Warrior's Rest Foundation's mission goes beyond preparing First Responders for their job. We also aim to empower heroes & help them heal from the trauma that impacts their personal lives. These classes teach First Responders how their careers impact their family life and help them discover ways to mitigate the negative impacts of trauma so they can have successful careers, families, and retirement. We also provide information and techniques to sustain peer support teams and other departmental supports for the long haul. If you would like to have one of these trainings at your agency, contact Warrior's Rest Foundation today.
Warrior's Rest Foundation Courses
Emotional Survival
What is Substance Abuse/Dependency
Understanding Suicide
Sustaining a Peer Team: Keeping Your Peer Support Team Healthy and Effective
Training and Wellness Courses Available from Warrior’s Rest
All courses shown below are currently Approved for Oklahoma CLEET Credit with Approved Mental Health Hours
SUICIDE: Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention
Why do people kill themselves?
How do I ask someone if they are feeling Suicidal?
What do I do if they say they ARE Suicidal?
How do I deal with the strong emotions Suicide generates?
This 2-day course provides answers for these and other questions that many crisis interventionists, peer support members, and coworkers often have about Suicide. This intensive course is taught by a Mental Health Professional who provides participants with basic information about Suicide as well as help participants develop practical skills for Suicide Prevention, Suicide Intervention and the follow-up Postvention. Small group role play scenarios will allow participants to apply the suggested techniques as they are learned.
Understanding Suicide and Suicide Interventions
This course is intended to provide First Responders insight into Suicide as well as potential Suicide Intervention techniques. The multitude of small stress reactions incurred by First Responders during their career can pile up and lead to a negative attitude in the workplace, in their personal life at home, or both. This course is intended to educate First Responders how the impact of daily work-related and/or personal life experiences can cause traumatic reactions which have led to Suicide. This course is an interactive presentation with attendees discussing their observations on the impact of Suicide for themselves and fellow coworkers.
The course is not only easily adapted for presentation to different First Responder groups (i.e. Fire, Law Enforcement, EMS, etc) who may have different roles and duties when involved in a Suicide incident, but it is also effective information for First Responder family members.
Surviving and Thriving a Career as a 1st Responder
This course discusses the common reactions to workplace stress and trauma to illustrate the pitfalls of the First Responder work environment. The course asks students to recall their support foundation upon entering their career and how it has changed both positive and negative. We will review the effects of job-related trauma as well as how to take control of your “off-duty” time. The course is easily adapted for presentation to different First Responder groups who may have different assignments and duties but share “Common Reactions to Stress and Trauma”.
- Workplace stress comes in many forms that often are presumed to be part of the job. We investigate the cumulative toll these stressors have providing for useful tools to build resistance.
- Trauma comes in many forms and can be more or less severe to individuals or groups at the same scene. Understanding that both positive and negative reactions to trauma are normal provides relief to those who are often reluctant to share their concerns. Encouraging conversations and discussing events with peer support, family, and friends is an important part of the training.
- The course provides First Responders with tools to aggressively build a resilient lifestyle going forward.
- The course concludes with a discussion of resources including peer support and counseling services available.
Leading Through Tough Times and Agency Wellness
When asked to identify a critical incident in the workplace, employees often refer to easily identifiable events known to the agency. This course is intended to also provide insight into events that normally go unnoticed. The multitude of small stress reactions incurred by First Responders during their career can pile up to lead to a negative attitude in the workplace, in their personal life at home, or both. This course is intended to educate agency Leaders to the impact of daily incidents that can cause traumatic event reactions from their first day as a First Responder and throughout their career.
Agencies can develop and train co-workers in Peer Support to assist other employees in the agency with traumatic event responses, referral to next level interventions within the agency and private options if the employee prefers. This course is designed as a simple proactive approach to limit the detrimental effects of cumulative trauma.
First Responder Substance Abuse and Dependency (or, "How to Boil a Frog”)
This course uses information developed and provided by the author who is a licensed Mental Health Counselor and Clinical Director at a Substance Abuse / Addiction Treatment Center. The course explains the various definitions as well as the impact and effects of Substance Abuse, Tolerance, and Dependance/Withdrawal on First Responders. The course provides students understanding and knowledge about how easy it is for First Responders to develop Addictions to various substances to cope with the Traumas of the mental and/or physical injuries frequently incurred because of their jobs.
The Secrets of Psychological Body Armor - Survival of the Wisest
This 1-day course is designed to aid you in building a personal culture of resilience and holistic health. This unique approach is intended to help you learn to better manage the stress in your life to increase your potential for happiness, success, and even create a competitive advantage through the creation of what we call Psychological Body Armor ™. There is no “quick fix” in this program. This course contains facts and specific suggestions for actions you can take to enhance your personal resilience, all based upon the latest and most credible science.
CLEET CE 8 hr
First Responder Stress and Trauma - How it Happens with Methods and Resources to Keep Your Agency Healthy
When asked to identify a critical incident in the workplace, employees often refer to easily identifiable events known to the agency. This course is intended to address events that normally go unnoticed. The accumulation of these events are detrimental to the individual and through a career may result in negative responses at work and home. This course is intended to normalize individual reactions to daily incidents that can cause traumatic event reactions from their first day through their career. Employees are given simple communication tools that allow co-workers to express events of the day or week which often resolves lasting negative reactions. For employees with lasting traumatic event responses, co-workers are trained in referral to next level interventions within the agency and private options if the employee wishes. This course is designed as a simple proactive approach to limit the cumulative effects of trauma. Instruction will include an initial four-hour course with a refresher training annually.
Interactive presentation of this information is a must with attendees practicing conversation initiation with active listening.
CLEET CE 8 hr
Surviving and Thriving a Career in Corrections
The continually changing world of a corrections officer can be difficult as they navigate through their career. This course identifies the anchors present in their lives upon entry into the profession and the building blocks that made each person the right hire for the agency. Exposure to a highly stressful environment and trauma can erode those anchors leaving a feeling of loss of control. The impact on your life away from work can be expressed in numerous ways such as isolation, relationship issues, and alcohol/substance abuse. After discussing these common reactions, the student is challenged to use aggressive time management for healthy relationship growth, and healthy lifestyle decisions.
Train-the-Trainer for Surviving and Thriving a Career in Corrections
This 2-day Train-the-Trainer course will prepare Corrections training staff to instruct the two-hour wellness course titled “Surviving and Thriving a Career in Corrections”. The course explores the foundations of new hire employees and what made them resistant and resilient initially. The course explains the journey through a corrections career including trauma exposure and how cumulative stress can have long term negative responses. Hypervigilance is the normal protective mechanism for Corrections Officers, but the negative response can cause trouble adapting and interacting in daily functions at work as well as in relationships in their off-duty hours. The course provides information on managing negative experiences and building healthy relationships away from work. Instructor candidates will present an assigned portion of the class followed with review and critiques from WR trainers.
Assisting Individuals in Crisis & Group Crisis Intervention – GRIN
This 3-day course combines ALL the content of ICISF’s Assisting Individuals in Crisis & Group Crisis Intervention courses. Crisis Intervention is a specialized acute emergency mental health intervention which requires specialized training. Crisis intervention is sometimes called “emotional first aid”. Designed to present the core elements of a comprehensive, systematic, and multi-component crisis intervention curriculum, this course will prepare participants to understand a wide range of crisis intervention services for both the individual and for groups. Fundamentals of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) will be outlined, and participants will leave with the knowledge and tools to provide several group crisis interventions. The need for appropriate follow-up services and referrals, when necessary, will also be discussed.
Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) – Assisting Individuals in Crisis
Crisis Intervention is NOT psychotherapy; rather, it is a specialized acute emergency mental health intervention which requires specialized training. This 2-day program is designed to teach participants the fundamentals of, and a specific protocol for, Individual Crisis Intervention. This course is designed for anyone who desires to increase their knowledge of Individual (One-on-One) Crisis Intervention techniques.
Critical Incident Stress Management - Group Crisis Intervention
Designed to present the core elements of a comprehensive, systematic, and multi-component crisis intervention curriculum, the 2-day Group Crisis Intervention course will prepare participants to understand a wide range of crisis intervention services. Fundamentals of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) will be outlined, and participants will leave with the knowledge and tools to provide several group crisis interventions, specifically Defusing and the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). The need for appropriate follow-up services and referrals, when necessary, will also be discussed.
Post Critical Incident Seminar
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