The helping profession has its two sides. One is positive, with words like noble and rewarding associated with it. On the other side, it is seen as a thankless job, draining, and traumatic. Who helps the helpers when they’re the ones who are stressed? How do they find resilience and overcome trauma after seeing the most horrific scenes with their own eyes?

This course’s instructor is Brenda Dietzman. Brenda retired from the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office in 2019 after her 28 years’ career in law enforcement and corrections. She then co-founded Wayfinder Consulting, a training services provider committed to providing individual and organizational development. Brenda utilizes her experience to unpack topics surrounding resilience, leadership, and ethics among others.

In this discussion, Brenda focuses on building resiliency, specifics include:

• The current state of the world and the law enforcement field in particular which serves as the context for the need for tools to manage the stress and trauma.
• The value in labeling things to establish self-awareness of what we experience and feel.
• The unhealthy approach to life that we tend to default to and the three areas that resiliency works on to address adversity.
• What trauma is, how it happens, and how it impacts an individual.
• The secondary trauma that those in the helping professions tend to be subjected to.
• Our reaction to trauma, how the people around us tend to respond to it, and the resources typically made available after such an incident.
• The importance of doing proactive work in a profession where such traumatic incidents are likely to happen.
• The resources that we must learn to tap and improve on to help us prepare, cope, and grow through adversity.
• The different tools that we can incorporate into our daily routine, how it aids our physical, mental, and psychological well-being, and strengthen our internal and external resources.
• The effects of caffeine, and the benefits of rest, mindfulness and meditation.
• The concept of neuroplasticity that allows us to rewire our brains through intentional choices and changes.
• Employing a personal mission statement to serve as our moral compass when it comes to decisions and disposition in life.
• Developing a trauma recovery plan ahead of time so we’ll know what to do when a traumatic incident happens.
• Choosing to respond instead of reacting and breathwork exercises guaranteed to calm us down.
• The importance of relationships and how maintaining connections with others help us cope with stress.
• Why we should strive to be more resilient and resources to look into to help us foster resiliency.

Topics raised during the Q&A are about:

• The role of leaders in developing resilience within their teams particularly in stressful times.
• Preferences in the mode of journaling and its effectiveness.
• Selling the concept of resiliency and mindfulness to people who tend to resist it by getting into the science behind it.
• Using aromatherapy and guided meditations.

Other Webinars in This Series:

• The New Generations: How to Recruit, Retain and Motivate
• Developing Women as Leaders: Evidence-Based Insight and Solutions for Recruiting, Retaining and Developing Women Leaders 
• Building Resiliency: The Dawn of the Mentally Strong Employee (this webinar)

Resources and Handouts

• List of Useful Resources
• Class Information
• To find counselors who are uniquely qualified to help  First Responders, contact The Certified First Responder Counseling Program.

Audience Comments

• “Everything was great and I will take some of the things I learned to implement them into my personal and professional life.” — Abbie
• “Very good webinar. Thanks for all the vital information.” — Annette
• “A great reminder to slow down and enjoy the most important things.” — Annelise
• “The best takeaway I took from today’s webinar, are the breathing techniques and journaling. It was also nice to hear that I am not alone in being so hard on myself. Excellent webinar.” — Amanda
• “I always find learning how to become a better person to be highly beneficial. This webinar was great in providing the information, tools and resources to do just that.” — Andrew
• “Excellent speaker! We definitely need to take care of ourselves before we can care for others!” — Anona
• “I love the idea of a personal mission statement. I think it will help keep me accountable. I like that she gives simple ideas for how to become more resilient & it’s not just “buy my book so you can become more resilient” or “you need this seminar that costs thousands of dollars to know how to implement change”. Overall, really enjoyed the webinar.” — Aretha
• “This was one of the best trainings I have ever attended. Great speaker!” — Beverly
• “I couldn’t believe how fast the hour went. Great webinar. I will work on my Recovery Plan and Mission Statement.” — Danielle