Mental Health for First Responders and their Families with Lona Snell, LPC

Today listeners can look forward to an insightful interview with
Lona Snell who is a Christian counselor in the community. Lona
has her own practice where she and other counselors work with
first responders and their families, focusing on the interaction
between their work and home lives. In the past few months since
the outbreak of COVID-19, first responders have been in the
crossfire, risking their own safety and lives to help others.
Dealing with life and death situations daily, these people
experience perpetual trauma, which inevitably affects their
wellbeing in the long run and frequently results in
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If the trauma remains
unresolved, these people may battle with anger, addiction,
substance abuse, and a host of other issues, therefore behaving
very differently in public than at home — the worst of which
affects spouses and children. In this episode, Lana advises on
how each of us can become better at supporting first responders,
being sensitive listeners and equipping spouses and children to
correctly interpret the sometimes unpredictable behavior. She
also discusses the importance of self-care, effective
communication within families, counterbalancing trauma, and the
role that others can play in a person’s journey to healing. 





Key Points From This Episode:


An overview of Lona’s interests and focus areas in her
counseling practice. 

Those who are considered first responders: firefighters,
dispatchers, funeral directors, etc. 

Find out what all Lona’s credentials mean, from CART to CCTP
and EMDR.

The main issues that the first responder population tends to
face and how they self-medicate. 

The disconnect between the public and private life of the
first responder.  

How these workers often accumulate “compound” trauma and the
symptoms of PTSD. 

Hear what happens when trauma remains unresolved or is
constantly suppressed.

The importance of knowing how to respond appropriately when
someone opens up to you.

Understanding that vulnerability is strength and the place
where powerful change happens. 

Children’s inaccurate interpretation of disengaged first
responder parents. 

The many faces of compassion fatigue: insomnia, depression,
excessive sarcasm.    

Teaching kids how they can respond to and support their
parents at home. 

Advice about the appropriate amount of sharing with kids and
how to model self-care. 

Counterbalancing work-related trauma by surrounding yourself
with uplifting things. 

Approaching faith in counseling and the role people play in
demonstrating the love of God. 

An encouraging story about a first responder giving back
after finding healing for himself. 






Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:


Lona Snell 


Lona Snell on LinkedIn


HIPAA


Brené Brown


Mosaics of Mercy 


Sherry Burkhard on LinkedIn