A recent article in The Guardian addresses the serious needs related to mental health faced by wildland firefighters, and the lack of resources available to help them address those needs.
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NWCG Mental Health Subcommittee Summer 2021 Newsletter
Maintaining resilience can be challenging in the best of times, and the current circumstances can make it even more difficult. While these tips and strategies are offered as a way to improve well-being and resilience, if you find that they are not enough, seek social support, mentoring, or counseling.
Continue ReadingPartner Webinar: Workforce Resilience Ignite Talk – Wildland Fire Mental Health and Well-being
Wildland Firefighter Suicide Study
A study from Oklahoma State University is seeking to determine the rates and risk factors for suicide in the wildland firefighter community. This project is designed to be the first of its kind to directly target wildland firefighters in an effort to assess their overall mental wellbeing. Wildland firefighters are being asked to participate in this research study in order to inform important theories in psychology.
Participate in the study here.
Continue ReadingPartner Webinar: Nine Insights from Living with PTSD: From Darkness to the Light, a Wildland Firefighter Perspective
Presented by Marc Titus, Staff Specialist, Nevada Division of Forestry’s Fire Adapted Communities and MS Student in Psychology, Arizona State University.
PTSD is quietly impacting wildland firefighters with its often devastating personal and professional repercussions. While no official numbers exist, suicide has become another statistic now necessary to track within the wildland community as anecdotal data show an alarming trend. While agency’s come to grips with this burgeoning problem, firefighters can educate themselves to better understand the dynamics of stress, trauma and PTSD. This event will provide a unique view of the insidious nature of trauma, its effects on the human being with an eye towards recovery and nine key insights derived from the experiences of a wildland firefighter afflicted by this nervous system injury.
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