The Canadian Mental Health Association Vancouver-Fraser Branch (CMHA VF) and the British Columbia Municipal Safety Association (BCMSA) have partnered to engage and inform firefighters in four areas crucial to their work: building psychological resiliency, trauma, psychological distress, and trauma-informed responses. This will be achieved through BCMSA offering the peer driven CMHA program, Resilient Minds: Building the Psychological Strength of Firefighters™, to both volunteer and career municipal firefighters across the province starting in January 2020.

Course Overview:

Train-the Trainer (TTT): This 3-day course certifies Peer Instructors selected within their department or region, to deliver the 8-hour Resilient Minds program to their peers. Train- the- Trainer is delivered by a Fire Fighter Instructor Trainer and a CMHA Instructor Trainer privately, to a fire dept. or, to a regional team of up to 20 Peer Instructor candidates. This model is a sustainable one for Fire Dept. or Regions where there are significant numbers of fire fighters. Annual refresher webinars available for instructors.

Program Goals:

• Recognize effects of psychological stress/trauma in self and peers
• Learn the 4 R Action Toolkit™ to support peers who may be struggling
• Use a trauma-informed response with distressed citizens
• Apply personal strategies for managing stress, mitigating trauma and boosting resilience

Module 1

• Recognize effects of psychological stress/trauma in self and peers
• Communicate with peers who may be struggling
• Use a trauma-informed response with distressed citizens
• Apply personal strategies for managing stress, mitigating trauma and boosting resilience

Module 2

• Structure conversations with peers using the 4R Action Toolkit™
• Identify signs that may indicate a peer is struggling
• Develop communication techniques
• Modify the 4R Action Toolkit in crisis situations
• Outline supporting a peer’s recovery

Module 3

• Identify components of trauma informed responding
• Apply the 4R Action Toolkit ™to citizens
• Employ techniques to support de-escalation in citizens
• Develop techniques for increasing your compassion satisfaction & resilience

Module 4

• Define challenges and potential negative impacts of the work
• Develop personal tools for building resilience
• Identify ways to promote growth after stressors
• Apply the 4R Action tool-kit™ to self