Secondary Traumatic Stress is a real occupational hazard for those professions that are dedicated to public safety.

As the first to arrive on scene at fire, medical, and law enforcement emergencies, first responders face repeated exposure to traumatic events and victims of trauma.  Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) is a natural consequence of this cumulative stress on those who rescue, assist, and protect others daily in the line of duty.  First responders are vulnerable to the toxic effects of STS, which can have a lasting impact on physical and mental well-being, damage personal relationships, and hurt work performance.  Workplace structure, awareness, and prevention are key to minimizing the impact of STS and coping in healthy ways.

5 x First Responders are 5 times more likely to experience depression or PTSD 50 % of police investigating child abuse cases experience STS 2 x Estimates indicate that more than twice the number of firefighters die in suicide than in the line of duty
Emergency Vehicle Lights
  1. Firefighters

    Fighting flames in the hopes of carrying victims to safety, they also must grapple with recovering losses.  Images they can’t unsee haunt them when they’re alone.

  2. EMS

    Medical incidents arise from gun violence, fire, suicides, childhood injuries and substance use disorder. EMS saves lives from overdose, and witnesses the pain that has lead people to overdose.

  3. Police

    Facing enormous pressure in both the incident and aftermath, officers experience the stress of making split-second decisions that can have life-altering consequences.

Responding to crisis doesn't have to result in crisis

While any first responder can experience STS, every first responder - those on the frontlines and those who lead others - can learn to recognize and respond to STS, and even create environments that prevent it. Recognizing, and creating environments that support - such as empathetic leadership - make a difference.

Firefighter Firefighter

Images of building collapse return at night

 Police Empathetic Leadership Police

Leadership with empathy - recognizes that workers may live for years with the aftermath of split-second decisions

 EMS and Fire Leader Empathetic Leadership Culture Can Build Community Solutions AR2 First Responders EMS Responders - Alternative Response Unit AR2 Community Partner Community Partnering Strengthen Solutions

Community helpers that give their all during life’s most distressing moments need help and support, also.  There are a variety of resources to support individual first responders and their departments alike.  These tools can promote awareness, increase resilience, and connect first responders with the care and assistance they need to limit the impact of STS.  By taking care of ourselves, we can better take care of each other.

Police officers are always under a microscope.  You have seconds to decide how you’re going to handle something.  People have months if not years to dissect every single thing you did… and that’s the kind of pressure that police officers are under now, and it’s enormous.  So it’s not just the incident, it’s the aftermath.  That aftermath isn’t how you personally feel, it’s how you’re going to be perceived.

Charles H. Ramsay
Commissioner, Philadelphia Police Department

…We were thinking we probably weren’t going to encounter any more live individuals, but that’s why we don’t stop…. Risk versus reward, we’ll continue until we’re sure.

LT. Ken Pagorek
Philadelphia Fire Department, Special Operations

Medics and EMTs are so busy. On any given day, they can take care of a shooting victim, an abused child and someone who was severely burned in a fire all in the first half of the shift. They do the job of saving lives in high stress environments. We have to always remind them to take care of themselves.

Crystal Yates
Philadelphia Fire Department, Deputy Commissioner & EMS
First Responder Solutions Resources

The Solutions Database is a way to find resources available for workplaces and individuals. This page highlights specific resources for First Responders. To view solutions for multiple work sectors in the full database, browse the Solutions Page here.  To return to this filtered page, use your browser's back button.

 

NCTSN - Secondary Traumatic Stress Core Competencies for Trauma-Informed Support and Supervision: Cross-Disciplinary Version
Type: Workplace
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Category: Web or Print Resource

Is a companion document to the Secondary Traumatic Stress Core Competencies for Trauma-Informed Support and Supervision: Cross-Disciplinary Version offers further explanation, examples, and strategies for each benchmark. Supervisors can use this document to support their own growth and help put these competencies into action. There is also a list of supportive resources at the end of this document that offers further learning opportunities and more concrete strategies.

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Pause First Academy
Type: Individual, Workplace
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Category: Training, Consultation, Retreats
Pause First Academy is dedicated to helping frontline workers through resilience training, with a focus on holistic wellness, and work-life balance. Founded and staffed by those who have been first responders or have worked with first…
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Professional Quality of Life Scale (PROQOL): Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue Version 5
Type: Workplace
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Category: Web or Print Resource

When you help people you have direct contact with their lives. As you may have found, your compassion for those you help can affect you in positive and negative ways. Use this assessment to reflect about your experiences, both positive and negative, as a helper.

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This database is generated from recommendations by others who care and also experts in the field. To recommend a resource, click the "contact us" icon in the footer.

Crisis Hotline Worker
What about other first responders?

There are professions other than fire, police, and EMS that also serve a critical role in identifying, assessing, and intervening in times of crisis.  Teachers, healthcare providers, social workers, and crisis counselors are just a few of the community members who may act as a first line of defense in their daily roles.  Remaining on high alert and absorbing the ongoing stress comes at an emotional cost.  Anyone who works as a professional caregiver can be susceptible to STS and the toll it can take.  The resources found on this website can be beneficial to any group or individual who identifies as a first responder, whether through promoting self-care and coping skills, or through supportive workplace programming.