Therapy for First Responders

For law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, and other first responders dealing with trauma, stress, anger, anxiety, or the cumulative weight of the job.

In-Person Sessions in Chico, CA | Online Therapy Across California

Firefighters on a ladder truck, Los Angeles Fire Department.

First responders are exposed to things most people rarely see, often while being expected to stay calm, make decisions, and move on to the next call.

Sometimes one particular event sticks. Sometimes there isn't a single event at all. It's years of calls, responsibility, disrupted sleep, adrenaline, grief, and seeing more than you were built to simply forget.

That can show up as anger, anxiety, trouble sleeping, intrusive memories, feeling constantly on guard, drinking more than you want to, shutting down, or having a harder time being present with the people you care about.

You don't have to wait until you're in crisis to deal with it.

The job doesn't always stay at work.

how i can help

Therapy that understands the job matters.

Sometimes you know exactly why you're coming in: an officer-involved shooting, fatality, disturbing call, injury, loss of a colleague, or another critical incident.

Other times it's cumulative.

I work with both.

I'm trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), a trauma-focused approach that can be used with distressing memories and experiences. ART is one approach I draw from; we'll determine together whether it makes sense for what you're dealing with.

It's not always about trauma.

First responders are still men with marriages, kids, careers, aging parents, anxiety, depression, anger, identity questions, and lives outside the job.

You don't need a PTSD diagnosis or a dramatic story to work with me. Sometimes the problem is your marriage. Sometimes you're exhausted. Sometimes you're angry more often than you want to be. Sometimes something simply hasn't felt right for a while.

We can work with that too.

Trauma and Difficult Experiences

Healing Doesn’t Have to Take Forever.

Some things don't stay in the past just because you understand what happened.

A difficult experience can keep showing up as anxiety, anger, avoidance, intrusive memories, physical reactions, or a sense that you're right back there again.

When that's part of what you're dealing with, I offer Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) — a focused approach to working with trauma and other experiences that continue to affect you.

faqs

Common questions about therapy from LEO and First Responders.

Start with a conversation.

I offer a free 15-minute consultation. We can talk briefly about what's going on and whether working together makes sense.