Therapy for First Responders

You are trained to handle chaos, maintain control and be the claim in every storm, but who takes care of you after the call is over? The constant exposure to trauma, high stakes and dynamic environments, and the pressure of the uniform takes a significant toll that the average counselor often fails to address.

Here you’ll find a therapy approach that understands the unique culture of public safety. We provide a space where you don’t have to water down your experiences, where dark humor is understood, and where the focus is on functional recovery so you can get back to being fully present at home and sharp on the job.

Therapy that Understand the Job

We recognize the barriers to seeking help; the fear of being seen as weak, the impact it might have on your career, and the skepticism toward mental health providers who ‘just don’t get it’. Our work is confidential, mindful of your chain of command, and focused on the real-world issues you face:

• Critical Incident Stress: processing traumatic events without letting them define your future

• Hypervigilence and Detachment: Learning how to turn off and decompress when you’re off-duty and reconnect with family and friends.

• Shifting Identity: Navigating retirement, injury, moving into a supervisory role, or what the next mission for you is

• Moral Injury: Dealing with stress of actions taken or not taken in high pressure situations.

Overcoming Common First Responder Issues

My approach targets the core issues that can erode your overall wellbeing:

• Sleep Disruption: Developing targeted strategies to combat shift-work fatigue, nightmares and chronic insomnia. We will develop a personalized sleep hygiene protocol

• Relationship Strain: Helping to repair communication and trust with both partners and family members who struggle to understand the unique challenges of your position

• Substance Use and Self Medication: Address dependency on alcohol or other substances used to numb the emotional impact of your job

• Burnout and Compassion Fatigue: Rebuilding our resilience and finding fulfillment without compromising your duty

Evidence-Based Techniques for Functional Recovery

While we may work on issues of the past, the goal is to equip you for the present and the future. Our work integrates techniques designed to quickly and effectively change your brains response to triggers:

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Identifying and reframing the negative thought patterns often developed after critical incidents, such as feeling responsible or experiencing heightened threat perception.

2. Mindfulness and Stress Reduction: Teaching practical, on the spot techniques you can use in the field or the locker room to help regulate your nervous system.

3. Psychoeducation on the Nervous System: Understanding they ‘why’ behind your hyper vigilance and the reason your survival brain keep staying on, even when the threat is gone.

4. Breathwork: Utilizing the physiological sigh, a la Dr Huberman, Wim Hof Breathing, and others.

5. Other indicted modalities (not just CBT!) tailored to meet your specific needs. I am trained in a wide variety of skills that can be brought in to help.

Taking the First Step

I understand the scheduling difficulties and need for absolute discretion. My office in Lake Oswego is in the heart of the downtown area and I endeavor to offer scheduling options that respect shift-work rotations. I am committed to help all First Responders integrate job demands with a fulfilling personal life.

Confidentiality and Insurance

Absolute Confidentiality: Your privacy is paramount to the work we do. We adhere to all HIPAA regulations, and your decisions to seek help remains strictly between us. We do not report to your employer or department.

Fees and Insurance: I accept many first responder medical reimbursement accounts such as as VEBA, HRA/HSA and other union health benefit cards. I am an out of network provider, but can provide superbills for reimbursement. More information on billing here.