MISSING THE SIGNS
You’re invited to a birthday celebration for your friend’s wife at your favorite bar. Your spouse accompanies you, and there are several other couples at the gathering. Some of them are co-workers and some are single. Everyone is having a good time, and you, especially, are enjoying the festivities. You arrived with a buzz since […]
The Lost Sheep
In my first few ride-alongs with deputies in the West Hollywood Station, I’ve been asked, “What does a chaplain do?” The short answer is this: It’s about presence. It’s about chaplains being with you as you do your everyday work, listening and providing whatever support is needed, on or off duty. It’s simply about serving […]
WAKE-UP CALL
Many of us had the experience of sitting at briefing while our sergeant read an account of a co-worker’s involvement in an alcohol-related T/C or alcohol-related off-duty incident. We sat there and, for a moment, mentally put ourselves in our co-worker’s place. After the briefing, we felt a little down and were concerned how they […]
BEAUTY FROM ASHES
To all who mourn … God will give them beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair (Isaiah 61:3 NLT). There are times in life when everything just falls apart. Life is not happening as planned. Life has lost its meaning and purpose. We are left in a place of confusion and […]
UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EMOTIONAL ADJUSTMENT TO RETIREMENT
Retirement, whether planned or unplanned, marks the end of a chapter in a person’s life and the start of a new one. Many people focus on the financial aspects of retirement, but not too many people think of the psychological and emotional adjustment that takes place until after they retire. Law enforcement is a unique […]
SUICIDE: LAW ENFORCEMENT’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET
The quote “law enforcement’s dirty secret” comes from the “Ruderman White Paper on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders” (2018). The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) calls it a “collective silence” and states that the shame and stigma associated with the topic of suicide help to reinforce our collective silence both as […]
FACING CHALLENGES
It is no secret that challenges are part of everyone’s everyday life. The Bible teaches that God uses circumstance to develop our character. “But we also glory in tribulations,” Scripture says, “knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Tribulations are “a state of great trouble or suffering,” according to Webster’s Dictionary). […]
EMDR: A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO OVERCOMING TRAUMA
Throughout our lives, we are exposed to various situations that can have a lasting impact on how we view ourselves, others and the world. At times, single or multiple adverse life events (e.g., violent crime, loss of a loved one, childhood abuse) can result in trauma that extends beyond normal stress reactions and, instead, creates […]
DENIAL
Where is the line that separates a heavy drinker from an alcoholic? Is there a difference? Some questionnaires and brochures attempt to prescreen whether or not a person is an alcoholic. The problem is that those questions may not be answered truthfully by someone who is looking at it subjectively. They believe their problems are […]