Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress by General Duty Police Officers: Practical Implications

Authors

  • Stephanie M. Conn Private Practice
  • Lee D. Butterfield The Adler School of Professional Psychology

Keywords:

Applied Practice, Police Psychology

Abstract

This study used the Critical Incident Technique to examine the factors that helped, hindered, or might have helped 10 general duty police officers to cope with secondary traumatic stress. The data were best represented by 14 categories: self-care, family/significant other support, talking with co-workers, emotional engagement, work environment, mental health resources, personality, ability to help the victim, relatability to the victim, scene reminders, continuous exposure/dwelling, exposure to human nature, vulnerability of the victim, and presence of additional stressors. The findings are presented and recommendations are offered for counsellors working with this population and for police agency administrators.

Author Biographies

Stephanie M. Conn, Private Practice

Stephanie Conn is in private practice in Vancouver, BC. She also conducts research and provides consulting and educational services.

Lee D. Butterfield, The Adler School of Professional Psychology

Lee Butterfield, Ph.D., R.Psych. is Program Director of the M.A. in Counselling Psychology and Master of Counselling Psychology programs at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Vancouver, B.C..

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Published

2012-12-13

How to Cite

Conn, S. M., & Butterfield, L. D. (2012). Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress by General Duty Police Officers: Practical Implications. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 47(2). Retrieved from https://dev.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/rcc/article/view/60048