FDIC 2015 Classrooms Up Close: Beth Murphy Presents “Firefighter Mental Health and Suicide”

By Derek Rosenfeld

In one of the most emotional and sobering of all FDIC 2015 classroom sessions, psychologist, CEO and president of M2 Resource Group, Inc., and former firefighter for the Bellevue (WA) Fire Department Beth Murphy, presented “Firefighter Mental Health and Suicide” on Thursday, April 23. This was the third FDIC Murphy presenting on the topic of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental health, and suicide in firefighters. 

Murphy said before the class, “I have been interested in psychology for as long as I can remember, but did not pursue it until after I became a firefighter. After becoming a firefighter I got involved in the peer support system and was trained in CISM (Mitchell model). I found the more I calls I went on the more aware I became of the presence of mental emotional content with many of our patients. I also felt that the CISM training was not enough, because it only addressed critical incidents and what met the definition of a critical incident was relative to the individual, so I wanted to learn more and do more, as a result I worked as a firefighter and pursued my doctorate in psychology.”

“Throughout my education and work, I was encouraged to do get out there and use my expertise  there are very few psychologists that have experience as a firefighter, so I am able to connect with firefighters on the same level and they don’t have to explain the nature of the job or the intersection of other stressors.”

“I have been approached by many attendees throughout the past years who told me their stories about their struggles with mental health or stress issues, and/or knowing someone who had committed suicide, and not knowing what to do with it. Also as you know there is a plethora of anecdotal evidence that firefighters despite their resiliency are struggling with stress and not always is it directly related to the job, and asking for help or talking about it is counter the culture of the fire service.”

Murphy opened her class by playing a lengthy recording by a firefighter named “Kevin,” a firefighter with whom she has worked extensively, who described in detail his struggles with PTSD. Many in attendance sympthized and related to this man’s struggles with his afflcition, which lead Murphy to talk about ly Kevin’s mental health issues but also the lack of help he received from his administration and department in treating his illness.

Here, she talks about the importance of support during times of need in a firefighter’s life:

Next, Murphy talks about the nature of stress, PTSD, and how the accumulation of one that can lead to the other:

“Lots of people who attend my presentations have the same concerns: how do we know when someone is in trouble and what do we do? I usually start my presentations with signs and symptoms, but the reality is that the best indicator that someone is in trouble is changes in behaviors such as coming in late or later than usual, his or her work is not as good, a change in socialization, the person is becoming more irritable or short tempered, he or she is making mistakes or forgetting things, and so on.”

“The what to do is a lot simpler than most people think and simply comes down to doing what you’re good at, asking questions, listening and referring to the appropriate services. This is what firefighters do for total strangers every day, and I’m asking them to do it for their ‘family.'”