Your guide and connection to behavioral health services.

Healing Bridges, along with various first responder departments throughout Washington County, are spearheading a Responders First Initiative to develop a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team in Washington County to help first responders who are suffering from the devastation of post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, anxiety and suicide. *Approximately 45% of first responders have thought about taking their own life at some point *Suicide accounts for roughly 15% of all deaths among firefighters *Police officers are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty *First responders are 2.3 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population *Over 1,000 first responders die by suicide annually in the U.S. *Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects nearly 30% of first responders, increasing suicide risk *Only 20% of first responders seek mental health support regularly, despite high prevalence of mental health issues. The mental health stigma is a significant barrier preventing emergency first responders from seeking help. A CISM team made up of various trained first responder peers and licensed mental health professionals have been proven to be very successful with assisting a first responder to seek help by offering crucial crisis intervention and support. This evidenced-based critical intervention and stress management team is designed specifically to mitigate the psychological impact of trauma for first responders by providing a structured process to reduce the impact of trauma, foster resilience to develop better and stronger coping skills, and demonstrates a commitment to support those who work in these fields. Many counties surrounding Washington County in Western PA have established CISM teams, however, Washington County does not.

Grief and Loss Group