Undisclosed Agents Podcast #17 Steve Nicholas - Warrior Servants
Dec 23, 2023
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Dr. Steven Nicholas, a licensed marriage and family therapist, discusses his book Warrior Servants, which explores mental health and trauma in demanding professions. They discuss the importance of proactive conversations about mental health in firefighting and the military, normalizing emotions in the firefighting world, building support networks, the significance of peer support in addressing PTSD, the impact of support after witnessing accidents, the burden of being called a hero, the role of an embedded clinician, transitioning and preparing for retirement in firefighting, and prioritizing mental health in the fire service.
Normalize pain and prioritize physical and mental health in warrior servant professions.
Create a supportive culture that acknowledges the emotional impact of first responder jobs.
Trauma bonds can strengthen families and small groups coping with suicide death.
Separate warrior identity from personal self to channel pain into growth and connection.
Deep dives
The Importance of Embracing Pain and Darkness
In this podcast episode, Dr. Steven Nicholas discusses the importance of embracing pain and darkness in order to find light and growth. He shares his personal journey of experiencing loss and how it led him to focus on trauma and mental health in his work. Dr. Nicholas emphasizes the need to normalize pain and create a culture that acknowledges and supports the emotional challenges faced by first responders and other professionals. He highlights the significance of peer support and training in helping individuals navigate the difficult experiences they encounter on the job.
Shifting the Response Model to Pre-Incident Education
Dr. Nicholas introduces his book, 'Warrior Servants,' which aims to shift the mental health response model of first responders from reactive post-incident care to proactive pre-incident education. He emphasizes the need to prioritize physical and mental health, relationships, and emotional well-being in the warrior servant professions. Dr. Nicholas explores the impact of trauma and the importance of creating a supportive culture within these professions that normalizes the emotional impacts of the job.
The Significance of Trauma Bonds
Dr. Nicholas shares insights from his research on families and small groups who have experienced the suicide death of a first-degree relative. He highlights the different ways families cope with the pain, with some withdrawing and falling apart while others come together and support each other. Dr. Nicholas emphasizes the concept of trauma bonds and how experiencing and processing pain together can lead to greater strength and cohesion. He highlights the need to address living ideations and normalizing humanness in first response cultures.
Normalizing the Full Human Condition
Dr. Nicholas discusses the need to normalize the full human condition, including pain, emotions, fear, and vulnerability. He challenges the idea that first responders should always be strong and unaffected by the difficult situations they face. Dr. Nicholas emphasizes the importance of training in mental and emotional well-being, similar to physical fitness training. He encourages individuals to separate their warrior identity from their personal self and to find ways to flip the experiences of darkness and pain into opportunities for growth and connection.
Importance of Open Conversation and Communication
Open conversation and regular communication are emphasized as crucial for improving mental health and well-being. The speaker discusses the benefits of talking before issues become overwhelming, highlighting the need for accessibility and consistent interaction. By regularly being present and engaging with individuals in a disarming manner, trust and buy-in can be established, leading to more open conversations and improved mental health support.
The Role of an Embedded Clinician
The podcast explores the positive impact of embedding a clinician within fire departments. The speaker shares their experience of regular station rotations and being accessible to the crews. The presence of a dedicated clinician creates an environment of trust and support, allowing firefighters to feel comfortable discussing personal and psychological challenges. Although funding such programs may be costly, the benefits outweigh the potential long-term consequences of not providing adequate mental health support.
Addressing Organizational Stress and Leadership
The podcast delves into the importance of addressing organizational stress and the impact of leadership on mental health. The speaker discusses how poor leadership, organizational vindictiveness, discrimination, favoritism, and exclusion contribute to increased stress and burnout among firefighters. It is suggested that organizations need to prioritize transparency, understanding, and effective leadership to foster a healthier work environment and prevent mental health issues among their personnel.
In this episode we had a chance to sit down with DR. Steven Nicholas.
Steve is a licensed marriage and family therapist who has immersed himself in the phenomena of trauma and the potential growth from adverse events.
This immersion led Steve to author the book Warrior Servants. Warrior servants are those who choose to serve in professions that require great discipline, loyalty and drive, they come when they are called and they suit up and show up when they are needed. Mental health for warrior servants has traditionally been addressed in the same way. Steves goal is to try and shift the incident response model of reactive mental health in to a pre-incident education model. This is a groundbreaking book that examines how the cultures among warrior servants can shift towards prioritizing their physical health mental health, relationships, and normalizing the emotional impact of the job. We’ll leave a link in the show notes to docs website where you can pick up your own copy of the book warrior servants. This was a powerful conversation with a down to earth guy who truly understands the first responder culture. We hope you enjoy.