A Chaplain’s Role in

Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress

          No matter how much a police department cares about its officers and their families, the role of the police is to get the job done. An all-out effort is made to apprehend suspects; evidence is collected; statements are taken. The officer involved is the focus of attention, but sooner or later, it is business as usual - time to get on with other things.

          Officers who continue to live with the traumatic events in their waking and sleeping, or who have mixed emotions may feel that they are acting abnormally. A fear can grow that they can’t handle policing.

          Chaplains are not concerned with securing the scene or apprehending suspects. They are concerned with the mental survival of the officer during and after the incident, and that of his family. A chaplain carries on where others must leave off to attend to duty.

          Chaplains see officers wrestling with their own mortality and perhaps feelings that they have sinned. An officer who has wounded or killed someone in the line of duty may feel he has broken God's law—he has sinned, even when he knows it was unavoidable and done to protect others.

          A police chaplain, understanding the police role, is able to discuss these matters without judgment, and to bring the member to an understanding of his feelings, and thus to recovery.

          One of the most important results of life threatening trauma is the inescapable realization of mortality. When we are faced with what appears to be imminent and inescapable death, the unacceptable fact of our mortality assails the intellect.

          We respond with extraordinary defenses; defenses that are not needed or used in normal situations and go beyond simple "fight or flight" response. This is impending doom, inescapable death, right now! And then it doesn't happen. Like a stretchy object or fabric stretched beyond its predetermined limit, it bounces back, but not all the way—it's kind of loose. So it is those whose defenses are stretched too far for too long that mortality is suddenly and irrevocably realized.

          When death comes close, people are prone to evaluate their lives and values consciously or unconsciously. They have questions that they need to have answered. The chaplain usually has the answers or can work together with the person to find them.

Life Goes On

          If an officer comes too close to his own death or that of a loved one, a chaplain can help him accept that life does go on and can, in fact, be even better than before the incident if seen in the right light. Some people whose loved ones have come close to death have said that although it was terrible, it was a learning experience. They say they will never take life for granted.

          A person who has experienced a life threatening "this is it" trauma must learn to accept, adapt and carry on. A chaplain can help the person grapple with the issues of life, death, sin, and forgiveness, which all surface, because he has credibility in these matters.

          For years, police chaplains have been dealing with the effects of trauma, which is not always perceived as such. Many times it has been necessary to "walk" the person through the incident to assess the immediate effect and Iead into the ongoing.

          There does not appear to be any limit to the time lapse of effect. One can only predict that the effect may move from being active to passive or from active-affective to passive unconscious-affective. The longest time lapse in our experience is 15 years.

          What is trauma? Is it facing a gun, hostage situation, or a motor vehicle accident, losing a fight, taking a life, or being wounded? The source of trauma is not always a major disaster. People killed or terribly injured in motor vehicle accidents, industrial accidents, and fires present the same horrifying messages to police officers, firelighters, and ambulance personnel attending. For the trained helpers, it is a never ending procession.

          Not all trauma is sudden or discernable. Sex crimes and child abuse investigators, drug squad, mortality, homicide, undercover operators, all have unrelenting pressures which are different from, and yet similar to those in patrol, traffic, and task forces. The causes may be different, but the effects are often similar.

          Effects range from an understanding of human nature and a resolve to do as much as reasonably possible and accept it as enough, to an endogenous depression. At the top end is a serenity of acceptance best described by the Serenity Prayer adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous:

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things l cannot change, courage to change those I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

At the bottom is a changed quality of life resulting in a level which is never able to reach the heights of enjoyment previously experienced and never knowing that anything had changed, except that life is not much fun anymore.

          Trauma may be created by too much for too long, by the never-ending procession of people trying to gratify themselves at the expense of others, by pain, suffering and death. Soon the realization of what's happening doesn't immunize anymore. Responsibility - that is the crunch - too much from too many sources, for too long, and for precious little reward. 

          If the procession of those in need is too much, there is more than one way to deal with it. There are positive and negative ways. Enter the chaplain to help confidentially, directly or by referral, or both.

          Police chaplains have dealt for years with critical incident stress debriefing in a one-on-one basis or one-on-two basis. The effects, the treatment and the result are similar to those being experienced by Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Teams. It has been suggested that the team concept is most effective in situations where more than three people are affected. It is also emphasized that the sooner intervention takes place, the better.

          What can be sooner than the police chaplain responding to the scene, wherever it may be, to deal with a situation that has just occurred? Responding within minutes or hours of an incident is by far the most effective. It's good to know there are teams being formed to provide critical incident stress debriefing, but it is important to realize that this has been going on and that it should continue, with a chaplain dealing on a one-to-one and day-to-day basis.

          Another advantage is that a police chaplain is able to go into a home with credibility and confidentiality. Too often a family does not want to come into the formal setting of the workplace. Therefore they miss out on the debriefing which could give them relief and avoid problems in the future.

          A traumatic incident is not the only threat. Anxiety over a period of time can have the same effect. Experience and research have demonstrated that too much over too long can create an endogenous depression.

          Officers daily face incidents which may go on for extended periods. We must be aware of the potential effect which may be hidden from, or by, the affected person. Debriefing is essential. Yet, there is little opportunity to order an individual to counseling when he is still functioning; ingenuity is necessary for a chaplain to make the appropriate intervention. Being present at the scene or shortly thereafter is a proper opening.

Chaplain Bruce Cowley is a career chaplain for the Edmonton, Canada, Police Department. He is also a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains. Route 5, Box 310, Livingston, TX 77351.