Jesse English,
Mitchell County Emergency Management
Position: Director
Why small county law enforcement officers need clinical services, or better yet, embedded clinical services? Being in law enforcement and responding to traumatic events and emergencies anywhere is hard, it takes a physical and mental toll on officers and on their families. The issues working in smaller areas like Mitchell County makes it even harder. To begin, there are not many options for clinical services to choose from in rural areas. Second, clinical providers in rural areas may not be trained to provide services to meet the unique needs of law enforcement officers. These are two good reasons why having an embedded clinician is so important.
One of the hardest things to do, especially in law enforcement, is to go to your Sheriff or Chief and say I am having trouble mentally for fear of misconceptions about the real problem. Embedded services allows for this step to be bypassed and can educate ranking officers about the importance of regular mental health care. Clinicians providing embedded services are specially trained to understand the unique needs of law enforcement officers. Most have backgrounds in emergency responder fields, where other professionals may not have that experience. Using the knowledge of being in law enforcement and combining the best therapy methods for law enforcement will ensure our officers are at their best while on and off duty.
Embedded services will allow officers open access to highly trained professionals without having to jump through hoops to get the help they deserve and will keep smaller agencies working better to serve their communities. In the long run, this will save local governments thousands of dollars in high turnover rates, workman’s comp claims, and insurance premiums.