Re-integration: a new standard in first responder peer support

Abstract

Since its inception, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) Re-integration Program has grown in its capacity, impact, and service to members within EPS. It has also attracted increasing attention among—and emulation by—other first responder communities in the province of Alberta. Most recently, the program was the subject of a featured segment during the joint Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) and Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) international conference, “The Mental Health of Police Personnel: What We Know & What We Need to Know and Do”, held in February 2017. Based on the strong reception and interest generated among conference delegates, the Journal of CSWB invited the program’s architects to develop the following Practice Guideline article, with a view to bringing wider awareness to this unique peer-supported program. The EPS program connects conventional counselling and support resources with aspects of recovery and re-integration that are more closely tied to the equipment and operational realities of first responders.