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During this course we will look into the mentally, emotionally, and physically demanding world of a law enforcement officer that rarely gets examined in a solution-based way. We will explore a career choice that requires “Protecting and Serving” others before self, and what impact that has on the individual and the family system. This training will examine the significant and unique ways that law enforcement officers experience their career and how stress impacts them. Participants will learn how repeated exposure to extreme and continuous job-related stress and personal stress can alter the neurophysiology of law enforcement officers over time. We will explore the idea of stress vs. trauma, and the perceptual & cognitive impacts of continuous exposure to human tragedy and extreme emotions, experienced by first responders. We will look at how the internal politics of law enforcement agencies, societal views, and the internal leadership structure of agencies can help fuel hypervigilance and create negative pressure on mind/body balance. This course will look at emotions, their biological roots, and their purpose for our survival and healthy existence. At the end of this course, participants will have a better understanding of themselves, their peers, and the public at large. Students will be better equipped to function effectively in crisis and peer support situations. They will possess the understanding and knowledge to work with vs. against their own biology, and as a result, will be able to help others see the importance of doing the same.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to identify the unique mental health challenges and taxations faced by law enforcement officers operating in today’s society.
2. Participants will be able to identify the commonly held myths about emotions, their function for us as biological organisms, and how they impact mind/body health.
3. Participants will be able to assess the different impact of job-related stress vs personal life and the cumulative impact of both on the individual.
4. Participants will be able to illustrate an understanding of the human nervous system that can be utilized to help craft more effective programs of intervention & assistance for employees and the general public.
5. Participants will be identify tools, tips, strategies for working with vs against the human mind/body’s naturally capability to restore balance.
6. Participants will be able to evaluate participants individual & environmental challenges and formulate direct strategies for overcoming obstacles and achieving an empowered perspective.

CE Credits

Credits listed below are for full attendance of the live webinar training.  Attendees will be required to login at the beginning of the webinar and stay logged in throughout the whole training.  The day after the training, attendees will be emailed a SurveyMonkey evaluation to complete.  After completing the evaluation attendees will be emailed a certificate of completion for the training.

Arizona Trauma Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6677.  Arizona Trauma Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

CE Hours Awarded: 6 

Presenter – Brian M. Simmons, MA, LPC, CH, CFTP, CCTS-S, EMDR Provider

Brian Simmons obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science & History from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Arts degree in Professional Counseling from Amberton University. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Hypnotherapist with specialized training in pain management and 7th Path self- hypnosis. Mr. Simmons is an EMDR provider with specialized training in Feeling State Addiction and headache/migraine protocols. He is also a certified EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) practitioner and a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. He has been a Licensed Peace Officer in Texas for 15 years beginning his career with the Dallas Police Department in 2000. The majority of his tenure there was spend working on a Street Crime Enforcement Squad as a Uniformed Deployment Officer working interdiction and pattern-based crimes in high risk areas for narcotics, prostitution, property crimes, & crimes against persons. After leaving the Dallas PD in 2004, Mr. Simmons moved to rural East Texas and continued his law enforcement career as a Deputy Sheriff with the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2005 and Lieutenant in 2010. He holds a Master Peace Officer’s License, is a Certified Field Training Officer, a Certified Hostage Negotiator, Certified in Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Certified Mental Health Peace Officer, trained in Forensic Hypnosis, and is a Certified TCOLE Instructor. Mr. Simmons created the Kaufman Country Crisis Response Team to bridge the gap between mental health consumers and law enforcement. Mr. Simmons completed his counseling practicum hours at Burning Tree Ranch, a residential dual diagnosis substance abuse rehabilitation treatment center specializing in treating prior treatment failure cases. He also interned at the North Texas Suicide & Crisis Center providing stabilization and crisis counseling. Post graduate hours were obtained at Safe Haven of Tarrant County facilitating Batterer Intervention Prevention Program (BIPP) groups. Mr. Simmons now works in private practice treating clients with various clinical issues and specializing in traumatic stress disorders. For four years, he also co-facilitated sex offender treatment groups. Mr. Simmons was a contract provider for Valiant Hearts (formerly We Are Cherished), a non-profit Christian organization. Valiant Hearts works to rescue women and children from sex trafficking, both locally and internationally, while providing women in the DFW area with the assistance needed to exit the sex industry. In 2016, he accepted the role of Director of Clinical Care for the organization designing curriculum, overseeing case management, and coordinating outsourced services. Mr. Simmons is involved in the fight against global sex trafficking. Along with his wife, Mr. Simmons has traveled to Iraq assisting refugees and the rescue networks. They are currently in the process of designing, implementing, and overseeing a trauma treatment program for men, women, and children that have been trafficked, tortured, or recruited as soldiers by traffickers both domestically and internationally. Mr. Simmons is also a Certified Family Trauma Professional and a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional – Sex Trafficking. Together with his wife, Dr. Stephanie Thurston-Simmons, he co-wrote and instructs the only certification training course of it’s kind available on human sex trafficking, training professionals & paraprofessionals both domestically and internationally. Mr. Simmons and his wife, Dr. Thurston-Simmons, also provide trauma trainings and support for First Responders and families and have a passion for treating the traumas that First Responders experience.