Specialized Addiction Care For First Responders

Police, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, and other first responders work to serve, protect, and aid their communities. But the daily stress and strain they experience, along with frequent exposure to potentially traumatic experiences, may contribute to both poor mental health and harmful patterns of substance use. Specialized treatment options are available to support first responders’ unique needs.

When a person is facing an emergency of any kind, first responders are there, ready to help. However, as critical and often rewarding as a first responder’s work may be, it can also be extremely challenging, bringing with it many physical or psychological risks. 

First responders often face grueling workloads at odd hours, make life-or-death decisions at a moment’s notice, and are exposed to incidents of tremendous hostility, sorrow, and suffering. Many police and corrections officers, EMTs, paramedics, firefighters, 911 dispatchers, and other emergency personnel do not receive the emotional, social, or professional support they need to cope, often contributing to the gradual development of poor mental health and substance abuse.

Fortunately, specialized mental health and addiction treatment for first responders can help meet these unique challenges and overcome them through a validating, positive, and long-lasting recovery experience.

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First Responders, Mental Health, And Addiction

Numerous studies have demonstrated strong links between first responders, mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse. 

Studies and surveys referenced by the Ruderman Family Foundation and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have found the following:

  • as much as 10% surveyed police officers reported that they had killed or seriously injured someone during the first three years of their career
  • 69% of EMS professionals have never had enough time to recover between traumatic events
  • critical incidents are strongly correlated with increased alcohol use and PTSD symptoms 
  • 58% of studied firefighters engaged in binge drinking, and 14% engaged in even more hazardous drinking
  • rates of depression among studied firefighters were almost double the national average (11% vs 6.7%) 
  • 46.8% of surveyed firefighters thought about or imaged suicide during their career
  • as much as 31% of surveyed corrections officers experienced depression
  • 9% of law enforcement officers reported depression
  • up to 35% of police and 22% of firefighters reported symptoms of PTSD during their careers
  • 7.8% of surveyed police officers reported recurrent thoughts of suicide or death
  • alcohol is involved in over 85% of police officer suicides

In light of this evidence, public health professionals nationwide have been increasingly sounding the alarm and calling for a new emphasis on mental health screening and treatment for emergency personnel, especially those who have been recently exposed to a critical incident. 

Unique Challenges First Responders Face

Even at the best of times, first responders face a variety of unique experiences in their day-to-day work that can make them more susceptible to the development of mental and behavioral disorders, including substance use disorders, while also making it less likely that they will seek treatment or be successful in standard treatment programs. These unique challenges include the following.

Exposure To Work-Related Trauma

First responders may be exposed to a wide variety of difficult and disturbing situations on a routine, sometimes daily basis. This exposure to danger, pain, and loss in their own lives, their colleagues’ lives, and the lives of many from the general public can suddenly or eventually produce trauma, a form of emotional or psychological shock and injury that can disrupt one’s mental function and behavior. 

This repeated exposure to trauma may lead to the development of PTSD or related conditions like acute stress disorder (ASD), anxiety disorders, depression, and suicidal thoughts or behavior. In fact, both police officers and firefighters nationwide are more likely to die from suicide than they are to die in the line of duty. 

Like other people who have experienced trauma or extreme stress, many first responders turn to the use of drugs or even more often alcohol to self-medicate against symptoms of PTSD and poor mental health. These symptoms include hypervigilance, insomnia, intrusive thoughts, anger, social withdrawal, flashbacks, and more. And if this trauma and these symptoms are not treated along with a first responder’s substance abuse, it greatly increases the risk of a relapse. 

Burnout

First responders often live by their own version of the military’s “Warrior Ethos,” a set of guiding principles that put their service, “the mission,” first, always. This is a noble and honorable attitude, but it can cause first responders to neglect their own physical, emotional, and psychological needs. And, when struggles and problems are ignored, they can grow to become major issues like poor mental health or substance abuse. 

Compounding this issue, first responders are often required to work long hours, including night shifts, in physically and mentally demanding conditions. Injuries and sleep deprivation may follow, along with exhaustion and other symptoms of burnout including emotional volatility, lack of motivation, frequent illness, high blood pressure, headaches, and concentration problems. 

Symptoms of burnout can lead to disengagement, making it less and less likely that one will be willing to deal with important personal problems once they develop until the need becomes unavoidable.  

Fear Of Stigma

Even if a first responder recognizes that they have developed a problem with substance abuse, they may be extremely reluctant to reach out and get help. These medical professionals and public servants may fear losing professional opportunities, respect, or trust due to the stigma surrounding addiction. They may even be punished for reaching out for help, or deemed unfit for their position due to their struggles.

There may also be concerns that abstaining from alcohol will set a first responder apart from their colleagues, pushing them out of their workplace’s off-hours drinking culture and costing them in important relationships and camaraderie. 

All these factors can make it harder for people in these roles to share with their colleagues, receive support and validation, and fully commit to the recovery process either openly or in private. 

Other Concerns

First responders also often have other concerns about recovery. 

Common examples include:

  • a reluctance to take extended time away from their team or position
  • concerns that “civilians” in recovery programs may be unwelcoming or hostile toward police or other public servants
  • an unwillingness to admit they have a problem due to internalized stigma and past experiences with others struggling with drugs or alcohol
  • a need for alternative pain management due to chronic work-related pain and strain

Meeting First Responders’ Recovery Needs

Addressing individual concerns and personalizing care is an important part of any effective addiction recovery plan. Accordingly, specialized residential addiction recovery services for first responders are available in some locations, offering unique advantages for current or former police officers, firefighters, medics, dispatchers, and other first responders experiencing addiction. 

These advantages include:

  • a greater sense of community and acceptance among peers receiving treatment together, as many will have experienced the same stigma, challenges, and working culture 
  • trauma-informed care, in which clients may feel more able to work through traumatic experiences openly and authentically
  • an emphasis on appropriate care and support for PTSD and PTSD-like symptoms, including eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy (TI-CBT), and other options
  • help developing effective, first responder-specific coping skills to better manage burnout and the unique challenges and culture first responders serve in
  • services designed to help address the physical symptoms first responders may also present with, as well as common mental and behavioral symptoms
  • help developing an effective aftercare plan to support first responders long-term as they continue in their recovery journey

Nevertheless, addiction treatment for first responders often looks very similar to other personalized, evidence-based addiction treatment programs. And many first responders take advantage of regular inpatient or outpatient addiction treatment services with positive overall results.

Ultimately, the most important thing for each and every first responder is to find care that can meet his or her particular needs. That may mean attending a local peer support group or outpatient treatment sessions or participating in a specialized addiction treatment program specifically designed for first responders, like the one at Ohio Recovery Center (ORC). 

Addiction Treatment For First Responders At ORC

At ORC, our Frontline Pathway to Recovery program offers specialized care for veterans and first responders facing substance abuse and co-occurring mental health issues, like PTSD, complex trauma, depression, bipolar disorder, and more. We are proud to offer evidence-based, compassionate, and discrete treatment programming, with a focus on safety, empowerment, and education on trauma and addiction, because these elements are proven to be the most effective in helping people achieve lasting recovery and improved well-being. 

Our residential programs are hosted on our 55-acre countryside campus in Van Wert, OH. The comfortable, secure, and welcoming environment features amenities and activities including a fitness center, walking trails, basketball and volleyball courts, movie nights, and cookouts. 

Our treatment services are always custom-tailored to meet the particular needs of our clients as individuals. 

Common treatment services include:

  • medical detoxification 
  • peer support groups 
  • various forms of psychotherapy
  • dual diagnosis treatment for co-occurring mental health disorders
  • 12-step group facilitation
  • alternative treatment programming like exercise therapy, massage therapy, and music therapy
  • medication-assisted treatment (MAT) options
  • family psychoeducation
  • case management, for educational, vocational, and financial referrals and other needs
  • aftercare coordination and alumni program

We can also help first responders keep their jobs while receiving treatment through assistance with short-term disability or Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) paperwork and other assistance.

To learn more or enroll, please reach out today.

  1. The Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC) - Advances in Addiction & Recovery: Substance Use Disorders in First Responders https://www.naadac.org/assets/2416/aa&r_winter2020_substance_use_disorders_in_first_responders.pdf
  2. International Journal of Drug Policy - Understanding problematic substance use among first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey of law enforcement, fire, and EMS workers in the United States https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0955395923003080
  3. Mayo Clinic - Job burnout: How to spot it and take action https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642
  4. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Emergency Responders: Tips for taking care of yourself (cdc.gov) https://emergency.cdc.gov/coping/responders.asp

Written by Ohio Recovery Center Editorial Team

Published on: July 17, 2024

© 2024 Ohio Recovery Center | All Rights Reserved

* This page does not provide medical advice.

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