National Institute of Justice Grant
MCPA and the NIJ
In July 1996, Manhattan Counseling and Psychotherapy Associates, LLC (MCPA) wrote and submitted a proposal, in partnership with the Members Assistance Program (MAP) of the NYC Police Unions, for a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant to develop and implement a program designed to reduce the stress of New York City police officers and their families. The proposal was accepted and the grant was awarded in September 1996.
The New York City Police Department is the largest municipal police force in the United States, and the number of officers serving the city is nearly 40,000. The main focus of this NIJ project was to create and present a series of three seminars dealing with police family stress issues. Since NYPD officers reside in a large radius around New York City it was planned to hold the three-part seminar series in different geographical areas. We went to where police families live. Our first series was held in Farmingdale, Long Island for the Nassau and Suffolk police families. Our next presentation was held the northern Bronx for the Bronx and Westchester police families. Staten Island and finally, the Brooklyn-Queens police families had the opportunity to join our free seminar series.
The seminars provided participants with information about stress and its adverse effects as well as information about the various maladaptive ways of coping with stress (such as alcohol abuse, eating disorders, gambling and debting, and sexual addictions). The presentation included a discussion about the stresses of police work, and its impact on personal, marital, and family relationships. The problems that result from these stresses (such as domestic violence, divorce, and suicide) were also addressed. Information was conveyed to help participants better cope with the many stresses that affect police families. Tips were provided to improve communication in relationships. In addition, one entire seminar was devoted to stress management and the ways to reduce and/or eliminate the effects of stress via relaxation techniques and through the use of various cognitive and behavioral interventions.
In every seminar, the participants were continually encouraged to share their own personal experiences, feelings, and issues. They were introduced to a support group model and provided with a list of guidelines that emphasized characteristics that are important to follow, such as maintaining confidentiality, being non-judgmental and extending mutual respect. As an outgrowth of each seminar series, an ongoing support group was formed to provide participants with a forum to address their needs and concerns.
A unique feature of the support group program has been to utilize trained peer support officers (PSOs) as group facilitators. Prior to the presentation of the seminars, they were given specialized training in group leadership skills and the facilitation of support groups. Several PSOs were assigned to each seminar series and were a part of the formation of the support groups. In addition, each support group was led by a MCPA mental health clinician for the first four meetings. The clinician and the PSOs assigned to each support group helped to establish a healthy, confidential environment and an atmosphere of trust and openness. The PSOs are continuing to facilitate the support groups on an ongoing basis.
The grant also provided funding for MCPA to organize and conduct two clinician seminars designed to educate and sensitize mental health clinicians to some of the specific needs and issues of treating law enforcement officers and their families in psychotherapy. Along with the MAP director, we presented a symposium, entitled "Police Officers in Psychotherapy: What Every Clinician Needs To Know". Attendees included psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, and alcohol counselors. Several seasoned clinicians presented brief talks about their experiences working with police officers, providing specific case examples, and focusing on techniques that have proven to be successful. Several common themes emerged, including: the importance of being direct, clear, concrete and specific; ways to help officers to overcome their resistance to therapy; ways to build trust, comfort, and a personal connection with the officer client; the importance of being genuine and honest; the value of imagery and hypnotic techniques to better control anger; and the prevalence of alcohol abuse and the importance of treating alcohol problems as primary.
An additional element of the grant was for MCPA to create a computerized database of a provider referral network comprised of mental health clinicians familiar with the specific needs and problems of police officers and their families. This provider network was created specifically for the MAP program and its PSOs, to provide referral sources for officers in need of outside professional assistance. In order to be included in the MAP referral network, clinicians were required to attend an orientation workshop, entitled "MAP and the Clinician: How it Works", which was presented twice. The purpose of these orientation meetings was to fully acquaint the clinicians with all of MAP’s policies and procedures.
We at MCPA have a strong commitment to helping law enforcement agencies develop and enhance peer support and mental health services for their officers and their families.
