Mass Violence: Building Resilience Before and After Tragedy

Officers encounter complex, high-stress, and traumatic situations that can impact their health and wellness. To navigate these difficulties, resilience skills are often implemented. However, there is another journey that can be traveled by officers. Post-traumatic growth allows officers to not only survive the demands of their profession but to thrive, transforming their challenges into opportunities for personal and professional development. In this workshop, we will outline the main elements of post traumatic growth. Mental health professionals will discuss practical strategies that can support individuals in their journey towards posttraumatic growth while policing personnel share their professional and personal experiences in efforts to encourage others along the journey.

• Define posttraumatic growth
• Explain the journey to posttraumatic growth
• Identify benefits of posttraumatic growth