If you鈥檝e ever thought, 鈥淚 wonder if therapy would help鈥� 鈥淢aybe he needs therapy鈥� 鈥淒oes my kid need therapy鈥� and you鈥檙e curious about how therapy services might be helpful to your first responder family this is for you! Click from that discusses how therapy might be worth it for your family unit. If you have a moment of quiet on a drive or while doing things around the house please take a listen. Here鈥檚 a summary of what鈥檚 discussed.
WHY FIRST RESPONDER FAMILIES?
Of course, therapy can always help support us through the . Beyond that though, sometimes the can also have an impact on you and your kids. This can be from the way the abnormal schedule impacts your family, from hearing bits and pieces of the terrible things they deal with on the job, from the endless worries about their safety, or the common symptoms found in first responders such as:
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Difficulties sleeping/concentrating
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Social Isolation
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Disinterest in activities they use to enjoy
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Increased Irritability/ anger
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Emotional detachment
To answer your question 鈥淗ow can therapy help?鈥� here are some ways it might be helpful to you and your family.
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Improves effective and helpful communication within the family, for example helping the couple come up with ways things can be communicated to one another that meets the needs of the spouse and the first responder.
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Therapist provides an objective point of view of the family dynamic and gives an outside perspective of what might improve things
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Provides a safe place for each person to share their perspectives
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Helps to improve your patterns as a family. As parents you鈥檙e always modeling for your children when it comes to outlook on life, communication, relating patterns, and problem solving strategies. By improving your own you鈥檙e going to also going to improve theirs in the long run.
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Help individuals find more positive coping strategies to deal with stressors and/ or difficult calls from work.
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Can help adults find ways to communicate to their children about important events and to get on the same page about what information is communicated to the child.
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Can help kids cope with challenging situations or fear around their parent鈥檚 profession
If you鈥檙e interested in , your , or from a therapist that understands the day to day of a first responder family don鈥檛 hesitate to . I鈥檓 a located in Livermore, California. If you鈥檙e not local I have online therapy capabilities and can treat individuals residing within California. I鈥檇 be happy to briefly discuss your specific situation over the phone to see if therapy would be useful for your family. !
If you鈥檙e not local and would like to find a therapist for your family check out for therapists in your area or contact your Insurance or department鈥檚 Employee Assistance Program or HR to see who鈥檚 covered for your family. for more ideas on how to find your first responder family support.
