Mental Health & Peer Support Resources
You Take Care of Others. Make Sure You Take Care of Yourself.
The fire service asks a lot of its members. Firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, dispatchers, and their families may be exposed to traumatic incidents, long shifts, disrupted sleep, cumulative stress, loss, and situations that can be difficult to leave at the station.
Sometimes the effects are immediate. Other times they build gradually over months or years.
Seeking support is not a sign that someone cannot handle the job. Taking care of behavioral health is part of maintaining the physical and mental readiness necessary to serve our community, our crews, and our families.
The Rescue Fire Department encourages our members to look out for one another, talk with someone when something does not feel right, and use the resources available before a problem becomes a crisis.
When a Call Stays With You
It is normal to have reactions following particularly difficult incidents.
Things you may notice include:
- Replaying the incident or thinking about it when you do not want to
- Difficulty sleeping or unusual dreams
- Irritability or anger
- Feeling unusually withdrawn
- Difficulty concentrating
- Feeling numb or disconnected
- Changes in appetite
- Increased alcohol or substance use
- Avoiding people, places, calls, or situations that remind you of an incident
- Feeling constantly on alert
- Problems at home or in relationships
- Losing interest in things you normally enjoy
Not everyone reacts to difficult experiences the same way. A reaction also does not automatically mean someone has PTSD or another behavioral-health condition.
What matters is recognizing when something is affecting your life, relationships, health, or ability to function and reaching out when additional support would help.
Crisis Resources
If You Need Help Right Now
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental-health or suicidal crisis:
Call or text 988 — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential crisis support.
If there is an immediate threat to someone's life or safety, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
Do not leave a person alone when you believe there is an immediate danger of suicide or serious self-harm.
Sometimes the Best First Conversation Is With Someone Who Understands the Job.
Peer support provides firefighters and other first responders an opportunity to speak with a trained peer who understands fire-service culture and the experiences that come with the profession.
A peer supporter can:
- Listen without judgment.
- Help after a difficult or potentially traumatic incident.
- Provide support for occupational or personal stress.
- Help identify available resources.
- Connect members with culturally competent behavioral-health professionals when appropriate.
- Support members who are concerned about another firefighter or coworker.
- Provide assistance following critical incidents, line-of-duty injuries, deaths, or other significant events.
Peer support is not therapy and does not replace professional behavioral-health treatment. Instead, peer supporters can help members determine what support may be appropriate and connect them with additional resources.
Rescue Fire Department Peer Support
Peer Support Contact:
Brett Jones
Email:
brett@rescuefiredepartment.org
For privacy, personnel who would rather speak with a peer outside the Rescue Fire Department may also request assistance locating an outside peer-support resource.
Rescue Fire Department employees and eligible family members have access to the Department's Employee Assistance Program.
EAP services may provide confidential assistance with concerns including:
- Stress and anxiety
- Depression
- Relationship or family concerns
- Grief and loss
- Work-related stress
- Substance-use concerns
- Financial or legal concerns
- Parenting and family support
- Referrals for behavioral-health treatment
Rescue Fire Dept. Employee Assistance Program
EAP Provider: Simple EAP
Telephone: 888-425-4800
Website: Simple EAP
Finding a counselor who understands the culture, demands, and experiences of the fire service can make a significant difference.
The following behavioral-health professionals have experience working with first responders and/or specialize in areas that may be particularly relevant to firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and their families.
Participation is voluntary. This list is provided as a resource and does not limit an individual's ability to seek care from another qualified behavioral-health professional. Personnel should contact their EAP or health insurance provider directly to determine eligibility, coverage, and potential out-of-pocket costs.
Jill Gustafson, LCSW
Phone: (530) 957-8020
Location: 493 Pleasant Valley Road, Suite D
Diamond Springs, CA
Specialties:
First Responders • Trauma • PTSD • Addiction • Teens • Family • Couples • EMDR • Brainspotting • Equine Trauma-Focused Therapy
Jenn Nava, LMFT
Phone: (916) 710-0503
Location: 2320 E. Bidwell Street, Suite 100
Folsom, CA
Specialties:
Teens • Couples
Jamie Pepin, ASW
Phone: (530) 220-3951
Location: 5701 Lonetree Boulevard, Suite 113
Rocklin, CA
Specialties:
First Responders • PTSD • Trauma • Anxiety • Grief • EMDR • Brainspotting
Hailey Palos, LMFT
Phone: (916) 272-5025
Website: palospractice.com
Location: 2200-B Douglas Boulevard
Roseville, CA
Appointments: In-person and telehealth options available
Specialties:
First Responders • First Responder Spouses • Trauma • PTSD • Perinatal Mood • Birth Trauma • Cumulative Stress • Medical Professionals • Trauma-Focused Therapy • EMDR • Somatic Therapy
Choosing a Counselor
Finding the right counselor is personal. Firefighters and their family members are encouraged to find a provider with whom they feel comfortable and who understands the unique demands of public-safety work.
When contacting a counselor, consider asking about:
- Experience working with firefighters, EMS personnel, law enforcement, or other first responders
- Experience treating occupational and cumulative trauma
- Treatment approaches such as EMDR, Brainspotting, or other trauma-focused therapies
- Availability for in-person or telehealth appointments
- Insurance and EAP participation
- Experience working with first responder spouses and families
If the first counselor you meet with does not feel like the right fit, it is okay to try another provider. Finding a good therapeutic relationship is an important part of the process.
**The inclusion of a provider on this resource page does not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of services by the Rescue Fire Protection District.
Additional First Responder Mental Health Resources
The following organizations provide additional behavioral-health, peer-support, education, training, and wellness resources specifically for first responders and their families.
The Overwatch Collective
The Overwatch Collective is a nonprofit organization supporting the mental health of first responders, military members, and their families. The organization connects individuals with culturally competent therapists and may provide financial assistance to help cover the cost of therapy.
Resources include:
- Confidential assistance connecting with a therapist
- Financial assistance for therapy
- First responder and military-informed therapists
- Mental-health education and resources
- Podcasts and personal stories
- Support resources for first responders, military members, and their families
Visit: theoverwatchcollective.com
IAFF Center of Excellence — Community Education
The IAFF Center of Excellence provides behavioral-health education specifically designed for firefighters, paramedics, dispatchers, peer supporters, families, and professionals who work with members of the fire service.
The Community Education program includes live and recorded webinars addressing topics such as:
- PTSD and occupational trauma
- Anxiety and depression
- Suicide prevention
- Substance use and recovery
- Cumulative stress
- Firefighter family wellness
- Retirement from the fire service
- Peer support
- Behavioral-health treatment
- Fire-service cultural competency
Many previously recorded educational webinars are available through the Center's website.
Visit: IAFF Center of Excellence — Community Education & Webinars
International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF)
The International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) provides education, training, and resources related to Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), peer support, crisis intervention, and disaster behavioral health.
ICISF resources include:
- Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) information
- Peer-support resources
- Crisis Resource Library
- Educational videos and webinars
- Articles and publications
- Podcasts
- CISM training opportunities
- Resources for CISM and peer-support teams
Visit: ICISF Resources
More Resources Are Available
Mental-health resources are not one-size-fits-all. Department members and their families are encouraged to use whichever resource best meets their individual needs.
A peer supporter, EAP provider, counselor, or other trusted resource can also help identify additional services when needed.
The effects of the fire service do not always stop at the station door.
Spouses, partners, children, and other family members may notice changes before the firefighter does. Family members can also experience their own stress related to shift schedules, interrupted holidays, mandatory overtime, traumatic events, wildland deployments, sleep disruption, or concern for their firefighter's safety.
Watch for significant or persistent changes such as:
- Increased irritability or anger
- Withdrawal from family or friends
- Difficulty sleeping
- Increased alcohol use
- Loss of interest in normal activities
- Emotional numbness
- Unusual risk-taking
- Persistent sadness or anxiety
- Statements suggesting hopelessness or that others would be better off without them
You do not have to diagnose the problem.
Start the conversation.
“I've noticed you haven't seemed like yourself lately. I'm concerned about you. What's going on?”
Sometimes simply letting someone know that they have been noticed and that they do not have to handle everything alone can make a difference.
No single book or approach works for everyone. Department members and their families are encouraged to explore different resources and find the information and strategies that are most useful to them.
Books can help start conversations, increase understanding, and provide useful tools—but someone does not need to wait until they have read the right book or understand exactly what they are experiencing before reaching out for support.
If something doesn't feel right, talk to someone.
Firefighter & First Responder Mental Health
Cover My Six: Mental Wellness Guide for First Responders — Dr. Lea Sullivan
Written specifically for the fire service and focused on stress, trauma, moral injury, mental readiness, family relationships, and recognizing when additional help is needed.
Good choice for: Every firefighter and officer.
Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement: A Guide for Officers and Their Families — Dr. Kevin M. Gilmartin
Although written primarily for law-enforcement officers, many of the concepts apply across the first-responder professions. The book examines how a public-safety career can gradually affect emotions, relationships, family life, identity, and behavior—and provides strategies for maintaining a healthier balance throughout a career.
Recommended for: First Responders • Spouses & Partners • Families • Supervisors
Mindfulness for Warriors: Empowering First Responders to Reduce Stress and Build Resilience — Kim Colegrove
Written with first responders in mind, this book introduces practical mindfulness and meditation techniques intended to help manage occupational stress, improve resilience, and reduce the cumulative effects of repeated exposure to high-stress situations.
Recommended for: Firefighters • EMS • Law Enforcement • Dispatchers • First Responders
Fit for Off Duty: Finding Balance in Your Life — Dr. Kevin M. Gilmartin
Focused on the challenge of maintaining a healthy life outside of a public-safety career. It addresses the importance of protecting relationships, personal identity, physical and emotional wellness, and the parts of life that exist beyond the uniform.
Recommended for: First Responders • Spouses & Partners • Families
Understanding Trauma
The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
An accessible explanation of how traumatic experiences can affect the brain, body, emotions, memory, relationships, and behavior.
Good choice for: Anyone wanting to better understand trauma and PTSD.
Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma — Peter A. Levine, Ph.D.
Examines the body's physiological response to traumatic experiences and how unresolved stress responses can continue to affect a person long after an event has ended.
Recommended for: Those Interested in Understanding the Physical and Emotional Effects of Trauma
Struggle Well: Thriving in the Aftermath of Trauma — Ken Falke and Josh Goldberg
Focuses on the concept of post-traumatic growth and developing skills that can help individuals move beyond simply surviving difficult experiences toward building greater purpose, connection, and resilience.
Recommended for: First Responders • Veterans • Trauma Survivors
Stress, Resilience & Growth
Create Your Own Light — Travis Howze
Written by a former firefighter and first responder, Create Your Own Light addresses trauma, mental health, personal accountability, resilience, and the process of rebuilding after difficult experiences.
The first-responder perspective makes the book particularly relevant to firefighters and EMS personnel navigating the cumulative emotional effects of the profession.
Recommended for: Firefighters • EMS • First Responders • Peer Supporters
Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness — Rick Hanson, Ph.D.
Provides practical strategies for developing resilience and managing ongoing stress.
Good choice for: Prevention, resiliency, and everyday mental fitness.
For Firefighter Families
I Love a Fire Fighter: What the Family Needs to Know — Ellen Kirschman, Ph.D.
Written specifically for firefighters and the people who love them. The book discusses the effects that shift work, traumatic incidents, occupational stress, firehouse culture, and the demands of the profession can have on relationships and family life.
Recommended for: Firefighters • Spouses • Partners • Families
Bulletproof Marriage: A 90-Day Devotional — Adam Davis & Lt. Col. Dave Grossman
Designed to help first responders, military members, and their spouses strengthen their marriages while navigating the unique pressures associated with service-oriented careers.
The book focuses on communication, connection, commitment, and maintaining a strong relationship despite occupational stress, demanding schedules, exposure to trauma, and the challenges that can come with a career in public safety.
Recommended for: First Responders • Spouses • Couples • First Responder Families
A Final Word
Firefighters are trained to recognize changing conditions before they become emergencies.
Mental health deserves the same approach.
You do not have to wait until something becomes a crisis before talking with a peer, contacting EAP, speaking with a counselor, or asking for help.
Watch out for your crew. Watch out for your family. And watch out for yourself.