Abnormal Psychology - Essay Sample

Introduction

John O'Rourke is a police officer. Six months ago, John and his partner Mark engaged three bank robbers in a deadly shootout. The shootout lasted for three minutes before the robbers fled. John's colleague, Mark, was fatally shot on the head and died in hospital while receiving treatment. John was hit by shrapnel and sustained a minor cut on the head. Since then, John has not been able to sleep well. He has been experiencing nightmares and thinking about his dead partner from time to time. Besides, John has developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of his recent exposure to the traumatic event. Although he has been a teetotaler since birth, John has resorted to binge drinking since the fateful day. He says that alcohol makes him forget about the experience and helps him to avoid bad dreams. John has also developed acute paranoia. Recently, he used a taser on an innocent driver who he thought was reaching for a gun only to find out that he was reaching for his driving license. Since his encounter with the bank robbers, John has received two suspensions for using unnecessary lethal force against suspects. The Chief of Department is starting to worry that he is unbecoming and will damage the reputation of the Department. The Chief suspects that John has developed mental illness. From John's perspective, this paper will highlight the specific issues/concerns associated with his profession and their impacts on his relationships with the civilians and his peers. Besides, this paper provides an intervention strategy for addressing the problem of mental illness among police officers based on John's case.

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Analysis of John's Condition

As a police officer, John's occupation is a traumatic, precarious and often defamed task. A police officer often faces possibly distressing circumstances. They may be exposed to a tragedy, hostage situations, sexual and physical attacks, gunfire, maiming and even death (Covey, Shucard, Violanti, Lee, and Shucard 2013, p.363). In addition, mental debilities in officers are caused by stress that originates from situations that are enforced on police officers beyond their control. These organizational constraints impede the ability of officers to control the fundamental aspects of their daily lives. Research indicates that about one in four police officers contemplates suicide at some point in life. Besides, they are 2.4 times more likely to die by suicide than by homicide (Garbarino, Cuomo, Chiorri, and Magnavita 2013). The government and law enforcement agencies have not invested adequately into the wellness of police officers is being overlooked by despite the numerous incidences of suicide by police officers (Fox, Mayur, Karissa, Georgina, Renee, and Marjorie 2012, pp.527). Non-governmental organizations have also been accused of disregarding the problem of mental illness among law enforcers like John.

Studies show that the policing occupational stress is a risk factor for cardiovascular disorders (CVDs), lengthy hospitalizations, alcohol and substance misuse, as well as post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSDs), sadness, and nervousness. PTSDs are the number one risk factor for psychological disorders among law enforcers. The prevalence of PTSD in the police force is a result of repeated exposures to traumatic incidents. A study conducted in Australia found out that the incidence of PTSD among police officers in the country is 20% compared to the 2% prevalence projected in the civilian population (van der Velden, Rademaker, Vermetten, Portengen, Yzermans, and Grievink 2013. According to the study, this situation is exacerbated by the fact that the issue of mental sickness in many police departments is considered a personal matter. Although police officers receive adequate training on how to handle situations involving encounters with offenders who are mentally ill, many officers are not educated to cope with their trauma. Significant reforms are needed to reduce the effects of organizational stress on police mental well-being. Therefore, stress reduction an employee assistance programs are required. These strategies should not only focus on police work to delineate the source of emotional stress but should widen the scope of their programs to include interventions to reduce or eliminate organizational stressors.

Impact of John's Condition on his Work Performance and Public Relations

As a civil servant, the adverse effects of mental and emotional debilities experienced by John is likely to affect his relationship with the members of the public. Besides, the stressful nature of police work leads to truancy, mismanagement of employee's compensation, lengthy hospitalizations, and upturns early retirement (Rajaratnam, Shantha, Laura, Stephen, Steven, Wei, Christopher, Conor, Salim, Jason, Brian et al., 2011, pp.2569). Police officers who have psychological disorders report more reduced levels of performance compared to their colleagues. This decrease in productivity costs the law enforcement agencies over $3,000 annually for each officer affected. Additionally, mental illnesses negatively impact the ability of officers to communicate correctly. Mentally disable officers experience difficulties in interacting with their peers and members of the community. Occupation stress may also impair the ability of law enforcers to make appropriate decisions in situations involving the use of lethal force.

Moreover, officers who exhibit severe symptoms of PTSD experience more difficulty than the healthy officers in differentiating essential and unnecessary dynamics in unsafe circumstances. The pervasiveness of these problems is a threat to police welfare, public security, and general performance of the police force. The impact of sleep disorders on officer performance and public relations is significant. Officers who suffer from sleep disorders commit more organizational mistakes compared to those without these conditions. Some of these institutional errors include sleeping on wheels driving, security desecrations, and truancy. Research shows that lack of enough sleep in officers impedes their ability to assess risk and accurately ascertain emotionally stimulated acts. As well, officers who are mentally ill can damage the relationship between the police officers and the communities they serve. Fatigued officers are more inclined to show uncontrolled ire toward civilians than their colleagues who receive adequate sleep. Sleep-deprived officers also receive more public complaints compared to their peers who are adequately-rested. Observational studies show that when police officers are exhausted, they fail to interact cohesively with the members of the public as well as their counterparts, and this may provoke tension among the parties involved.

Intervention Strategies to Address John's Condition

As stated earlier, the wellness of officers, particularly their mental well-being is necessary to improve officer and institutional performance. There are existing wellness programs tailored towards addressing mental problems in persons with anxiety and PTSD. These programs primarily focus on chronic illness deterrence, control of anxiety and resilience to trauma (Pang 2013). Currently, many police departments provide mental health services to officers through worker support initiatives. Some agencies recommend that officers involved in traumatic incidents like shootouts or fights seek the help of a psychotherapist immediately after the event. Some departments employ in-house mental counselors to address mental health concerns within the units. This section of the paper will discuss some of the viable intervention strategies for addressing John's psychological concerns.

Welfare Support Programs

Currently, some charity organizations in United Kingdom like the Police Firearms Officers Association are advocating for the police mental wellness. This Association has partnered with the Police Federation to start a mental wellness support initiative called the Welfare Support Program to address police mental health. Another charity known as Mind has also started the Blue Light Programme which provides mental health care and support for personnel and volunteers across various emergency services. According to Faye, the programme manager, this initiative focuses on tackling stigma and discrimination related to mental illness in the workplace (Hailstone 2018). The Blue Light Programme has helped many police officers and their families to cope with trauma, anxiety and PTSD. Besides, many staff and volunteers across different emergency departments have actively challenged mental health stigma after participating in this programme.

Mental Preparedness and Resiliency Training

Research shows that training initiatives aimed at reducing stress and promoting police resilience to the risk of trauma are linked to better-quality wellness outcomes (Weltman, Lamon, Freedy, and Chartland 2014, pp.74). Also, officers who undergo vilification management and anxiety control training improve their capacities to handle reproach effectually, and this is essential in reducing the adverse consequences of stress resulting from relational conflicts (Garner 2008, pp.250). Doctors examine levels of the hormone cortisol in the blood to ascertain the presence of fear. A sudden increase in levels of this hormone in the body has the potential to trigger severe stress (Christopher, Goerling, Rogers, Hunsinger, Baron, Bergman, and Zava 2016, pp.15). John may be experiencing hormonal imbalance because of increased cortisol levels in his blood. Therefore, he should participate in a trauma resilience training program to reduce occupational stress. Additionally, the client should partake a psychosomatic and physiological involvement initiative which abides by the guidelines of the trauma resilience model.

This mediation strategy can improve an officer's use of personal intuition to make correct decisions in a "shoot or do not shoot" situation (Andersen, Konstantinos, Mari, Markku Harri, and Bengt 2015). This intervention is appropriate for John because it will improve his functional control and situational mindfulness. Also, providing awareness-based resilience training for first responders helps them to cope with stress, PTSD, fatigue, and anxiety. This training is also useful in anger management. Arnetz, Nevedal, Lumley, Backman and Lublin (2009) assert that an effective mental preparedness and resilience training involves an initial psycho-educational session followed by a ten weekly, two-hour sessions. Also, a trauma resilience training for police officers should include a letup and imaginings exercise with intellectual skill practice. Senior officers trained to administer necessary intervention supervise and offer these trainings. These exercises commence with training and practice in progressive and cue-controlled relaxation techniques. Imagery training through the use of orally presented writings of different CITs to help officers build rational imageries of particular occupation-related stressors.

Peer-Focused Models

There are several models for providing various kinds of wellness initiatives to law enforcement officers with depression and PTSD like John. The models in existence include peer-focused models and departmental-focused models. Studies show that peer-led wellness models are useful in supporting victims of distressing events like shootings or serious brawls. Research shows that officers who participate in fatal event care groups for first responders report fewer indicators of distress compared to those who do not participate in such programs (Stephens, Darrel and Lisa 2013). This positive result reflects the effectiveness of peer-led models in supporting mental wellness of officers following traumatic incidents. Currently, many police departments have established priv...