the community, the book illustrates how to live a better
life, something trauma sufferers want and need.
Go to: http://www.spiritualsurvivalbook.com
and to http://www.batwisdom.com. Write: Rabbi Cary A. Friedman, Compass Books, PO Box 3091,
Linden, NJ. Phone: 908-868-1023.
Trust After
Trauma
One of the most prolific authors on trauma is
Aphrodite Matsakis, Ph.D. She has written many easy-to-read books on trauma’s
aftermath, including I Can’t Get Over It, A Handbook for Trauma Survivors,
Second Edition, and Trust After Trauma, A Guide To Relationships for
Survivors and Those Who Love Them. Many people consider I Can’t Get
Over It a bible for trauma sufferers. Her most recent book for law
enforcement is titled, In Harm’s Way: Help for the Wives of Military Men,
Police, EMTs & Firefighters. She also wrote the publication titled,
Back from the Front: Combat Trauma, Love, and the Family.
For
descriptions of her books, go to: http://www.amazon.com.