The Illinois Public Pension Fund Association (IPPFA) and Northern Illinois University have teamed up to develop a program to assist law enforcement leaders and rank-and-file officers in expanding their knowledge of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as it effects police officers. This program, “Saving Blue Lives through Training on PTSD, Suicide, Resilience and Peer Support,” is offered at no cost to those attending.
irst responders are routinely exposed to critical incidents involving exposure to injury or death in others, as well as the risk of injury or death to themselves. Research shows, and those in the profession intuitively know, that individual incidents and accumulated exposure can adversely affect the mental and physical health of those involved.
The NIU – IPPFA seminar will include:
- Learning the symptoms of PTSD
- Conditions that often arise with PTSD, such as depression and substance abuse
- Identifying ways to bolster resistance
- Suicide and conditions such as PTSD
- Methods for dealing with PTSD without the help of a mental health professional
- Effective treatments with the help of a mental health professional
