Dr. Rebecca Aadland This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Performance Fibers: Press Releases

   www.performancefibers.com/medi - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/11/2002   Last Visited: 3/23/2003

   Larry Glick, Executive Director of the NTOA, and Dr. Rebecca Aadland, Chairwoman of the NTOA's Behavioral Sciences Section, founded CIRT to minimize the long-term impact of trauma on officers and prevent future psychological and actual casualties after an incident occurs.
   ...
   "Immediately following an incident, the first reaction that surviving officers or widowed spouses may have is shock and disbelief," says Dr. Aadland, Project Manager of CIRT. "It is what the whole nation experienced on September 11, when we couldn't accept what actually happened. Then, the second wave of emotion could be anger, fear or guilt -- guilt felt by surviving officers over their roles in the incident. This wave comes at the most critical time for officers to talk, when CIRT can be most valuable and effective. It can give officers and spouses a chance to understand what they are feeling and a sense of how to cope."
   
   Dr. Aadland, a police psychologist, warns of the hazards that might occur when officers do not deal with their emotions. "Life begins to deteriorate for the men and women affected," she says. "Officers might use alcohol to ‘self-medicate,' and might suffer sleeplessness, recurring nightmares, depression and heightened anxiety. They might become more argumentative and irritable at work, and their performance suffers. They might leave a career in law enforcement entirely. The most tragic consequence of exposure to a critical incident is when an officer commits suicide.
   
   "We tell officers and their spouses, ‘You will never be the same person again.
   ...
   But it doesn't mean that you have to live with the incident in a destructive way,'" says Dr. Aadland. "CIRT is there to help you incorporate the incident into your life in a meaningful way and mitigate long-term negative effects."
   
   CIRT: How It Works
   
   When there is an officer death or injury, the chief of a police department will contact the NTOA directly for CIRT services. The NTOA might take the initiative and contact a police department after receiving news of an incident; or a police agency might contact the NTOA well after a traumatic incident takes place - on the first anniversary of a death, for instance; or when there is strife or dysfunction among members of a police team who were involved in an incident.
   ...
   "Trust is an important issue for officers who have lost a colleague; they are more reluctant to go to an ‘outsider' for help," says Dr. Aadland. "CIRT provides credibility and a comfort factor, because only officers who have SWAT experience and who are trained in peer support are sent to help fellow officers."
   
   After arriving on site, CIRT offers two critical services to agencies, officers and families in need. CIRT first consults with the command structure of the agency and assesses its needs. Then the team conducts one or more debriefing sessions, which allow officers or officer spouses to talk about the trauma. "Police officers need to understand and know what happened at the scene," says Dr. Aadland. "This gives them an opportunity to get together in a room, understand the role that each officer played in the incident and talk about their reactions. They get a better understanding of the experience, both emotionally and cognitively, in order to heal." Dr. Aadland stresses that CIRT doesn't provide therapy.
   
   The second role of CIRT is to inform officers about how to take care of themselves; give them guidance on what they can expect about sleep patterns and other health issues; and provide them with referrals to mental health professionals and other support services.

2. 2. National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) - Association Directory

   www.ntoa.org/staff/directory.s - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/13/2002   Last Visited: 12/13/2002

   Dr. Rebecca Aadland Ph D 800.279.9127