I've been a fire service member of the Fire Service Psychology Association (FSPA) since 2018 and it's been an informative, educational, and fulfilling experience seeing how fire service leaders and psychologist and other mental health clinicians are working to "build a bridge between professional psychology and the fire service." However, in the five-plus years I've been a member of FSPA I never really gave serious thought to "Why did I join FSPA?"
Read More »Firefighter Stress
What’s in Your Fire Department’s Behavioral Health “Toolbox?”
Fire departments that are looking to provide an effective behavioral health program for their members would do well to model the approach that the fire service has taken with its tiered response to hazardous materials incidents. They would further serve the best interests of their firefighters by collaborating with mental health clinicians, preferably those at the Specialist Level, just as they would if developing their own hazardous materials response team.
Read More »Emotional Hygiene: What you don’t know
Why do we pay so much attention to our physical health yet almost ignore our emotional health? Check out this post to learn why and how to fix that.
Read More »Donate to Help Make the 6th Annual Conference of the Fire Service Psychology Association a Success!
You can help support the 6th Annual Conference of the Fire Service Psychological Association with your tax-deductible donation. Help support improving mental health services for firefighters!
Read More »Firefighter Suicide: We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know
We must do better in understanding what causes a firefighter to take their own life, and one place we need to start is by gaining a true picture of what leads a firefighter to take their own life. We can only gain that true picture by conducting research in the form of psychological autopsies, that is, using the proven tools and methodologies of psychology.
Read More »Be a Part of the 6th Annual Fire Service Psychological Association Conference!
At the Fire Service Psychology Association (FSPA) we're working to "bridge the gap between professional psychology and the fire service." What is that gap? Good question, and here's the answer.
Read More »How to declare and respond to an off-duty mayday
The driving force behind the Firefighter Health and Wellness Conference is Brothers Helping Brothers (BHB), a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, founded in 2014. Since its launch, BHB has given out 14 grants to advance its mission of “Helping Small and Rural America, One Fire Department at a Time,” to fire departments in Ohio and surrounding states. The genesis for the conference, according to Nick Magoteaux, founder and co-director of BHB, came in early 2018: “I was doing a fire EMS conference then, and I saw that there was a lot of interest in firefighter cancer. But not much on mental health. So, I got to thinking that mental health was a topic that needed attention.”
Read More »The Mind of The Tactical Athlete
So, it's easy to see why athletes—be they amateur or professional—have embraced the sports psychologist as a “mental coach”—on par with their hitting coach or pitching coach for a baseball player--who can help them take their game to the next level. That next level being those same abilities alluded to by Jones: To have faith in their abilities to perform, to thrive in pressure situations, make good decisions under pressure, and then deliver physical performance. But athletes aren’t the only clients. Consider the rigors of performing surgery, for example. Doctors may need help gaining the confidence to return to the operating room after losing a patient. Actors or comedians may need support getting back on stage following a poor review
Read More »Don’t Miss the 5th Annual Conference Presented by the Fire Service Professional Psychology Association!
By: Robert Avsec, Battalion Chief (Ret.) and FSPA charter member The mission of the Fire Service Psychology Association is to provide the best standard of psychological care for fire service personnel and their families. The Fire Service Psychology Association (FSPA) will host its 5th Annual Conference on October 7, 2022 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm PST. The conference will be an online event ...
Read More »Protecting the Minds of Young Firefighters
The following was posted on LinkedIn by my fire service colleague, Ellen Morrison Yarborough, whose LinkedIn headline reads, "Educator, Fire Chief, Consultant “Schoolhouse to Firehouse” recruitment." And Ellen is certainly a person who "puts her money where her mouth is" when it comes to informative and insightful posts on LinkedIn. Read Ellen in her own words in this article.
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