A career in the police force can often be extremely stressful with constant exposure to situations and trauma that most normal people never have to face. As a result of this many police officers develop mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Police wellbeing is at the heart of the 1TeamActive programme which is why we would like to offer a few suggestions on how to look after your mental health as well as list the organisations that can offer professional help to anyone trying to cope with this difficult issue:
BE OPEN ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL – Sharing your negative thoughts and feelings with colleagues, family and friends can help gain perspective, aid relaxation, reduce stress and enhance connectedness. After all, a problem shared, is a problem halved! Those work debriefs can really make a difference.
PROCESS EVENTS – After exposure to a traumatic incident, it may help to go over the timeline of events that occured to process how you are feeling and fully make sense of what has happened. Remember you can self-refer to the “TRiM” process and that other organisations can also help – see links below.
PRACTICE MINDFULNESS – Busy work lives and hectic schedules can make it difficult to live in the present. Practicing mindfulness can help you to focus on what is happening now and has shown to have great benefits for improving mental health, reducing feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. Useful mindfulness meditation techniques include simply sitting down, closing your eyes, focusing on your breathing and observing your wandering thoughts, without judgement or reaction.
GET ACTIVE – Challenging yourself, whether this be physically or mentally can be a brilliant way to deal with stress and build confidence. Physical activity and sport have been shown to be particularly effective in helping to treat poor mental health and sharing the experience with others is even more beneficial. To see this in action, visit the hugely successful Surfwell project which was set up to improve police staff mental well-being, resilience and workplace performance through the proven scientific benefits of surf therapy.
HEALTHY OPTIONS – Avoid unhealthy habits and coping mechanisms such as drinking, smoking and a high intake of caffeine. These may seem like stress relief, but in the long term will create problems.
By agreeing to take on a manageable workload, effectively prioritizing and delegating tasks, you can help to reduce stress and work anxiety. A positive work-life balance is created not found and is crucial to improving your physical and mental health. Balance is about feeling good about yourself and feeling in control of your life and career – vital elements in creating personal happiness. A successful work-life balance also gives you space to think more clearly and better understand your feelings, thoughts and emotions. Mastering this balance can help you to ‘be present’ in the moment, spend quality time with your children, take time out for yourself and prioritise what is important to you, without feelings of stress or guilt.
The NHS website offers a huge amount of information, support and advice about mental health which should be your first port of call but there are also many organisations serving the policing family about this issue – see below for further information.
SOME USEFUL LINKS TO ORGANISATIONS THAT CAN OFFER PROFESSIONAL HELP AND ADVICE
OSCAR KILO
Oscar Kilo is the home of the National Police Wellbeing Service and brings assessment, learning and conversation about emergency services wellbeing into one place. Their services have been developed for policing, by policing and they are designed to meet the unique needs of officers and staff in eight key areas:
- Leadership
- Individual Resilience
- Peer Support
- Psychological Risk Management
- Trauma and Post Incident Management
- Wellbeing at Work
- Wellbeing Outreach Service (The Wellbeing Vans)
- Physical Fitness
POLICE CHARITIES UNITED KINGDOM
The Police Charities UK website acts as a single access point to find dedicated police charities within the United Kingdom. There are many charities across the UK set up to help improve the lives of those working within the emergency services. They do this by providing direct support to staff and their families, conducting research and lobbying government to effect change.
POLICE TREATMENT CENTRES
POLICE TREATMENT CENTRES
The Police Treatment Centres is a registered charity which provides treatment and support, including intensive, police-specific, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, for serving injured and ill police officers and retired officers. The Charity provides two Treatment Centres: St Andrews, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and Castlebrae in Auchterarder, Perthshire. The Charity also offers a remote Physiotherapy service. Almost 4000 Serving and Retired Officers attend the Treatment Centres each year and most receive intensive physiotherapy. Others seek support with stress-related conditions or anxiety and depression as part of our Psychological Wellbeing Programme.
FLINT HOUSE
FLINT HOUSE – POLICE REHABILITATION CENTRE
The Flint House mission is to provide the highest standards of individually planned, rehabilitation services, for both mental and physical health, to warranted serving Police Officers, retired Police Officers, Special Constables, PCSOs, DDO’s MOD, BTP,and CNC Officers.
The Police Rehabilitation Centre, Flint House based in South Oxfordshire is a charity supported principally by the donations of those who use the service.
POLICE CARE UK
POLICE CARE UK
Police Care UK is a National Charity that supports both serving and retired Police Officers and Staff who have suffered physical and psychological harm, helping them recover and rebuild their lives.
Policing has a lasting impact on the physical and psychological welfare of police officers and staff, volunteers, and their families. This can affect them both during and after their service.
OUR BLUE LIGHT
OUR BLUE LIGHT
Supporting Emergency & Essential workers with their mental health & wellbeing. To promote the physical and mental well-being of persons working for the emergency and essential services and their families across the United Kingdom by the provision of information, advice and guidance so that they are better able to manage the stress they encounter.
MIND
MIND
MIND provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness, and promote understanding. They want to ensure that everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect.
CALL 4 BACKUP
CALL 4 BACKUP
Call 4 Backup is a charity run by police – for police, which provides support, advice and direction on all manner of issues affecting the day to day lives of police officers, staff and volunteers. They have lots of different opportunities to volunteer or fundraise if you want to help and provide support to those who work in the Police service.
CONTACT THE PROGRAMME DIRECTOR
Katherine Willoughby, 1TeamActive Programme Director – My passion for sport runs deep in my veins and I hold a total belief in the value of sport as an individual and within society as a whole. Throughout my Police Service I have been involved in Police sport either as a participant or as an organiser and still am. When I retired in 2018, joining TeamPolice gave me an opportunity to continue my passion and strive to find new innovative ways to develop sport and wellbeing opportunities for my colleagues.
JOIN THE SPORT ENGLAND MOVEMENT
Join the Movement, a National Lottery-funded campaign helping us all find ways to get active as we deal with coronavirus restrictions.
We’re all about simple, fun and free ways to get active, both indoors and outdoors, that you can enjoy safely.




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