Checking In On Our Officers' Mental Health

Minnetonka MN

15 May, 2022

11:32 PM

Description

Press release from the City of Minnetonka: May 13, 2022 Can't see the table below? Click here to view the original story. Policing is an extremely rewarding profession, but it can also be mentally taxing. As a society, we ask police officers to respond to and manage some of life's most disturbing situations, and even for routine calls, the everyday strain of taking on victim's stress while trying to be empathetic takes its toll. The Minnetonka Police Department created a wellness program to care for our officers so they can better protect and serve our community. One of the components is caring for employees' mental health. Responding to critical incidents is part of society's expectations of emergency responders, including police officers. A critical incident is typically described as a sudden, shocking and outside the range of ordinary human experience. Therefore, our department has trained volunteers available to provide critical incident stress defusing or debriefing following a potentially critical incident. Minnetonka Police Department has also collaborated with neighboring police departments to create a peer support team. The mission of the peer support team is to offer safe, non-judgmental assistance to employees in times of personal need or due to the unique experiences encountered in policing. It's a critical way police officers share their unique perspective and support one another. For many years, the city has also offered staff and their families an employee assistance program that offers no-cost counseling and coaching sessions on a variety of topics. The program provides assistance to employees with personal and work-related situations. Finally, new to our department is our Mental Health Check In, sometimes called, "Check Up from the Neck Up." All police department staff, from the chief to part-time employees, are required to meet with our contracted mental health provider once per year. This screening is intended to reduce the stigma of seeing a mental health provider and to identify employees who could benefit from additional services. Coupled with the Mental Health Check In, our department offers all staff five optional, anonymous counseling sessions each year. Feedback from both police staff and our provider regarding this new initiative has been very positive. Minnetonka residents and visitors expect a well-trained, professional police department physically and mentally prepared to protect and serve. Caring for our employees' mental health is not only good for our work, but it's also the right thing to do. I am proud of the initiatives we've developed to best care for our employees and the community. This press release was produced by the City of Minnetonka. The views expressed here are the author's own.