Protecting the mental health of the people who work in emergency services is a vital safeguard, given the situations they'll encounter during their career.
So why is there still a stigma associated with discussing mental health, and what can people working in this environment do, to better support their own and others' mental health?
Mark Bouchard has been working at the front-line of Canadian law enforcement since 2007, as a specialist firearms (ERT/SWAT) officer. He's also earned a Master's degree in leadership, studying culture and mental health in policing.
Mark's book, Setting my sights on stigma: thoughts from an injured mind, is a candid and personal exploration of policing culture, leadership, peer support and his own mental health journey following a PTSD diagnosis.
In this episode, you'll hear Mark's perspectives on how a culture of support can tackle the stigma around mental health, including the practical steps we can all take to support others around us.
Content warning: This episode contains mentions of operational police call-outs, PTSD and suicide. If you're affected in any way by the issues discussed, please make use of these links to support resources and organisations.
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Why does working in the emergency services affect mental health?
Mark talks about the challenges that police officers face with the nature of difficult incidents they may have to attend, and how the nature of dealing with "a more extreme version of humanity" has inherent challenges to mental health.
The wider impact of 'blocking out' emotions and the experiences of dealing with traumatic incidents are touched upon, as he explains how the technique of journalling eventually helped him to focus on his own mental health.
The need for changes in attitude
Mark talks openly and candidly about his own experiences of dealing with these challenges, and the impact it had on his own mental health.
He reflects on the supportive leadership and team-mates who helped him, as we discuss the research into ostracisation, exclusion and isolation that's associated with poorer mental health outcomes.
The number one protection from trauma is connection
This is an important quote that Mark cites from Dr. Bessel van der Kolk's book, as it's a theme we've also seen discussed in recent episodes about workplace incivility, bullying and harassment.
In episode six of the podcast, Associate Professor Dorothy Suskind talked about the harmful effects of ostracisation on people targeted by workplace bullying.
Dorothy also talked about the benefits of journalling as a tool for recovery, so we can see consistent patterns emerging as more and more experts on the impact of poor workplace cultures share their expertise in different episodes.
Mark discusses how "old-fashioned attitudes" can prevent people speaking up, and the techniques that people can use to take individual actions that'll change culture for the better.
Those apply not just to people in leadership roles, but to anyone in the workplace, and there are important lessons here from Mark in what you can do to support the people around you too.
Leadership actions that reduce stigma
An interesting finding from Mark's Master's degree research was the extent to which people affected by severe reactions affecting their mental health were reluctant to talk to mental health practitioners.
He talks about how his book addresses this, and the findings of the Ontario coroner's report after a cluster of 2018 police suicides.
Mark reflects that leadership mandating that people affected by traumatic situations may benefit from being instructed to speak to a mental health professional for support.
Positive actions by leadership that emphasise the importance of mental health support act to reduce self-stigma around seeking help, providing an 'out' where personal attitudes may not yet have embraced the value provided by this support.
The police culture of cynicism
An interesting part of this discussion is Mark's reflections on how people who go into the emergency services to help people, to do good in society end up becoming victims of a cynical, and ultimately destructive, culture that can turn on fellow first-responders.
Mark issues challenges to listeners to ask what you can do in your sub-culture to address the points he talks about, and make positive changes for yourself and the people around you.
He shares his experiences of his work in re-integration training, and the benefits of this peer-supported programme in helping people return to work, as part of their recovery from mental health trauma.
Initiatives like re-integration programmes provide important support resources that demonstrate that it's okay to talk about mental health in the workplace.
As always, leadership actions in provding resources speak louder than words of support.
Lessons to learn from Mark Bouchard
You heard a key question from Mark in this episode:
“What kind of culture do you want to set?”
It’s an important question, because to change a culture, you have to make personal choices about the actions you’re going to take.
Mark set out some challenges for you:
- What are you going to do when someone in your workplace starts ripping on the person who’s not there?
- Or someone in a leadership position isn’t demonstrating behaviour that you feel is respectful towards others?
That’s when your own attitude to mental health stigma (along with your ethical commitment and moral compass) might well be tested in practice.
It’s not just about other people though, it’s also about your own situation. You might not be experiencing quite the same intensity in your own workplace as a front-line armed response officer, but that doesn’t mean your own mental health journey is any less important.
It’s not a competition, it’s a personal journey - and it’s your own journey that matters.
How does the culture you experience every day affect you?
What do you want and need from your colleagues, your leaders, your organisation - and your friends or family outside work, who’ll also be aware of how you’re being affected by the things that may impact your own mental health?
Those are the kind of questions that Mark’s challenged you to think about in this episode, and those challenges give you the opportunity to make a plan for any changes you want to see happening around you.
We’ve heard about some practical steps and techniques, from journalling to suggestions in how you can confidently - but respectfully - challenge others who aren’t treating mental health awareness with the respect it deserves.
If taking those steps reduces ostracisation, stigma or shame that some people might be going through, then they’re steps worth taking and you’ll be making a difference.
Remember, “the number one protection from trauma is connection” - not just now, but into the future as well.
So don't leave it until later to contact someone and ask how they're doing - especially not if they've already expressed their need for support in the past.
If someone asks you for help and opens up - and is later ignored and excluded - it reinforces, rather than breaks down, mental health stigma.
Mark concluded by saying that he hoped his journalling, and the book that came from it, can help others to get a head start to reducing the stigma that still, too often, surrounds mental health in the workplace.
By learning the lessons he’s shared from his experiences, you’ll be able to make sure that Mark’s hopes become a reality for you, and for those around you.
Chapter markers
| Time code | Content |
|---|---|
| 00:00:00 | Introduction |
| 00:02:47 | Mark’s law enforcement career |
| 00:04:32 | Mental health impacts in the emergency services |
| 00:07:55 | Journalling as a supportive technique |
| 00:11:02 | The effects of not speaking up about mental health |
| 00:16:05 | What happens without a supportive culture? |
| 00:19:12 | Positive culture, dark humour and managing emotional pain |
| 00:26:13 | Coping at your own pace - a de-briefing case study |
| 00:30:33 | How do leaders create psychological safety? |
| 00:34:27 | Steps to reduce stigma around workplace mental health |
| 00:40:31 | The police “culture of cynicism” |
| 00:47:32 | How cynicism leads to poor culture in policing |
| 00:51:35 | Culture is carried within people |
| 00:54:18 | Re-integration support gets people back to work |
| 00:59:08 | Trauma is not linear - practical steps to supporting others |
| 01:01:40 | Mark Bouchard’s contact details |
| 01:02:44 | Lessons to learn about mental health and stigma |
Links
References
- Ontario coroner’s inquiry report (2021) into police suicides
- CIPSRT research publications into stressors and mental health in Canadian public services
Books you can purchase
Books mentioned in this episode are available from Amazon.com using these (affiliate) links:
- Mark Bouchard (2023) - Setting my sights on stigma : thoughts from an injured mind
- Dr. Bessell van der Kolk (2015) - The Body Keeps the Score : Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma
- Dr. Kevin Gilmartin (2021) - Emotional survival for law enforcement: A guide for officers and their families (revised edition)
- Dave Grossman & Lauren Christensen (2008) - On combat: The psychology and physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace
In the next episode
In the next episode of the Life at the Sharp End podcast, I'm discussing the neurological impact of bullying on the human brain with researcher and author, Dr. Jennifer Fraser.
We discuss:
- The findings presented in her book, The Bullied Brain : Heal your scars and restore your health
- The neurological effects bullying has on people
- How people affected by bullying can teach their brains to recover from the harmful impacts they've suffered.
The next episode will be available (earlier than the usual fortnightly schedule) in time for the Christmas break, on Wednesday, 18 December 2024.