Matching the level of mental health services to the needs of firefighters
In this post, I’m hoping to give firefighters and officers, along with psychologists and other mental health clinicians who work with fire department personnel, a common language as it pertains to the diverse levels of behavioral health services that should be available to firefighters and officers.
I’m doing this by comparing the four distinct levels of behavioral health knowledge/services to the four levels of hazardous materials training and certification. In doing so, my goal is to inform and educate members of both disciplines—the fire service and psychology—so that their conversations surrounding improving behavioral health services for fire service personnel are more fruitful and productive.
Just as there is no one level for a fire department’s response to a hazardous materials incident, there is no one level for behavioral health services. The level of hazmat response is based on the scope and magnitude of the problem following a good assessment of the situation. So too must the appropriate level of behavioral health response be based on a good assessment that effectively matches the need.
The majority of members for a typical fire department hazardous materials teams are trained and certified at the Technician Level. Technicians conduct the majority of hazmat entry operations (e.g., plug a leak, replace a valve, shut down processes).
The same likely holds true for behavioral health clinicians in that most communities probably have more Technician Level Clinicians than they do Specialist Level Clinicians.
And just like a successful hazmat team, a fire department’s behavioral health program can find success with a “team” consisting of multiple Technician Level Clinicians providing intervention services under the oversight of a Specialist Level Clinician.
Fire departments that are looking to provide an effective behavioral health program for their members would do well to model the approach that the fire service has taken with its tiered response to hazardous materials incidents.
They would further serve the best interests of their firefighters by collaborating with mental health clinicians, preferably those at the Specialist Level, just as they would if developing their own hazardous materials response team.
The members 0f the Fire Service Psychology Association are committed to this tiered approach for providing behavioral health services to firefighters and officers.
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