Got Your Six mental health training

Project Brief:

How might we create a service that promotes Mental Health awareness to improve the culture wellbeing of officers at the University of Texas Police Department?

Research Insights:

(1) There is a long standing attitude within police departments about mental health that deters officers from seeking assistance while they are experiencing mental health stress that might deter them from using the resources already provided by the department.

2) There is a lack of education surrounding the mental health resources that enables those who need them to not utilize them.
Our Proposal:
We designed a training program to be implemented during training at the academy in which cadets were led by a trauma specialist through a scenario they might confront while in the field. After the simulation, key events were highlighted as potentially traumatic and discussed. They were given a list of resources customized to their specified departments and educated on how to contact them and set-up an appointment. We also recommended the development of an app that would prompt officers to reflect on their emotional state before their shift each day and recommend options for assistance if they needed it.