Best Therapeutic Techniques for Preventing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Firefighters/First Responders

The purpose of this study is to provide a condensed, concise list in which first responders can see the best therapeutic practices for them at this time. At this time, the rate of suicide for firefighters is approximately eight times higher than that of the average person. Given this rate, I am interested in doing a metanalysis to find which techniques and therapeutic methods are most effective and to find the empirical data to support their success. I will be gathering data from various sources such as the APA, Medical Journals, International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), etc., and use SPSS to evaluate the frequencies of the therapeutic techniques. The significance of this topic is particularly special to me as my father has been a firefighter for over twenty-one years. I have seen first-hand how the stress of the job coupled with lack of mental health support can result in devastating outcomes. Because there is so much data out there, my goal is to do the meta-analysis and devise a concise list of the top therapeutic interventions and give the empirical data to support these techniques. Firefighters are the heroes of our society and I believe it is extremely important to provide the best help we can for this group of people. This group of individual’s sees traumatic events every day, and I believe it is necessary to start providing better, more efficient mental health help for these heroes