Public Safety Personnel (PSP)

October 29, 2022

Over the past few years I have been taking part in the RCMP Wellness monthly meetings in “O” Division. The “O” Div. Wellness Coordinator sent out info regarding the services of PSPNET. I contacted the PSPNET Coordinator to confirm if our veterans’ association membership could take advantage of this service. I received a phone call and email from Dr. Jody Burnett to my request. Toronto Division will be sending out the info about PSPNET to our membership in the coming days. This information and attachments may be something that you may wish to distribute to all of the division advocates.

Chris Lavin

Advocate, Toronto Division

I received the below email from the RCMP Wellness Coordinator last month. I contacted the PSPNET Coordinator asking if this support is available to our division members and their families. Today I received a phone call from Dr. Jody Burnett a professor at the University of Regina. She advised that this support is available to our membership and their spouses. All of the info below and in the attachments outlines the services provided and how to access them. I have attached Dr. Burnett’s reply below.

Chris

Hi Chris!

Please find attached some info about PSPNET in general – folks can go to the website and access a direct link to more information about the self guided Wellbeing Course and also a couple of documents that advertise our new self guided course for Spouses and Significant Others of first responders and public safety personnel. If you need anything else, please feel free to contact me via email or at 306 536 1637. I have also attached our social media links – we always have lots of good info on here too regularly posted.

Sincerely,

Jody

PSPNET is offering a PSP Wellbeing Course with therapist support in certain provinces, and they hope to expand therapist-supported services to other provinces soon. Meanwhile, they are offering the Self-Guided PSP Wellbeing Course (i.e., a self-help version of the course without therapist guidance) to public safety personnel across Canada. The course provides free education and guidance on simple techniques for managing mental health concerns, such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Specifically, the course is designed to show you how to manage the thoughts, behaviours, and physical symptoms that are impacting your wellbeing.

The following are some symptoms associated with generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and PTSD. These signs can be concerning when occurring regularly.

Social withdrawal
Regular low mood, frequent pessimistic comments
Many or various physical complaints (e.g., headaches, stomach problems, fatigue)
Difficulties concentrating and thinking
Increased irritability
Reports of lost sleep, too much sleep, or fatigue
Changes in personal hygiene, particularly reductions in hygiene
Suicidal thoughts, comments, or behaviours