A blueprint for developing a psychological services section for the fire service

Very interesting and informative article from three professionals who were presenters--and delivered really good presentations--at the 7th Annual Conference of the Fire Service Psychology Association- Admin, last October in Washington, D.C.

In their article, In the Room or On the Screen? Cerise Vablais, MBA, PhD, ABPP, Lewis Schlosser, PhD, ABPP, and Ryan M. Roberts, JD, PhD, ABPP, Public Safety Psychological Services look at the available research in comparing virtual and in-person delivery methods for pre-employment psychological evaluations (PPEs) for public safety personnel.

But the thing that really caught my eye was this box:

Those bulleted items were links to resources from the International Association of Police Chiefs (theIACP.org) and Police Chief Magazine. I clicked on the IACP link, Preemployment Psychological Evaluation Guidelines, and was amazed to find this resource, a 17-page PDF document, from the IACP's Psychological Services Section, that I downloaded (And I'm not even a member of the IACP).

From the document, here's the Purpose:

The IACP Police Psychological Services Section (PPSS) developed these guidelines for use by public safety agencies, agency executives, and psychologists as well as other professionals who are charged with the responsibility of conducting, overseeing, and managing defensible Preemployment Psychological Evaluation (PPE) programs.

I took the time to read through the entire document and found it to be quite fascinating--and a bit overwhelming for the sections of the Guidelines that spoke directly to psychologists and other mental health clinicians who conduct PPEs. What really stood out to me is how, with just a few exceptions, the document does not have a law enforcement slant. It truly can be adopted for use by any public safety department or agency. I've made some suggested edits [fire] that I believe show just how applicable the IACP's document could be to the fire service.

For example, this from the Police Psychological Services Section History:

...IACP Executive Board members voted to establish the Police Psychological Services Committee on October 25, 1984 with several key objectives:

• To serve as a central source information source relating to police [fire] psychology for the IACP [IAFC] membership and law enforcement [fire service] generally;

• To promote the use of psychology within law enforcement [the fire service].

• To promote the field of police [fire] psychology within the broad field of psychology and related disciplines.

• To provide training to the IACP [IAFC] membership in the many areas where psychological services and methods can enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement [fire] services.

• To develop and train police [fire] psychologists through educational offerings and opportunities for networking.

Since that time, the membership of the IACP Police Psychological Services Section has grown to several hundred police psychologists. The section continues to adhere to the original objectives of the Psychological Services Committee by contributing to Police Chief magazine, presenting training programs for IACP members at the annual IACP conferences, and providing in‐service training for police psychologists.

Read Next: Police Psychological Services Section History

My question to my fire service colleagues--Particularly those who lead fire and EMS departments as a Chief--is, are you aware of the fact that we currently have no Preemployment Psychological Evaluation Guidelines akin to that developed by the IACP?

My next question is, why not?

A Path Forward

A good start would be for the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) to establish a Psychological Services Section within its organizational structure. In my opinion, the fire service needs a new IAFC section whose sole focus would be to collaborate with the IACP's Psychological Services Section to get the fledgling IAFC section up and running. And that collaboration should involve using as much of the IACP's Guidelines as possible to shorten the time required to get the IAFC section functioning.

But the IAFC has the Safety, Health, and Survival Section (SHSS), they should work on this, right? No. First, the section's name and its content on the IAFC website is squarely focused on safety, health, and survival while providing emergency services. And those are "big buckets" that need the full attention of the SHSS Board and IAFC staff. And rightly so.

Secondly, we're losing more than 200 firefighters a year by suicide. Fire and EMS personnel in departments across the U.S. and Canada struggle with mental or behavioral health issues brought on by sleep deprivation (due to schedules and workload), mandatory overtime shifts (due to lost employees or volunteers), dysfunctional organizations, and continuing demands from local governments to "do more with less."

We needed a Psychological Services Section for the fire service at least ten years ago, before the mental and behavioral health "beast" began rearing its ugly head. And that section must consist and be led by psychologists as is the IACP's section.

Just to be considered for membership in the IACP's section, applicants must:

...Be a psychologist with an unrestricted license as defined by licensing requirements in the applicant's state or country, or persons with the highest terminal degree in psychology required in the applicant’s country and who conduct police psychological services in a setting, or of a type, exempt from licensing requirements in the applicant’s state or country. To be considered for membership, the applicant must submit an application, curriculum vitae, copy of current license (if applicable), and three letters of recommendation.

Read the full requirements here

One of the biggest barriers I see that must be overcome is the reluctance by too many of the major fire service organizations, like the IAFC, to make the connections with the psychology community that are necessary to make a fire service Psychological Services Section a reality.

As the Operations Chief for the Fire Service Psychology Association (FSPA), I can assure you that FSPA and its membership of fire service leaders, psychologists, and masters-level mental health clinicians are ready, willing, and able to help "bridge the gap between professional psychology and the fire service." But we need commitment from those major fire service organizations that they are ready, willing, and able to start collaborating to build that bridge.

So, how about it? Let's talk. Contact me a chiefavsec@firepsychology.org and let's get the conversation going.