Rethinking mental health for cops: When ‘good intentions’ aren’t enough

Late last month, Fort Worth police officers responded to reports of a quadruple homicide at a home in a quiet suburb, near an elementary school. When they arrived, two of the victims were young children, reportedly killed by the father, who then turned the gun on himself. 

That is when they called Billy Mitchell.

Officer Mitchell and his 40-person support team are trained in a suite of practices known as critical incident stress management (CISM). As the department’s volunteer peer support team, they use CISM to help their fellow officers process traumatic incidents – hopefully mitigating or preventing long-term mental health effects. Their methods are used around the world, including by hundreds of police and fire departments in the United States.

“We were called by