Treating police stress

de John M. Madonna, Richard E. Kelly

This overview of the organization and work of police peer counselors presents their history, describes their strategies and tactics, and identifies the obstacles they face in their work. In an effort to understand the experiences of the police stress unit responder (peer counselor), the authors conducted interviews with all of the officers of the Worcester Police Department (Massachusetts) who had served as "stress responders" since the inception of the unit 20 years ago. In addition, nearly all of the officers who currently serve as stress responders for the Massachusetts State Police, as well as two from the early days of the unit, were interviewed, along with the agency's commander. A total of 13 persons participated in this study. Four chapters provide an overview of the world in which peer counselors operate.^ The chapters include a synopsis of the underlying theory of what makes policing stressful; an insider's view of the history of modern stress units and peer support in central Massachusetts; a 1983 investigative newspaper report on police stress; and police peer work in traumatic incident response. In the second major section of the book, three chapters contain police officers' descriptions of their experiences as stress unit responders. Attention is given to their motivation for their work; the kinds of cases they have had; and their goals, methods, and distinctive styles of counseling. The third section of the book contains three chapters that discuss critical issues pertinent to stress unit operations, including confidentiality, the selection of stress unit personnel, varying capacities to cope with trauma, the psychological risks for stress responders, and issues in critical incident stress management.^ In another section, four chapters present case accounts of the work of stress units; three of the chapters are transcripts of interviews with people who have benefited from the work of peer responders. The final section of the book consists of three chapters that assess the state-of-the-art in stress/peer programs.