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tually anyone. Resilience should be considered a
process, rather than a trait to be had. It is a process
of individuation through a structured system with
gradual discovery of personal and unique abilities.
Several studies have shown that fifty percent of
the ability to utilize resiliency comes from par-
ents, or those that had a direct impact on a child’s
upbringing. From this, it can be concluded that
roughly half of one’s ability to practice resiliency
is engrained at an early age. The other determin-
ing factor is what is learned through teaching and
training. So, yes, we can learn to be resilient as
well. An example of this could be learned from
the American Psychological Association’s (APA)
“Ten Ways to Build Resilience”
:
1. To maintain good relationships with close
family members, friends and others;
2. To avoid seeing crises or stressful events as
unbearable problems;
3. To accept circumstances that cannot be
changed;
4. To develop realistic goals and move
towards them;
5. To take decisive actions in adverse
situations;
6. To look for opportunities of self-discovery
after a struggle with loss;
7. To develop self-confidence;
8. To keep a long-term perspective and
consider the stressful event in a broader
context;
9. To maintain a hopeful outlook, expecting
good things and visualizing what is wished;
10. To take care of one's mind and body,
exercising regularly, paying attention to
one's own needs and feelings.
do some officers develop PTSD, while others who
were involved in the same incident are not nearly
as impacted? Let’s first define what a critical inci-
dent is. According to police psychologist,
Roger
Solomon
, a critical incident is any situation be-
yond the realm of a person’s usual experience that
overwhelms his or her sense of vulnerability and/
or lack of control over the situation. In our pro-
fession, we like to be in control. It’s how it’s sup-
posed to be. When control is lost, it can be cause
for great panic for many. It’s not in our DNA to
not be in control of a given situation.
In the aftermath of a traumatic critical in-
cident some officers seem to move forward well,
while others struggle. The ability to forge on
through adversity speaks to both past engrained
experiences and learned behaviors.
Michael Rut-
ter
, MD, believes that resilience is one's ability
to bounce back from a negative experience with
"competent functioning". Resilience is not a rare
ability; in reality, it is found in the average indi-
vidual and it can be learned and developed by vir-
G
ranted, some officers will leave law en-
forcement for various reasons, such as
higher paying jobs, better hours or location.
Then there are the officers who leave because
of job related stress, which, most of the time,
spills over into their personal lives, disrupting
and corroding the family unit. Key factors that
will always speak to an officers’ successful career
over the long haul, is their ability to practice re-
silience, the psychological hardiness they possess
and self-efficacy to follow through with commit-
ment and determination.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
has become a household term within our military.
Over the last two decades, PTSD has found its
way into the law enforcement field as an official
diagnosis as well. Although, nearly all who make
a lengthy career in law enforcement will experi-
ence Post-Traumatic Stress, not all who experi-
ence a traumatic event or critical incident, such
as we face in law enforcement on a daily basis,
will develop full-blown PTSD. Why is this? Why
There are many factors that come into play in defining a long, successful
career in law enforcement. As a matter of fact, there aren’t too many
professions that demand more of a person than those who carry a gun
and wear a badge. There are those intangibles that we all think of, such
as honesty, integrity, character and physical/psychological well-being.
These areas are all considered when hiring prospective candidates.
However, there is no sure-fire way to predict a rookie officer’s staying
power.
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