Resiliency is a highly-revered quality. Overcoming adversity and our personal demons can be tough. More so when you’re in a position that exposes you to different characters and situations. Law enforcement is one of those professions that may affect one’s mental health due to its nature, and it can get difficult to rise back up and defeat once you cross to the dark side.

Back on the Justice Clearinghouse for the continuation of his webinar series, is Ray Nash. Ray is currently the CEO and founder of Police Dynamics Institute. Prior this role, he had a 40-year productive career in law enforcement serving as a patrolman, in street supervision, a police chief, a training specialist, and a sheriff.

On this course, he unpacks the path to destruction that law enforcement experience and an antithesis through the path of restoration. Through these two concepts, he stresses the significance of resilience and practicing it when dealing with unresolved conflicts and its consequences.

Some of the things Ray discussed on the webinar are:

• A police recruitment and PTSD awareness video that illustrates the ideals and the reality of the law enforcement career.
• The four deadly arenas associated with law enforcement and public safety.
• The subtle transition that law enforcement officers undergo that change them from virtuous newcomers to jaded veterans.
• The Path of Destruction that individuals go through.
  • The Faithful Spirit as the starting point when an individual becomes a part of the team and is motivated solely by the team’s purpose and values.
  • The Independent Spirit phase where an individual starts to build a wall driven by self-interest.
  • The Wounded Spirit phase when ego and pride take over causing pain.
  • The Bitter Spirit phase characterized by anger and jealousy that destroys relationships and even the individual.
  • The final phase of the Unrestorable Spirit where an individual refuses to get help, gets destructive and shuns relationships.
• The three root character flaws from which all police misconduct cases can be traced back to.
• The Path of Restoration that a person may choose to partake into through four virtues.
  • The virtue of Responsibility to overcome the rebelliousness by respecting authority and fulfilling expectations.
  • The virtue of Self-Control to restrain anger and yield when one feels their personal rights are being violated.
  • The virtue of Forgiveness to bring freedom from bitterness.
  • The virtue of Faithfulness to liberate the individual’s mind of self-interest and act in accordance with the principles of authority.
• In the Q&A segment, Ray answered questions from the audience concerning:
  • Dealing with individuals/entities that try to expose an agency by working on the internal values and culture.
  • Having the willpower to practice forgiveness and viewing it as a strength instead of a weakness.