10 Hours / 10 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Working with Emergency Responders: What Every Clinician Needs to Know is presented by Jaime Brower, PsyD, Rhonda Kelley, and Sgt. Michael Pitrusu, in partnership with The American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology (ABPPSP).

Our emergency responders make up an ever-growing group of law enforcement, firefighters, dispatch, emergency medical professionals, corrections/detentions, victim advocates, and others. This group is faced with unique challenges daily that impact both their own and their family’s mental health. This program provides core knowledge for all mental health clinicians interested in, or who may be already, working with our emergency responders.

This program promotes cultural competence, provides knowledge regarding the ethical and legal concepts associated with working with these populations, defines core proficiencies and terminology, and enhances an overall understanding of how each clinician working with this population can do so effectively and competently.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

  • 1 Describe the unique challenges faced by emergency responders
  • 2 Describe how emergency services can have impacts on both responders and their families
  • 3 Describe emergency responder cultural milieu
  • 4 Describe the various core proficiencies each clinician may work within, while understanding limitations of such work and when to refer
  • 5 Describe several guidelines and resources for competent and proficient practice with emergency responders

  • Intended Audience

    This training is designed for mental health professionals who work with emergency responders and public safety personnel. It is intended for clinicians who support individuals such as law enforcement officers, firefighters, dispatchers, EMS personnel, corrections staff, and victim advocates.

    • Mental Health Professional
    • Law Enforcement Officer
    • Firefighter
    • Dispatcher
    • Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Personnel
    • Corrections Staff
    • Victim Advocate

  • Experience Level

    This training is designed for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals seeking foundational knowledge and skills for working with emergency responders and their families.

    Beginner:
    Clinicians new to working with emergency responders or those seeking to build core competencies in cultural competence, ethical and legal considerations, and foundational terminology relevant to this population.

    Appropriate for those interested in understanding the unique challenges faced by emergency responders, the impact on responders and their families, and guidelines for competent and proficient practice.

  • Practice Setting

    Mental health professionals who support emergency responders and public safety personnel typically practice in environments that are fast-paced, high-stress, and require a deep understanding of the unique occupational hazards faced by these populations. These settings may include on-site counseling within police or fire departments, hospital emergency rooms, correctional facilities, dispatch centers, or community mental health clinics. Clinicians may also provide services through employee assistance programs, crisis response teams, or private practice, often collaborating closely with agency leadership and peer support teams to address acute incidents, ongoing stress, and trauma exposure.

    • Police department wellness or peer support programs
    • Fire station or firefighter support services
    • Hospital-based crisis intervention teams for EMS personnel
    • Correctional facility mental health units
    • 911 dispatch center wellness initiatives
    • Community mental health clinics serving first responders and their families
    • Victim advocacy organizations providing trauma-informed care

Presented By

Jaime (Brower) Archuleta, PsyD, ABPP, Owner, Brower Psychological Services & Consulting

Dr. Jaime Brower is a licensed clinical psychologist working out of Denver, Colorado. She is American Board Certified as a specialist in the area of Police & Public Safety Psychology. Dr. Brower has devoted her career to working with those in law enforcement, corrections, detentions, fire, military, and other high stress occupations, as well as ensuring the health and wellbeing of their family members. She further specializes in risk and threat assessment, school violence and hostile workplace investigations. Dr. Brower is particularly passionate about training and consulting with agencies regarding best practices for enhancing resiliency and wellness.

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Jaime (Brower) Archuleta, PsyD, ABPP

Presented By

Sgt. Mike Pitrusu, Executive Officer to the Chief of Police, Aurora Police Department

Mike Pitrusu is a sergeant with a major city agency of 746 sworn officers that provides comprehensive police services to a diverse city of 374,000 residents. He currently serves as the Executive Officer to the Chief of Police where he supervises the department’s Employee Support and Wellness Unit (ESWU).

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Sgt. Mike Pitrusu

Presented By

Rhonda Kelly, Responder Strong project

Rhonda Kelly draws on personal experience in her focus on mental health support for people in team-based work in extreme environments. She was a firefighter/paramedic for 17 years in Aurora, CO. She served for five years as the department’s Health and Safety Officer, working to implement culture change that would prioritize overall wellness and destigmatize mental health support. It was in that role that she co-founded the state-wide Responder Strong project and eventually joined NMHIC.

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Rhonda Kelly

Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • Cultural competence

  • Ethical and legal concepts

  • Core proficiencies and terminology

We are proud to partner with

American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology

American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology

We are proud to partner with The American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology (ABPPSP) for this training. ABPPSP became a fully affiliated specialty board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) on October 21, 2011. Police and Public Safety Psychology is concerned with assisting law enforcement and other public safety personnel and agencies in carrying out their missions and societal functions with optimal effectiveness, safety, health, and conformity to laws and ethics. It consists of the application of the science and profession of psychology in four primary domains of practice: assessment, clinical intervention, operational support, and organizational consultation.

Learn More About Our Partner

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here. 

  1. American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

  2. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.

  3. Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

  4. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).



Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.