Intensive Trauma Treatment for First Responders

In Ontario, first responders are front-line workers who respond to 9-1-1 and other emergency calls. They include police, fire, veterans, dispatch, correctional officers, medical, and other emergency workers. A vast majority of First Responders will experience an Operational Stress Injury during their career.

First Responders experience unique challenges in their professional lives. Exposure to repeated traumatic situations increases the risk of mental health concerns (at home and at work). First Responders often have experiences of moral injury and/or sanctuary trauma that can exacerbate mental health challenges.

Moral Injury: First responders frequently encounter situations that may challenge their moral and ethical beliefs. They may be exposed to incidents where they witness or are directly involved in actions that conflict with their values or professional code of conduct. For example, a paramedic may be faced with the difficult decision of prioritizing limited resources and deciding who receives medical attention first in a mass casualty event. These types of moral dilemmas can cause guilt, shame, and moral conflict, leading to moral injury.

Moreover, First Responders may also experience moral injury when they witness or are unable to prevent harm to others, such as the death of a child or the loss of innocent lives in a crisis situation. These experiences can profoundly impact their well-being, resulting in psychological distress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and a loss of meaning or purpose in their work.

Sanctuary Trauma: Sanctuary trauma occurs when an individual who suffered a severe stressor next encounters what was expected to be a supportive and protective environment’ and discovers only more trauma.” (example: how an employer responds to disclosure of trauma symptoms; expecting that people will be there in a supportive way and aren’t).Sanctuary trauma for first responders can stem from a range of factors. These may include witnessing repeated acts of violence or suffering, facing overwhelming workloads, experiencing inadequate resources or training, dealing with a lack of support from superiors or colleagues, or encountering systemic issues within their organizations.

Experiencing sanctuary trauma can erode trust, disrupt the sense of safety, and create a significant emotional burden for first responders. It can lead to feelings of betrayal, helplessness, and a loss of faith in the organizations and institutions they work for, which can negatively impact their mental health and job performance.

Due to the complexity of issues facing First Responders, Intensive Therapy and/Individual Therapy can be beneficial for many reasons including:

  1. Burn out

  2. If you are wanting to engage in early intervention about the potential psychological risks associated with your role as a First Responder.

  3. Noticing a change in your psychological well-being (sleep disturbances, irritability/anger, numbness, sleep disturbance, impulsivity).

  4. Noticing changes in your home life

  5. Received a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder therapy

  6. Experienced a difficult call that is causing you distress (intrusive images, flashbacks)

  7. Currently off work on WSIB and require psychological assessment and treatment.

    Treatment can be tailored to your individual needs to help you understand your difficulties, develop strategies to support you with managing your symptoms, and help you with processing the trauma.

Intensive Trauma Treatment

What is intensive trauma therapy?

Intensive therapy is an accelerated form of treatment for trauma and/or other mental health concerns involving EMDR and other trauma-informed modalities. Intensives differ from traditional weekly or biweekly therapy sessions in that they involve several sessions over the course of several hours and sometimes over the course of several days. Intensives are a way of directly addressing where the symptoms started.

The Benefits of Intensive Therapy for First Responders

  • Accelerated Progress: Due to the concentrated and immersive nature of intensive psychotherapy, individuals may experience faster progress and symptom reduction compared to traditional therapy. The increased frequency of sessions helps maintain momentum and can lead to more immediate insights and changes.

    This can be beneficial for First Responders who are off work and want to get back, or are experiencing significant symptoms and want relief.

  • Reduced risk of destabilization: In traditional models of therapy, clients are often faced with the challenge of managing the difficult thoughts, emotions, and memories that arise during trauma therapy, but with more time spent in session resolving trauma, and less time between sessions, there is a reduced potential for distress between sessions.

  • Complex or long-standing issues: Intensive psychotherapy is often beneficial for First Responders who have had exposure to multiple traumas, sanctuary trauma and/or moral injury. The more exposure to traumatic events at work, the more deeply ingrained psychological issues can become. If a First Responder has any previous history of trauma (in childhood etc) it can exacerbate their experiences of workplace trauma. Intensive therapy allows for extended exploration of these complexities, making it more likely to achieve breakthroughs and lasting change.

  • Tailored Treatment Plans: Intensive psychotherapy allows for highly individualized treatment plans that can be adjusted to meet the unique needs and preferences of each client. This flexibility ensures that therapy is tailored to address specific issues and therapeutic goals effectively.

  • Can be used as an alternative to in-patient treatment.

  • Can be added as an adjunct therapy to your current therapy provider.

Trauma Intensive Options

Full Day Intensives (1-5 days of treatment at 7 hours including breaks) $1500.00 per day.

Full-day intensives are beneficial for the following:

  • Recent traumatic events,

  • Operational Stress Injuries

  • Moral Injury

  • Sanctuary trauma

  • Supporting with goals for returning to work

  • Ongoing traumatic stress

  • Attachment trauma

  • PTSD and CPTSD

  • Relational difficulties

  • Grief/loss

  • Chronic Pain/ Somatic complaints/medical trauma

  • Anger/Emotional Regulation concerns

  • Negative beliefs about self

    Half-day intensives (3 hours of therapy per day) $750.00

    A half-day intensive are beneficial for the following:

  • Recent traumatic incident

  • Stabilization of symptoms

  • Working towards the goal of trauma resolution but you may not be ready yet

  • If you have experienced a difficult call

  • Performance and self esteem challenges.

  • Can speed up the healing process of a single event trauma and/or life events that are causing distress.

  • Begin to support with stabilization for trauma and dissociation

    *HALF DAY INTENSIVES CAN BE BOOKED CONSECUTIVELY AS WELL

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT INTENSIVES

  • 1.  Initial Phone/Virtual Consult: This is to assess whether Intensives would be helpful for your treatment goals.

    2. Complete an Intake Interview:  This is used to assess for candidacy, review history, identify current difficulties, identify unpleasant beliefs, body sensations, emotions and/or images from which you want relief from, and develop treatment plan. You will be provided with questionnaires via email to complete prior to the intake. (Initial Intake Interview is not included in the price.) Click here for more information related to prices.

    3.  Decide on the Intensive Format: Based on the assessment, we will discuss what type of Intensive would work best, and then you will decide how you want to proceed. Sometimes it is helpful to begin with a shorter intensive session to see how you respond to treatment.

    4.  Schedule your Intensive.

    5.  Post-Treatment Session: A follow-up session is provided to check-in on your treatment gains and to engage in further debriefing about treatment.

  • While the goal is to significantly reduce the identified trauma, no therapist can guarantee those results. What is accomplished during an Intensive session is dependent on the presenting trauma history, presenting concerns, and how you respond to the treatment.

  • Intensive therapy can be emotionally, mentally, and physically draining. I encourage individuals to schedule their Intensive sessions during a time where they can practice self-care directly after.  

    If you have a therapist that you see regularly, it is recommended that you continue to schedule appointments with them pre/post intensives.

  • Intensives can be completed in-person or virtually depending on your preference.

  • The primary goal of inpatient programs are safety/stabilization. Inpatient programs tend to offer a variety of activities (e.g., group therapy, yoga, etc.) which may be educational as well as helpful in coping with the symptoms.

    Information and coping strategies do not generally resolve trauma.

    Sometimes, if inpatient programs offer trauma resolution work, it is typically not at the intensity to resolve trauma.

    In intensive therapy sessions you are focusing specifically on trauma resolution all day long.

    Once you have healed from the trauma, you don’t have to cope with the associated symptoms anymore.

    For those who are safe and stable enough not to require inpatient confinement, the primary benefit of intensive trauma treatment is healing and resolution of problems.

  • In two studies it was determined that the intensive model of trauma-focused therapy can enable faster symptom reduction in individuals living with PTSD.

    It also demonstrated that there is less risk of leaving treatment prematurely. Learn more  here  and here.

    ​​Intensive EMDR treatment is feasible and is indicative of reliable improvement in PTSD symptoms in a very short time frame. Learn more here.

    ​An intensive program using EMDR therapy is a potentially safe and effective treatment alternative for complex PTSD with comorbidities. Learn more here.

  • There is normally a two-day minimum fee, after which time you only pay for time used, in half day increments. The two day fee is collected on the date that your intensive is scheduled.

    For example, if you book for Monday through Friday, but finish halfway through Thursday morning, you would pay for 3.5 days.

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