Grounded in clinical research, extensive experience, and deep familiarity with police culture, this book offers highly practical guidance for psychotherapists and counselors. The authors vividly depict the pressures and challenges of police work and explain the impact that line-of-duty issues can have on officers and their loved ones. Numerous concrete examples and tips show how to build rapport with cops, use a range of effective intervention strategies, and avoid common missteps and misconceptions. Approaches to working with frequently encountered clinical problems--such as substance abuse, depression, trauma, and marital conflict--are discussed in detail. A new preface in the paperback and e-book editions highlights the book's relevance in the context of current events and concerns about police-community relations. See also Kirschman's related self-help guide I Love a Cop, Third Edition: What Police Families Need to Know, an ideal recommendation for clients and their family members.

Police families are brave, resilient, and proud--and they face remarkable challenges, sometimes on a daily basis. Now thoroughly updated for today's turbulent times, this is the resource that cops and their loved ones have relied on for decades. Trusted expert Ellen Kirschman gives you practical ways to manage the stress of the job and create a healthy, supportive home environment. The third edition features the latest information, new stories from police families, two new chapters, and fully updated resources. Dr. Kirschman acknowledges the tough realities of life on the force and offers frank, realistic suggestions for handling everyday relationship dilemmas as well as serious issues like trauma, domestic violence, and alcohol abuse. Whether you read this book cover to cover or reach for it when problems arise, you will find no-nonsense guidance to help your family thrive. Mental health professionals, see also Counseling Cops: What Clinicians Need to Know, by Ellen Kirschman, Mark Kamena, and Joel Fay.

A penetrating look at how government workers make sense of their work, ascribe identity to the people they encounter, and account for their decisions and actions

This is an important work that addresses a very timely issue: police stress and its treatment. Its authors both hold doctoral degrees in education and teach at the university level. In addition, both gentlemen have extensive experience treating police stress. The book begins by tracing the history of the treatment (or lack thereof) of police stress, specifically its treatment by peers. It describes the obstacles peer counselors face and their tactics for addressing them. It goes into detail regarding the types of stress that officers face on the job, and the ways in which these stresses make this work so very different from other jobs. It also provides statistics regarding the high rates of divorce, suicide, illness, and premature death that police are subject to. In these ways, it provides a strong argument supporting the establishment of stress-reduction programs for police. The book also makes it clear that peers are uniquely qualified to do this counseling work; they have “been there” and can gain the respect and trust more easily than an outsider. It recounts instances of successful peer counseling, and it recounts instances of sad failure. The book artfully presents the results of extensive surveys and interviews of the people involved in a large peer counseling program—from both the peers and those they counsel. Perhaps most important, departments and organizations wishing to emulate the work that is profiled will find this to be an invaluable guide.

Whether on a patrol beat, in social service offices, or in public school classrooms, street-level workers continually confront rules in relation to their own beliefs about the people they encounter. Cops, Teachers, Counselors is the first major study of street-level bureaucracy to rely on storytelling. Steven Maynard-Moody and Michael Musheno collect the stories told by these workers in order to analyze the ways that they ascribe identities to the people they encounter and use these identities to account for their own decisions and actions. The authors show us how the world of street-level work is defined by the competing tensions of law abidance and cultural abidance in a unique study that finally allows cops, teachers, and counselors to voice their own views of their work. Steven Maynard-Moody is Director of the Policy Research Institute and Professor of Public Administration at the University of Kansas. Michael Musheno is Professor of Justice and Policy Studies at Lycoming College and Professor Emeritus of Justice Studies, Arizona State University.

From the Back Cover: In this second edition of Police Suicide: Epidemic in Blue, the author brings together "old and new" information on police suicide and he introduces some promising findings. In doing so, he clarifies some issues and provides a source of information for police officers, administrators, and academic researchers. In this lucidly written book of ten chapters, Doctor Violanti discusses the classical studies in suicide, the accuracy and validity of police suicide rates, probable precipitating factors associated with police suicide, the impact of retirement, the idea of "suicide by suspect", the antecedents of murder-suicide, the plight of survivors of police suicide, and information and suggestions for police suicide prevention. Also discussed is the relationship between suicide and the reluctance of police officers to seek professional help. Suggestions are made for police suicide prevention that includes intervention programs and suicide awareness training. The author stresses that the first and most important step in preventing suicide is to recognize the problem. It is hoped that this new edition will provide an additional resource to help prevent these deaths.

Describes ways that the families of police officers can deal with the challenges that arise due to the stress of a police officer's career.