Intensive training, hundreds or thousands of calls, a near constant threat of danger, regular contact with the most distressing side of human life, and a 'suck it up' culture.
You're in a high-stakes profession and deserve support that serves you as you serve everyone else.
I have first responders in my family. I know their lives would be different if they'd had access to clinicians who could help them move through difficult periods rather than getting stuck in them.
Don't suffer in silence.
I have been trained (and continue to be supervised) by expert clinicians at the First Responder Support Network .
Your life has been spent protecting Sharing your experiences with a clinician might seem like exposing them to harm. Rest assured: I've been trained so that you can pass it to me without causing damage.
I will never judge you or your actions -- it is not my job -- and I will always aim for practical, actionable ways for you to heal.
Your nervous system is simply not designed to encounter this much trauma. For many responders -- especially those who a high performers -- your system becomes overwhelmed.
We also know that childhood emotional or physical injuries prime our system to be on alert from an early age. Adverse Childhood Experiences are 100% not your fault, and are a very good predictor of post-traumatic stress injuries later in life.
We now have truly incredible ways to help your nervous system come back to equilibrium. I practice Brainspotting, which actually requires you to say very little, but allows your system to heal itself (sometimes, quite rapidly).
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a helpful framework in processing experiences with your thinking mind. Healing happens when we find acceptance that bad experiences are a part of being human, learn what we cannot control, and choose actions that lead towards the life we want to have.
No therapist is a perfect fit for everyone. The best way to find out if we should work together is to have a quick video meeting
Click below to schedule a free 20 min consultation where we can get to know each other a little bit.
If I'm not the right fit for you, I might have some suggestions of other therapists you could try.
Chris Jinks - APCC#21845 - Supervised By Hannah Stutz - LCSW#99116
Brainspotting | Acceptance Commitment Therapy | San Francisco, San Mateo and Online