{"id":49677,"date":"2019-05-01T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T12:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/?p=49677"},"modified":"2024-09-25T14:57:52","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T18:57:52","slug":"connecting-mental-health-to-community-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/connecting-mental-health-to-community-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting Mental Health to Community Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #46554f;\"><em>The Ontario Provincial Police\u2019s Mental Health Strategy Our People, Our Communities, was featured in the December 2018\u00a0Police Chief.\u00a0This article expands upon the internal support elements of the\u00a0strategy as a model for agencies seeking to better support their officers\u2019 mental wellness and maintain\u00a0a healthy workforce.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Ontario Provincial Police employs nearly 9,000 members,\u00a0composed of uniformed personnel, civilian employees, and 800 auxiliary officers, and provides services ranging from general frontline patrol to complex investigations across a remarkably diverse geography. To provide context, traveling across the province would take more than 24 hours by vehicle. The OPP is one of the largest deployed police services in North America with more than 90 detachments in five regions serving urban, rural, and indigenous communities.<\/p>\n<p>In line with its mission of service, the OPP is committed to supporting its members with resources and education to focus on improving outcomes for people with mental health issues, whether those individuals are members of the OPP or members of our communities. This commitment reinforces the acknowledgement that the mental health of police service members is fundamental in community safety.<\/p>\n<p>The Canadian Centre of Occupational Health and Safety defines mental health as<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>a state of well-being in which a person understands his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. A mentally healthy workplace is a high-functioning, respectful and productive environment.<\/em><sup>1<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>For the OPP, police mental health and mental health in the community are intrinsically connected; therefore, in December 2015, the OPP launched the OPP Mental Health Strategy: Our People, Our Communities.<sup>2<\/sup> This strategy contains two distinct but linked components\u2014Supporting Our People: Healthy Workforce and Supporting Our Communities: Police Interactions with People with Mental Health Issues. The strategy was the first of its kind to concretely link officer mental health and police response to mental health issues in the communities they serve. The extensive research and consultation undertaken during the development phase of the strategy demonstrated that if a police service is to serve the community well and safely, support of the mental health needs of the workforce is paramount.<\/p>\n<p>A coordinated, consistent approach to community safety is key to the OPP Mental Health Strategy\u2019s success. The connection between community safety and the mental health of the workforce serving the community is a continual interaction. Ensuring police officers have the required tools to meet the complex and stressful challenges of modern policing is essential to achieve community safety. The tools required for operational police response have evolved dramatically with significant advancements in equipment, technology, and tactical training. The tools for a healthy workforce require a mirrored evolution, ensuring that programs, supports, and approaches to members\u2019 mental health are matched in focus and innovation.<\/p>\n<p>Within the Our Peoples component of the strategy, there is an emphasis on ensuring multiple accessible entry points to mental health and wellness information and services. The goal is to meet people where they are, with the right services that meet their needs. This is a lofty objective in an organization as demographically and geographically diverse as the OPP, requiring a multifaceted, flexible approach.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most crucial entry points within the OPP\u2019s Mental Health Strategy, Our People, is the Critical Incident Stress Response (CISR)\/Peer Support (PS) Program.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #46554f;\"><strong>CISR\/PS Program<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #5b7d47;\">Team Members<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The OPP provides internal support to members through the CISR\/PS Program. Team members can respond immediately to a critical incident and to individual requests for support. Teams are available 24\/7 in every OPP region and include a total of 97 members, including 15 full-time and 82 part-time members across the organization. Members of the CISR\/PS team include civilians and special constables, as well as uniformed members ranging in rank from constables up to superintendents. In order to serve the needs of the OPP\u2019s personnel, the team\u2019s diversity is imperative; to this end, the OPP has recruited specialized members from Canine; the Emergency Response Team (ERT); Investigations and Organized Crime (IOC); and Forensic Identification Services Unit (FISU), among others.<\/p>\n<p>The selection process for the CISR\/PS team is rigorous to ensure the best fit for the position, including psychological testing and interviews. Members of the OPP\u2019s CISR\/PS team are not required to have lived trauma experience; however, those who do, self-identify so that members accessing services are aware of the team member\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #5b7d47;\">Supervision<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The OPP\u2019s CISR\/PS team is structured with the necessary supervision to ensure the continued integrity of the program. The program is led by a provincial coordinator (staff sergeant) and an assistant provincial coordinator (sergeant). The province is split into five geographical regions and one traffic division. There are teams in each of the six areas that are led by a full-time sergeant and constable. Team leads and the provincial coordinators are expected to monitor and support their team members to ensure the wellness of the team.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #5b7d47;\">Training<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>CISR\/PS candidates who are successful at the selection phase complete an intense two-week training course. The first week includes certification in individual and group crisis intervention training by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF). The members also receive a full day of training on the OPP\u2019s CISR\/PS Suicide Intervention Protocol. The first week of training lays the foundation providing the knowledge, and, in the second week, students apply that knowledge as they are exposed to numerous role-play scenarios based on real events\u2014in effect practicing the skills they will use as CISR\/PS team members. They also receive training on CISR\/PS standard operating procedures and mandate and education on available internal and external resources, developing relationships, and self-care. Senior team members then mentor new CISR\/PS members. The training and mentoring equip new team members to deal with the increasingly demanding, diverse, and complex issues that arise in peer support.<\/p>\n<p>The OPP is aware of the impacts of peer support work on its CISR\/PS members. Full-time CISR\/PS members meet with a psychologist annually to complete a safeguard check, a check-in that includes psychological testing to ensure the member\u2019s wellness. Following significant critical incidents that CISR\/PS members are engaged in, such as a line-of-duty death or suicide of a member, consideration will be undertaken to debrief CISR\/PS members at the conclusion of the event to ensure their health and wellness.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #5b7d47;\">OPP CISR\/PS Team Services<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>CISR\/PS members provide a variety of services: wellness checks, defusing situations, debriefings, crisis intervention, one-to-one support, and referrals to professional resources. CISR\/PS team members also educate and connect staff members to appropriate services within the OPP Wellness Unit, along with providing management support for the Early Intervention Program, trauma clinicians, or referrals to community-based mental health service providers.<\/p>\n<p>Services offered by the OPP Wellness Unit include<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Total Health Reinvestment (THRIVE) Fitness Liaisons to assist with the development, implementation, and maintenance of wellness and fitness training programs for OPP members. THRIVE facilitates the development of activity, nutrition, and lifestyle plans for members.<\/li>\n<li>Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP), a free, confidential, employer-sponsored service designed to provide employees and their families with access to a variety of supports at no cost to employees on a 24\/7\/365 basis. Within the OPP, the EFAP has an external service provider that offers a menu of services including short-term counseling with trained professionals, child and elder care resources, legal advice, and financial guidance.<\/li>\n<li>Employee\/Family Liaisons (EFLs) to develop and implement proactive programs and services for OPP employees and their families. Mindfulness is an example of programs offered by the EFLs that support positive strategies and healthy lifestyle approaches.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>CISR\/PS members are deployed in a variety of circumstances that include, but are not limited to, the off-duty death of an employee, any near-death experience, a use of lethal force, a disaster or multi-casualty collision, or any highly emotional work-related event.<\/p>\n<p>Team members are deployed when an incident involves an employee who has been threatened with a weapon, suffered an assault that endangered his or her life, or used lethal force in the line of duty. The benefit of having CISR\/PS members attend and provide immediate support ensures that the involved personnel are made aware at the time of the range of normal reactions and have a connection to support monitoring of negative responses and access to early supports. The value of the early connection and setting the stage is difficult to measure. One veteran CISR\/PS member described an interaction with a young officer following a particularly violent and grisly homicide. The member was able to talk through the young officer\u2019s actions and reactions immediately, providing clarity as the officer moved forward. The veteran member, who had experienced a number of traumatic incidents throughout his career, reflected on how different his career may have been had there been peer support to walk him through the range of reactions, reassure him that all reactions are normal, and offer supports if required.<\/p>\n<p>In OPP parlance, a critical incident is any situation faced by individuals that causes them to experience unusually strong emotional reactions and has the potential to interfere with their ability to function at the time of the incident or later. Connecting early and providing information on the range of possible reactions prepare members and support resilience, as well as opening the door for further connections as required. Prompt intervention and reaching members early with services are more effective and create better outcomes in the long term than heavy investment in treatment down the road after a culmination of more negative effects. When employees are involved in any critical incident that severely strains or momentarily overwhelms their ability to cope, the officer in charge is required to engage CISR\/PS.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to these CISR-specific supports, the CISR\/PS team responds to individual requests for support and provides peer-to-peer assistance for members, as guided by program policy.<\/p>\n<p>CISR\/PS services are confidential within the limits of the law (e.g., exceptions can include cases involving a threat of harm to self or others, child abuse, or criminal activity). The credibility of CISR\/PS members is crucial to a successful program, and all CISR\/PS members are relentless in maintaining confidentiality. The OPP CISR\/PS team requires its members to annually review and sign a confidentiality policy acknowledging their obligations. Training and standard operating procedures for the CISR\/PS include specific guidelines on note-taking and communications to protect this confidentiality and to give members accessing CISR\/PS confidence.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #46554f;\"><strong>Peer Assistance and Resource Team<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-49682 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Peer-Support-by-the-Numbers.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"457\" height=\"810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Peer-Support-by-the-Numbers.jpg 457w, https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Peer-Support-by-the-Numbers-169x300.jpg 169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 457px) 100vw, 457px\" \/>All OPP Provincial Communications Centres (PCCs) also have a Peer Assistance Resource Team (PART). PART members are similar to CISR\/PS members in that they support their peers within their respective PCCs. The PARTs are trained in individual crisis intervention. PART members can offer support to fellow PCC members following what might have been a distressing call or critical incident. PART members report directly to their respective CISR\/PS team lead.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #46554f;\"><strong>Suicide Protocol<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The OPP\u2019s CISR\/PS team and PART members must be prepared to deal with the circumstances involving suicidal members, retirees, and their families. Suicidal behaviour results from interactions between a variety of personal risk factors and an absence of protective factors. Mental health problems or illnesses, previous suicide attempts, and stressful or traumatic life events can increase a person\u2019s vulnerability to suicide.<\/p>\n<p>The role of the CISR\/PS team or PART member is to provide support following critical incidents or in response to individual requests for support; this might include members in crisis. The support provided must respect the training, expectations, and limitations of the CISR\/PS or PART role, as well as the individual team member\u2019s professional strengths and expertise.<\/p>\n<p>When providing support to individuals at risk for suicide, CISR\/PS team or PART members might be susceptible to becoming overinvested and experience difficulty maintaining professional boundaries. Preexisting relationships and colleague solidarity often complicate this. For this reason, the implementation of a suicide protocol for any organization considering a peer support team is crucial. Having protective protocols in place ensure the health and well-being of police members being served, as well as the health and well-being of the peer support team members providing service.<\/p>\n<p>The teams are available indefinitely to all employees including active, retired, resigned, terminated, auxiliary, and OPP-administered First Nations members and family members who may be in crisis or need support. The continuum of care beyond employment to family members is essential to honoring the commitment of support for members who have served.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #46554f;\"><strong>Community Referral List<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As an organization serving across such broad geography, it is difficult to provide effective psychological services from the OPP\u2019s center. Working with qualified and experienced community partners is key to providing accessible and effective service to members. A critical role of the CISR\/PS team is identifying community-based expert service providers. Team members assess services to ensure that there is an understanding of the services available locally and that the experts have police and trauma experience, and the team builds relationships with service providers in order to access the most appropriate care when required for members. Currently, there are more than 250 professional service providers who are included on the community referral list and recommended as options for OPP members seeking professional support.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #46554f;\"><strong>Looking to the Future: Virtual Connections<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<aside class=\"pullout alignleft\">Key Considerations for a Successful Employee Mental Health Program<\/p>\n<p>The OPP has identified four primary considerations for other agencies who are exploring or consideration programs to support the mental wellness of their employees.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Development of standard operating procedures<\/li>\n<li>Formalized recruiting and hiring process<\/li>\n<li>Standardized training and refresher training<\/li>\n<li>Supervision to ensure integrity, accountability, and health and well-being of members<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/aside>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The CISR\/PS team is considering alternative methods to support members, employees, auxiliaries, retirees, and their families (clients) utilizing available smartphone video telephony technology as a communication option when in-person support is not available or readily accessible. All team members are issued OPP smartphones. Ideally, CISR\/PS members provide in-person support as required; however, due to the deployed nature of the OPP and geography, in-person support is not always possible. Alternatively, supports are sometimes offered by telephone, text, and email. In the world of professional therapy, individuals with mental health issues face barriers accessing mental health supports. Video telephony technology, which allows audio and video information to be shared concurrently across geographical distances, offers an alternative that improves access. There is existing research indicating that video telephony psychotherapy is very feasible and has been used in various formats and populations with good results and clinical outcomes comparable to traditional face-to-face therapy.<sup>3<\/sup> The CISR\/PS team is currently researching available platforms to utilize video telephony as an optional means of communication with the clients the team serves. The project is near completion and should be live soon.<\/p>\n<p>All CISR\/PS and PART members are required to annually complete training that focuses on ensuring all members are equipped with current information and skills, as well as providing an opportunity to review program protocols.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #46554f;\"><strong>Peer Support for Community Safety<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The mental health and well-being of members of the OPP is foundational to community safety. The OPP is committed to ensuring the members of the OPP are trained, supported, and focused on their mental health so they are best able to respond to the needs of the communities they serve. The OPP CISR\/PS team is one of a range of supports that make up a broader, connected mental health strategy focused on best outcomes for agency members and the public. Modern policing requires a sustained focus on mental health and wellness. Innovative approaches to supporting member mental health create space for dialogue and a greater understanding of the connection to community safety.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #46554f;\"><strong>Mental Health First Aid Police Training<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In 2018, the OPP partnered with the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) and the Canadian Police Knowledge Network (CPKN) to implement Mental Health First Aid Police training for members. This training is meant to help provide additional tools for OPP employees in dealing with mental health in the public and the organization. A vital component of this training is for all employees, identified civilian and uniformed, at all ranks to speak the same language when encountering someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. It is a proactive model with the intent to create a psychologically safe workplace and community.<\/p>\n<p>The development and delivery of this nationally certified, blended model of training to attain the goals identified by the strategy has been rolled out to meet the growing needs of OPP members dealing with people experiencing a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #46554f;\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<table class=\"alignright\" style=\"width: 42%; border-collapse: collapse;\" border=\"1\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #ffdacc;\">\n<h4><strong>IACP Resources<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.2in;\"><span style=\"font-family: Wingdings;\">n<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theiacp.org\/resources\/peer-support-guidelines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peer Support Guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theiacp.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">theIACP.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.2in;\"><span style=\"font-family: Wingdings;\">n<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/officer-safety-corner-prioritizing-emotional-mental-health-through-peer-support\/\">\u201cPrioritizing Emotional &amp; Mental Health through Peer Support\u201d<\/a> (article)<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.2in;\"><span style=\"font-family: Wingdings;\">n<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/peer-support-teams-fill-an-emotional-void-in-law-enforcement-agencies\/\">\u201cPeer Support Teams Fill an Emotional Void in Law Enforcement Agencies\u201d<\/a> (article)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The OPP CISR\/PS team is one of the many support services provided members through the OPP Mental Health Strategy. The aim is to ensure the OPP\u2019s response to mental health is consistent and efficient in mitigating risk and victimization by improving outcomes for members and communities. Since 2012, the OPP CISR\/PS team has engaged with members on more than 49,000 occasions, averaging more than 8,000 engagements annually. The broader evaluation of the OPP Mental Health Strategy looks at this service delivery output alongside other factors contributing to the success of the strategy. What is known is that, throughout the OPP, members are connected early and often to the CISR\/PS Program. This early support to members creates opportunities to intervene through early identification and access to information and services to reduce the potential impacts of exposures to critical incidents, leading to resilient officers who are able to work toward safer communities. <span style=\"font-family: Webdings; color: #46554f;\">d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Notes<\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\">:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><sup>1<\/sup> Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ccohs.ca\/topics\/wellness\/mentalhealth\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Mental Health<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><sup>2<\/sup> Ontario Provincial Police, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ontario.cmha.ca\/news\/ontario-provincial-police-opp-released-its-mental-health-strategy\/\"><em><span data-contrast=\"none\">Ontario Provincial Police Mental Health Strategy: Our People, Our Communities<\/span><\/em><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> (Queen\u2019s Printer for Ontario, 2015).\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><sup>3<\/sup> For example, see <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Autumn Backhaus et al., \u201cVideoconferencing Psychotherapy: A Systematic Review,\u201d <em>Psychological Services<\/em> 9, no. 2 (2012): 111\u2013131; Daniel R. Stubbings et al., \u201cComparing In-Person to Videoconference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Mood and Anxiety Disorders: Randomized Controlled Trial,\u201d <em>Journal of Medical Internet Research<\/em> 15, no. 11 (2013): 169\u2013184; Susan Simpson, \u201cPsychotherapy via Videoconferencing: A Review,\u201d<em> British Journal of Guidance &amp; Counselling<\/em> 37, no.3 (2009): 271\u2013286.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Please cite as<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Rick Foley and Robyn MacEachern, \u201cConnecting Mental Health to Community Safety,\u201d <em>Police Chief<\/em> 86, no. 5 (May 2019): 44\u201349.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ontario Provincial Police\u2019s Mental Health Strategy Our People, Our Communities, was featured in the December 2018\u00a0Police Chief.\u00a0This article expands upon the internal support elements of the\u00a0strategy as a model for agencies seeking to better support their officers\u2019 mental wellness and maintain\u00a0a healthy workforce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":49680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[141],"tags":[226,204],"class_list":["post-49677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-officer-safety-wellness","tag-mental-health","tag-officer-safety"],"acf":{"post_author":"Rick Foley, Staff Sergeant, CISR\/PS Provincial Coordinator, and Robyn MacEachern, Inspector, Manager, Wellness Unit, Ontario Provincial Police","main_category":"Officer Safety & Wellness","legacy_article_id":"","legacy_issue_id":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.4 (Yoast SEO v24.5) - 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