First responders face stressors most people never see, and even fewer truly understand. Long before I became a Licensed Professional Counselor, I lived that world myself. I started my career in Fire and EMS, working as a career Paramedic/Firefighter. I was fascinated by the human brain long before I stepped into a firehouse, but it was in those years on the street that I saw, up close, the incredible weight first responders carry — and the limited support they often receive.

Back then, I believed in the same stigma that ran through nearly every station kitchen table: “Counseling is for people who can’t handle the job.” I didn’t think therapy had anything to offer people who routinely face trauma, unpredictability, and high-intensity decision-making. I planned to go into medicine — emergency medicine or neurology — and viewed mental health care as something outside our world. However, some experiences made that all changed.

While finishing my undergraduate degree in Health Sciences, my minors in Psychology and Human Services opened my eyes to two things at the same time:

1. The mental health needs of first responders are real, significant, and unique.

2. Most counselors weren’t equipped to meet those needs.

I watched well-intentioned clinicians become overwhelmed by the details first responders needed to talk about. I saw trauma-focused models fail people who were walking into their next shift knowing the trauma wasn’t over — it was guaranteed to repeat. And I saw the same stigma reinforced when the support offered wasn’t appropriate, effective, or culturally competent.

That realization changed the course of my career.

Instead of medical school, I chose counseling — not because I abandoned my interest in the brain, but because the intangibles of how the brain works drew me in even deeper. I wanted to become the kind of counselor I wished first responders had access to: someone who understood the work, the culture, the humor, the survival patterns, the burnout, the emotional cost, and the reality that trauma exposure isn’t an isolated event — it’s a routine part of the job.

Sixteen Years Later: What I’ve Learned

Across the 16 years I’ve been practicing, my expertise has expanded far beyond first responder mental health, but this specialty has always remained personal to me. I’ve seen encouraging shifts: stigma is decreasing, more responders are seeking help, and more clinicians are trying to learn how to serve this population better.

But gaps are still there.
Not all counselors actually understand the unique stressors of the job.
Not all models account for repeated trauma exposure.
Not all clinical approaches fit the culture, the expectations, or the unspoken rules of first responder life.

And even the best counseling models often look at one area of life at a time — which means progress can stall when another area is still unstable.

Where the SixSpeed Model Came From

Over the years, I took note of what consistently helped my first responder clients — and what didn’t. I paid attention to the gaps in traditional approaches, the issues that created setback cycles, and the ways first responders needed counseling to work with the realities of their job, not against them.

Through continued learning and professional experience, and networking within public safety and mental health environments, I began to notice, and received confirmation from others, that what I was observing wasn’t just personal bias — these were systemic patterns across all people and work settings.

Those observations became the foundation of the SixSpeed Integrative Counseling Model.

Originally, it was designed exclusively for first responders — a structured, trauma-informed, multi-domain method that keeps treatment organized even when life isn’t. But as I grew professionally, I noticed the same patterns across many other populations. The more the model developed, the more universal it became.

Today, SixSpeed is the framework I use with all clients.
But its roots — its foundation — began with first responders.

Why First Responders Work Well With the SixSpeed Model

• It is structured without being rigid — allowing flexibility for changes while staying organized.

• It acknowledges repeated trauma exposure and the reality of “the next call.”

• It doesn’t require graphic detail to be effective — but it absolutely allows for it.

• It respects the culture, the dark humor, the compartmentalization, and the protective factors that are both helpful and harmful.

• It keeps all areas of life in view, so progress in one area doesn’t get undone by instability in another.

• It provides a clear map for emotional, physical, relational, and occupational wellbeing.

• It’s built on research, best practices, and real lived experience — not theory alone.

If You’re a First Responder Reading This

You don’t have to sugarcoat anything with me. If you need to talk through the details — even the graphic ones — you can. You’re not going to traumatize me, make me uncomfortable, or get a shocked reaction. I’ve already lived in that world, and nothing you bring in is going to break me.
(In fact, I joke that I’ll thank the first person who actually manages to traumatize me — but no one has succeeded yet.) However, you also don’t have to get into the details if you don’t want to. A lot of responders prefer to talk about the emotional impact without reliving the entire call. That works too. Either way, you’re not going to overwhelm me, and you’re not going to be judged.

In addition, you don’t have to explain the culture, the gallows humor, why you ran toward something everyone else ran away from, or why the bad calls stay in your head longer than the good ones. You don’t have to convince me you’re “fine;” I already know that word has a different definition for first responders than it does for others.

Counseling won’t change the fact that this work is hard, but it can make it easier to carry. It can help you process what the job asks of you, stabilize the parts of your life it strains, and regain traction in the areas that matter most — without losing the parts of you that make you good at what you do.

Ready When You Are

Whether you want to unpack a specific incident, talk through long-term stress, or simply get ahead of burnout, you’re welcome here — without judgment, without explanations, and without having to filter the reality of your work. Reaching out for support doesn’t mean you’re “not cut out for the job;” it means you’re human and preparing yourself to always be your best — both on the job and at home.

You’ve spent your career taking care of other people. Let this be the place where you can take care of you.

When you're ready to take the next step, call or click the link below to get started:

Common Reasons First Responders Seek Counseling

Operational Stress & Trauma

• Calls that stick with you

• Accumulated trauma over time

• Sleeplessness, fatigue, or intrusive memories

• Sudden emotional reactions (anger, anxiety, detachment)

Burnout & Compassion Fatigue

• Feeling numb on or off shift

• Irritability, short fuse, or emotional exhaustion

• Loss of joy, motivation, or purpose in the work

Identity & Culture Conflicts

• Struggling with the “always be strong” mindset

• Difficulty separating work identity from personal identity

• Feeling misunderstood at home or outside the job

Relationship Strain

• Withdrawal, shutting down, or difficulty talking about work

• Increased conflict with partners or family

• Feeling emotionally unavailable or disconnected

Moral Injury & Ethical Stress

• Calls that violate your internal moral compass

• Guilt, shame, or questioning decisions made under pressure

Chronic Stress & Hypervigilance

• On-edge even when off duty

• Difficulty relaxing, slowing down, or being present

• Overanalyzing risk or “waiting for something bad to happen”

Performance, Responsibility & Pressure

• Fear of mistakes

• Living in constant “what if” mode

• Feeling like everyone expects you to hold everything together

Loss, Grief & Traumatic Deaths

• Deaths involving children

• Suicides

• Line-of-duty deaths

• Calls that hit close to home

Substance Use Patterns

• Drinking or other substances as coping habits increasing over time

• Using numbing strategies to get through the week

Life Transitions

• Retirement or stepping away from the job

• Medical retirement

• Injury recovery

• Career identity crises

My Fire/EMS Real-World Experience Behind the Counselor I Am Today

While my counseling work now includes helping people from every field and at every stage of professional life, it began with a focus on first responder mental health. The impact of that work shaped the direction of my counseling career and remains a personal passion. Here’s the story of how I went from being a Paramedic/Firefighter to the counselor I am today.

First Responder Mental Fitness Consortium (In Development)

I am creating a consortium that brings together mental health clinicians, first responders, and department leadership to address a gap many wellness programs miss: the need for open, ongoing, real-world collaboration between the people who experience the work, the people who support the work, and the people who lead it.

Unlike many existing initiatives, this consortium will focus on practical, ground-level insight — identifying what is actually working, what is not, and what responders need in order to sustain long-term mental fitness. The goal is to develop realistic, culturally competent solutions shaped directly by those living the experience.

If you are a clinician, responder, or administrator interested in contributing your perspective, please contact me to be part of this process.