Tag Archives: fire service and psychology

By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer WOW! I’m so excited to have been a guest of Jerry Lund for his podcast, Enduring the Badge. I had the opportunity to have a great conversation with Jerry regarding firefighter behavioral health and what it will take to “bridge the gap between professional psychology and the fire service.” As many of you know, ...

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?"

Said Wheldon, who has worked with firefighters in her private psychology practice, “In my own work, and in speaking with other psychologists who’ve treated firefighters, I’ve come to learn that that firefighters are different. They’re different from police officers, who I’ve also worked with, and they’re the general public. And I think they need a different kind of psychologist. They deserve a different kind of psychologist.”