New Program for 1st Responders

A new program offers first responders evidence-based mental health counseling via telemedicine from behavioral health specialists with the Trauma and Resilience Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) https://ut.edu.

First responders include law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and emergency department workers where many have been serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Weekly counseling is available through the UTHealth Trauma and Resilience Center’s First Responder Mental Health Treatment Program funded by the Texas Office of the Attorney General’s Victims of Crime Act (VOCA).

The program provides one hour of counseling a week for 8 to 15 weeks via telemedicine appointments. Specialists provide services for a range of mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, general anxiety, depression, marital problems, and sleep problems.

Another UTHealth program for first responders, the Heroes Helpline, allows first responders to find help for Substance Use Disorders (SUD)  through a 24/7 hotline.

The helpline part of a clinical research program funded in part by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA also provides mental health and suicide prevention counseling, provides additional  resources for first responders, plus resources to help first responders work with law enforcement.

For more information on the resources provided by the federal sector, the Congressional Research Service published the report Federal Efforts to Address Mental Health of First Responders: Resources and Issues for Congress last October. The report is available at https://fas/org/sgp/crs/misc/R46555.pdf.