Resilient Minds™: Building the psychological strength of fire fighters

Proven positive outcomes

Of individuals who have completed Resilient Minds training:

• 100 per cent learned better ways to manage stress and increase resilience
• 100 per cent gained knowledge on psychological trauma and psychological disorders
• 97 per cent felt better equipped to respond and support a colleague showing signs of psychological distress or illness
• 96 per cent reported feeling more prepared to respond to a member of the public who may be struggling with psychological health issues
• 93 per cent learned effective tools to handle stress

Testimonials

“In 2008, when I started a new career path as a fire fighter in Thunder Bay, I was advised that there would be situations that would be uncomfortable to deal with. Having a psychology degree in my background, I felt like I understood and could deal with the challenges that fire fighters face on the job and be able to help. After several years of dealing with the trauma and stresses while on duty, I was happy to hear the department was going to look into some critical incident training. Several training courses I attended added “tools in the toolbox.” No course had the lasting effect like Resilient Minds. Not only was the course interactive and fluidly-presented, it related the subject matter to all attendees in a fashion that was sure to make a personal tie. The stories presented made everyone relate to the situation and see how fragile the mind can become. The signs and symptoms that were indicators of trauma taking its toll were enlightening and informative. The knowledge gained from this course has been exponentially beneficial not only in dealing with people on the job, it also opened my eyes to friends and family dealing with mental health issues. I would recommend this course to any department looking to help its members’ overall mental wellness and ability to help others.”

– Acting Captain Mike Fossum, Thunder Bay Fire Rescue and Resilient Minds peer instructor, Thunder Bay, Ont.

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“Resilient Minds is designed for fire fighters, the content is Canadian, and the statistics wake up the participants. The program is bundled in a modular delivery system that just works for us.

Participating in the instructor training course, the experience and power our fellow students brought to the lessons were invaluable. The team learning approach was natural and effective. The growth as an instructor and fire fighter that I gained in this training will be with me for the rest of my career, not to mention the positive effect it will have on my personal life.

As professionals in our industry, we always want to do our best at everything we take on. If we do not recognize and look after our mental heath injuries, our ability to effectively and safely do our job is greatly hindered by the trauma we see daily. Thank you Resilient Minds for helping us so we can help others."

– Captain Jon Cuthbertson, Thunder Bay Fire Rescue and Resilient Minds peer instructor, Thunder Bay, Ont.

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“From a chief’s point of view, I stand behind Resilient Minds and support it being a mandatory training. The program gave us resources and tools we could use to help us deal with critical incidents.”

– Chief Johnny Dugay, Kinkora and Area Fire Department, Kinkora, P.E.I.

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“I think Resilient Minds should be part of the core training for every firefighter. Not only did this program help me develop the tools when dealing with my own mental health issues, but it made it easier to have the conversation within our department. Early identification and treatment is key and you can’t get treatment if you can’t talk about it.”

– Firefighter Joe White, Cross Roads Fire Department, Stratford, P.E.I.

Resilient Minds: Giving First Responders a toolbox for managing stress and trauma

Resilient Minds is an eight-hour workshop comprised of four, two-hour training modules that engage and inform first responders in four crucial areas to their work: trauma, psychological distress, trauma-informed responses and building resiliency.

Learning Module One
Psychological Trauma – Awareness and Understanding

Fire service staff will learn the definitions of resilience, stress and trauma, and the various responses a healthy human may experience after a stressful or traumatic event, followed by assessment and intervention practices to mitigate the negative impacts of trauma, psychological distress and disorder.

Objectives

• Define resilience and stress
• Build an understanding of psychological trauma and the impacts on personnel
• Learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress and trauma
• Encourage early response to psychological trauma
• Promote recovery after trauma

Learning Module Two
Psychological Trauma – Potential Risks and Strategies

Psychological trauma is explored further. Through the application of the ‘4R Action Toolkit,’ fire service staff will learn the importance of early recognition and early intervention to prevent a moderate-to-severe mental health problem from developing.

Objectives

• Provide an overview of assessment and intervention: The 4R Action Toolkit
• Develop communication skills
• Explore treatment options
• Discuss and review crisis intervention
• Identify how to support peers and promote recovery

Learning Module Three
Responding with Respect – Psychological Distress & Disorder

Fire service staff will develop a basic understanding of psychological health, psychological disorders and the definition and importance of a trauma-informed response. They will learn to apply the 4R Action Toolkit to effectively communicate and appropriately respond to a citizen, colleague or family member experiencing a mental health problem/crisis.

Objectives

• Recognize the usefulness and key components of trauma-informed responding
• Increase understanding and recognize signs of psychological distress and disorders
• Develop effective communication skills to respond and support individuals
• Discuss appropriate and safe responses to challenging situations
• Gain an understanding of resources

Learning Module Four
Managing Workplace Stress and Building Resiliency

Fire staff will explore the risk factors and impact of workplace/life stress and will learn to strengthen their resiliency by building valuable and helpful coping strategies.

Objectives

• Recognize negative impacts of work-life stress
• Identify components of burnout, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma
• Develop action toolkits to limit work stress
• Build resilience and strengthen psychological health

• Resilient Minds™ course (Eight hours)

A firefighter instructor provided through CMHA delivers the course to your fire department.

• Train-the-trainer course (21 hours)

This workshop prepares and certifies firefighters to become peer instructors to deliver the Resilient Minds course to their fire department. This model best serves large fire departments that require multiple peer instructors. This course is co-instructed by a certified CMHA educator and a certified firefighter instructor.

Please note that all training is now available and/or deliverable virtually. The virtual Resilient Minds Course remains peer-led and highly interactive.