When we think of a first responder, we think of someone brave who comes to our aid during our time of greatest need. First responders include the police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians (EMT). Perhaps few of us think about how their often life-threatening experiences affect the first responder. These individuals go places and see things that we do not want to imagine. Their work is intense and unpredictable. They can be sound asleep and have to wake up immediately to respond to some emergency. How do they cope with the death and destruction that they encounter often daily and even multiple times a day?

Being a first responder can take a toll on one's physical and emotional well-being. It is estimated that there are 100 to 200 suicides by first responders a year, which is double the rate in the general population. Research has also shown that firefighters and law enforcement officers are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty, while EMS clinicians are more likely to take their lives than members of the public.[1]

First responders are constantly exposed to death and trauma. Sometimes this is the result of the deaths of those they are trying to rescue and at other times it is the unexpected loss of one of their own, another responder. We know that grief is a part........

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