In a proactive effort designed to bolster law enforcement officers’ resiliency in dealing with trauma, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has issued a directive requiring all state, county, and local law enforcement agencies to participate in a resiliency program. Michael Bizzarro, PhD, LCSW, Clinical Director of First Responder Treatment Services at Penn Medicine Princeton House and a former police officer and military veteran, was one of more than 30 Advisory Committee members who provided expertise leading to the directive.
As part of this initiative, every police agency will identify a Resiliency Program Officer (RPO) to oversee implementation, which includes the selection and training of master trainers. In turn, every police officer in New Jersey will be trained over the next three years.
“The law enforcement culture is prone to ‘blue silence’ in not talking about the issues they deal with on a daily basis,” says Dr. Bizzarro. “We’ve been chipping away at this stigma for the last decade, and the Attorney General’s directive is a positive step in making it easier to reach out for help.”
Princeton House is a program of choice for first responders needing treatment for behavioral health and substance use issues. In addition, over the past year, First Responder Treatment Services has provided resiliency training for nearly 2,000 law enforcement officers.
Article as seen in the Winter 2020 issue of Princeton House Behavioral Health Today.
