Police and other emergency response persons - conference - PTSD

I attended a conference I found, not associated with any of my regular conferences/seminars. As you know I have an interest in emergency response persons. I did reach out to this organization however I was asked to see a person once a month for free and then to refer the person. I cannot do this. It is contrary to the expectations of my college and to my own values. I do see people for consultations and charge them. However, I was interested in knowing more and so I attended a day long event which did prove interesting. They did have a therapist with a doctrine in education speaker talking about PTSD. The therapist talked about PDSD and used fluffy toys to demonstrate the parts of the brain. This probably has something to do with her working with children. In one of my undergrad courses I had to memorize every section of the brain, its’ function etc. There was actually many more courses with a focus on the brain. It was not until I graduated and attended seminars that I always marvel at how the brain is discussed. I have heard the term big brain and little brain and now fluffy toys. Just saying. It is no wonder people get confused. I normally just cringe. What I did not hear that day is that PTSD is a physical response. The speakers were all retired, ex -civilian police who have PTSD. I had to marvel that each could speak to an audience and tell their stories. I will not reveal who they are or what forces they belonged to. It was not asked that we not reveal anything, but I want to respect that just the same. I will tell you that who I met that day were various emergency persons from rural and urban areas. One person in attendance came from Manitoba. I am always amazed at how far people will travel for one seminar or conference. However, that just tells me how much we need to expand services more. One policeman spoke of being shot three places; suffering PTSD, He spoke of going to another police force which he said is common, but with that transfer, one loses support from where he comes from. He indicated that there is no actual support for police as there is for veterans. Another from an urban area talked about how he responded to a call indicating a suspect was armed. The suspect was killed and though he knew he had followed procedures, he struggled with his faith, being a Catholic, “Thou shalt not kill.” He cursed God. He left policing but returned after not feeling fulfilled in another occupation. Another was a policeman investigating the abuse of children. He had to view it all, two to three thousand images of children being abused and tortured. He self medicated. He was convinced that the God he had forsaken had stopped him from killing himself. He had been full of hatred and rage. There was a quiet room at the conference where one could go if he or she felt the need to go there. One of the men spoke of having to shoot to save himself and he is now suffering from PTSD. I will write more of this next week….This week here in Toronto we had a tragedy where a person killed ten people and injured others. There is a lot of praise for the emergency response persons in this tragedy and for the arresting officer. My heart goes out to all who are suffering as a result of this tragedy. Too many lives were taken. This hurts everyone but it also depicts a city who unites and support each other. For all of you I again thank you for reading my blogs. If you ever wish to ask a question, feel free. www.redigondapsychotherapy.com