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Mental Health and Aging: Part Two

Austin STRONG: RBC

Jan 16, 2019
4 min

Mental Health and Aging: Part Two

**This is part two in a three part blog series on Mental Health and aging. To read part one, click here.** Part 2: The Effectiveness of Counseling for People with Dementia While most of the research and service on the topic has focused on giving the caregiver support, there are benefits of counseling for those with dementia or cognitive decline. In the past, persons with Alzheimer’s disease were perceived as unable to benefit from intensive therapy (Davies et. al., 1998, pg

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Growing Together Instead of Apart: Maintaining Connection in a First-Responder Marriage

Austin STRONG: RBC

Sep 30, 2016
3 min

Growing Together Instead of Apart: Maintaining Connection in a First-Responder Marriage

“Irreconcilable differences”, “we wanted different things”, “I didn’t know who he/she was anymore”, “after awhile we didn’t have anything in common”, “we just grew apart”. Whether you’ve seen one of those sentences in the news, heard it uttered by a friend, or used it yourself, you may recognize some of those phrases as frequently cited reasons for seeking a divorce. What all those sentiments have in common is an expression of an irreparable distance that has come between the

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The Mind and Body Connection: Somatic Stress and the First Responder

Austin STRONG: RBC

Sep 28, 2016
4 min

The Mind and Body Connection: Somatic Stress and the First Responder

Somatization. A word that most people have not heard of, but almost everyone has experienced. Ever been on a first date and felt “butterflies in your stomach”? How about getting off a scary ride and going temporarily “weak in the knees”? Or getting a headache or stomachache right before a big presentation? That’s somatization. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as, “conversion of a mental state into physical symptoms”. It is very common and usually happens when a person is in a

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Maintaining Calm in Chaos: First Responders and Their Families

Austin STRONG: RBC

Sep 23, 2016
3 min

Maintaining Calm in Chaos: First Responders and Their Families

A wise person once said, “To have peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart”. For those who work in the first responder community the descriptors in the first part of that sentence may sound like a regular, if not simple, day on the job. Noise, trouble, hard work? No big deal! Try adding chaos, crises, and danger to that list! In nearly every study conducted

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Counseling Clients and Families in Crisis

Austin STRONG: RBC

Sep 20, 2016
4 min

Counseling Clients and Families in Crisis

One of the most challenging aspects of crisis counseling is understanding and dealing with the visceral and emotional responses of both client and therapist to the crisis. As humans, we have basic physiological responses to stressful situations. When we find ourselves in a crisis situation, adrenaline floods the body, heart rate increases, breathing becomes shallow, and field of perception narrows. Often, in addition to these physiological effects on the body, when a person i

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Addressing the Risks of On the Job Stress: The Importance of Self-Care for First Responders

Austin STRONG: RBC

Sep 7, 2016
3 min

Addressing the Risks of On the Job Stress: The Importance of Self-Care for First Responders

Although every job has an element of stress, for those who work in the first responder community, stress can take on heightened levels. Not only are first responders dealing with deadlines and paperwork, like any other job, but often with life and death scenarios where the stakes are high and split-second decisions can have monumental and life-altering results. It is an unfortunate reality that many in the helping professions unwittingly let stress and burnout creep in to bec

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On Mental Health and First Responders: Who Will Help the Helpers?

Austin STRONG: RBC

Jun 28, 2016
4 min

On Mental Health and First Responders: Who Will Help the Helpers?

This month’s terrible shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, shook the nation to it’s core. However, as the news of this terrifying event was breaking, there were immediate examples of heroic actions taken by the people in the club, emergency workers, police, bystanders, and locals; men and women who were at the scene of the event or who interacted with victims in the immediate aftermath who rushed in to help the victims and their families. In the days following this

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