Konstantinos Papazoglou

ProWellness Inc.

This chapter looks into detail at the various pathways to build workplace mental health by identifying organizational modifiable risk factors and identifying protective factors and strengths for prevention, growth, and resiliency. Discussion around common mental health conditions, prevention and continuum of care, and risk factors related to moral...

The complexities of modern policing require law enforcement agencies to expand how officers are trained to do their jobs. It is not sufficient for training to focus solely on the law or on perishable skills, such as arrest and control, defensive tactics, driving, and firearms. This chapter addresses the critical importance of infusing academy train...

Suicide deaths among our first responder populations have gained growing national attention. Yet, many remain misinformed about the true extent of suicide within law enforcement ranks, with some believing this is a new phenomenon. However, those working and researching in the field know suicide has been a leading cause of mortality for decades. Unf...

A police officer’s power does not come from their badge, gear, or tactical skills. It comes from POWER: Police Officer Wellness, Ethics, and Resilience. This book offers practical, research-based strategies to help all members of law enforcement improve their wellness, strengthen their ethical commitments, and increase their resilience both on- an...

This book takes an in-depth look at the phenomenon of police officer suicide. Centered on statistical information collected from cases of officer suicide from 2017 to 2019, this volume helps readers understand the circumstances surrounding death by suicide amongst law enforcement personnel and makes recommendations for identification and prevention...

Police officers engage in dangerous and potentially highly traumatizing circumstances. It is common for officers to experience PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues that affect their work performance and family life. Often seeking support from their institution or organization is stigmatized and experienced as a significant draw...

Police officers engage in dangerous and potentially highly traumatizing circumstances. It is common for officers to experience PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues that affect their work performance and family life. Often seeking support from their institution or organization is stigmatized and experienced as a significant draw...

This is a very challenging time for police–community relations, one characterized by a mutual lack of trust between police and citizens. But trust is an important tenet of effective community policing. Trust between police and communities can result in better problem solving, fewer legal violations by citizens, less frequent use of force by the pol...

Wellness and resilience have been at the epicenter of attention amongst many law enforcement researchers, clinicians, and professionals in recent years. Both resilience and wellness aim to provide law enforcement officers with knowledge and effective tools that can be employed during both professional and personal challenges. The current manuscript...

"The power of a police officer does not come just from your badge, your gear, or your tactical skills. The power of a police officer comes from your POWER: police officer wellness, ethics, and resilience. The literature is pretty clear. Optimal health involves preserving wellness in many domains of your life: physical, cognitive, emotional, social,...

Police officers are vulnerable to a variety of moral risks. The moral risks stem both from officers’ routine duties and their ongoing exposure to critical and traumatic incidents. The moral risks take two paths: risks that lead to emotional and spiritual distress and risks that increase the likelihood of officer misconduct. Furthermore, these risks...

Policing may lead officers to physical, psychological, and emotional distress. Nonetheless, there is an additional, albeit less studied, threat to officers' well-being. Moral risks, an umbrella term encompassing two interrelated moral struggles—moral distress and moral injury—exacerbate officers' emotional difficulties, spiritual distress, and job...

In this article, the authors introduce the POWER perspective of police wellness and ethics. POWER stands for Police Officer Wellness, Ethics, and Resilience. The perspective represents the view that wellness and ethics cannot be discussed separately; they are inextricably connected to each other. Initiatives to address one should always, simultaneo...

Presenting the issue Clinical depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, and stressor-related disor- ders, in particular, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), together with substance use disorders are among the many mental health conditions increasingly being identified and addressed as part of workplace mental health prevention and interventions. De...

In addition to the physical and emotional challenges faced by law enforcement professionals, the job confronts officers with numerous moral risks. The moral risks include moral distress, moral injury, ethical exhaustion, compassion fatigue, and practices that lead to lapses in ethical decision-making. The paper focuses on what police agencies can d...

The present manuscript presents foundational constructs related to death and loss (i.e., grief, bereavement, prolonged grief) providing empirical findings from recent research on the impact of death and loss on police officers' health, behavior, and overall functioning. Police officers are routinely exposed to death. In many instances, officers' co...

First responders experience a myriad of stressors (e.g., operational, organizational, personal) over the course of their career. An abundance of empirical evidence shows that the impact of those stressors on first responders’ health, well-being, and performance can be detrimental. Nevertheless, previous research has mainly focused on the role of a...

Police officers are exposed to a plethora of potentially life threatening incidents over the course of their careers. These events cause specific psychological harm to police officers. Even though police departments aim to provide their police personnel with advanced technological equipment and effective operational. training, questions remain abou...

Exposure to critical incidents and hence potentially traumatic events is endemic in law enforcement. The study of law enforcement officers' experience of moral injury and their exposure to potentially morally injurious incidents, and research on moral injury's relationship with different forms of traumatization (e.g. compassion fatigue, post-trauma...

Moral distress is a condition affecting police officers who, because of insurmountable circumstances (e.g., not being able to protect a civilian from a violent criminal) or bad judgement (e.g., crossfire between officers), believe that they did not do enough or did not do the “right thing.” Moral injury occurs when police officers perpetrate, fail...

Service-oriented occupations such as law enforcement often experience higher levels of stress, trauma, and negativity compared to the general population as well as other professionals. That is, first responders face numerous challenges and are additionally tasked with meeting the general needs (i.e., physical, emotional, etc.) of those they serve....

The complexities of modern policing require law enforcement agencies to expand how officers are trained to do their jobs. It is not sufficient for training to focus solely on the law or on perishable skills; such as arrest and control; defensive tactics; driving; and firearms. The present manuscript addresses the critical importance of infusing aca...

POWER: Police Officer Wellness, Ethics, & Resilience demonstrates the interconnection among police stress and wellness, ethical decision-making, and effective police performance. This book presents the numerous psychic wounds experienced by peace officers in the line of duty: compassion fatigue, moral injury, PTSD, operational stress injury, organi...

Caregiving and public service occupations often expose working professionals to pain, trauma, sorrow, loss, and suffering. While such exposure has been widely documented, the effects on the professional’s physical and emotional health have also become much clearer. Nearly three decades of research on the negative aspects of working in caregiving pr...

In recent years, growing attention has been focused on the roles that wellness and the lack thereof play in the job performance of police officers. In addition to the bourgeoning overall emphasis on occupational health, trends in positive psychology have shifted the focus of police executives, police psychologists, and police officers themselves to...

It is not hyperbolic to suggest that tensions between the police and the public in many communities is at an all-time high. Conflicts exist despite active efforts on the part of law enforcement agencies, community leaders, schools, and public, private, and non-profit organizations to improve relations. Although small steps of progress occur, there...

The idea of moral injury has been pervasive in human societies for thousands of years, and perhaps since the existence of humankind. In the Greco-Roman tradition, warrior nar- ratives reference the experience of moral conflicts on the battlefield (called miasma or “mίasma” e moral pollution and purification), defining it as a situation wherein some...

Police officers’ wellness is fundamental to law enforcement agency effectiveness and to the very wellbeing of the communities in which they serve. For decades, many of us have been championing this cause from within the ranks of police departments as officers, executives, and psychologists. Consequences of deficits in officer wellness were ever- pr...

The chapter introduces the HEROES Project, an online training resource that develops mental resilience. The goal is to provide the reader with insight into a resource that can be used as an adjunct to employee assistance programs, critical incident stress debriefing, and counseling. The HEROES Project is the first virtual training course that combi...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychological health condition that jeopardizes the wellbeing, holistic health and functioning of police officers following exposure to traumatic, stressful, and life-threatening experiences. While resiliency is expected of officers, the recurrent encounter to traumatic incidents eventually inf...

The goal of this study was to estimate the prevalence rates of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout among minority and dominant culture police officers. Furthermore, this study explored the influence of harassment and fear of discrimination on compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout among minority and non-minori...

The aims of this study were to first examine the rates of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout among North American officers. Second, we examined factors (e.g., authoritarian attitudes, years of service) that were associated with compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout. Of the total participants (n=1,351), 23% r...

Police officers face unique challenges in the line of duty that threaten their health and well-being. Officers experience organizational, operational, community-related, and personal stressors ranging from shift work and critical incident response to public pressures related to police-community relations and social media. Exposure to police stress...

Police officers experience multiple types of trauma in the line of duty. Research has been extensively studied officers' traumatic experiences in the line of duty. This paper presents several causes of psychic wounds related to police work and discusses the interrelationship between them. By demonstrating this connection, the authors attempt to exp...

Police officers are mandated to respond to critical incidents, and, as the first responders to arrive at a crime scene, they are often tasked with providing support to traumatized victims of crimes. Compassion fatigue is a type of traumatization ("cost of caring") experienced by caregiving professionals who work with traumatized populations. Conver...

Police officers are often exposed to violence and potentially traumatic encounters, but they have not been a focus of research on compassion fatigue or compassion satisfaction. The current study examines compassion fatigue and satisfaction among police officers and how these variables are influenced by negative personality traits. This study’s part...

Police compassion fatigue, or the emotional cost of caring associated with police work, can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, work dissatisfaction, depression, burnout, self-criticism and destructive coping strategies. Similarly, officers may experience moral injury in the line of duty when they witness or become involved in acts that transgr...

First responders are psychosocially burdened with work-related stressors that occur frequently during required duties. Related mental health difficulties, such as direct and vicarious trauma, depression, and interpersonal problems often affect first responders' ability to perform effectively, and their personal lives may be disrupted. Mindfulness-b...

For 50 years, police psychologists have taken an increasingly central role in many police organizations. Unfortunately, a significant gap exists between what psychologists do for law enforcement agencies and the psychological knowledge that officers could be using to do their jobs more effectively.

The paper takes the position that efforts to eliminate all acts of police misconduct are misguided, because much of this behavior appears to be a natural byproduct of routine police practices. Instead, it is important for police executives to understand the various factors that foster police misconduct. This awareness can be accompanied by appropri...

Stress and trauma experienced by police officers in the line of duty can have negative impacts on officers’ health and well-being. Psychological support is imperative to help officers maintain psychological well-being and to perform their duties efficiently. However, officers are often skeptical to seek psychological support. The reasons behind suc...

Given the high-risk nature of police work, officers are often exposed to life-threatening critical incidents in the line of duty. The present study uses qualitative methods to explore the experiences of police officers (n = 10) during and after life-threatening incidents as well as the strategies they utilized to cope with these experiences. In par...

Objective: Prior research on police practices has highlighted the plethora of operational and organisational stressors that police officers face throughout their careers. Work-related demands, acute stress, and lack of organisational support and resources may lead officers to experience burnout, which is characterised by emotional exhaustion, lack...

Police officers are mandated to respond to critical incidents, and, as the first responders to arrive at a crime scene, they are often tasked with providing support to traumatized victims of crimes. Compassion fatigue is a type of traumatization ("cost of caring") experienced by caregiving professionals who work with traumatized populations (Figley...

Police officers respond to a plethora of calls, to include critical incidents. Research shows police officers are more resilient when compared to civilians, but exposure to critical incidents may lead to traumatic stress reactivity, which can increase the risk for negative mental health outcomes among police officers. Years of law enforcement exper...

Police officers are mandated to respond to critical incidents, and, as the first responders to arrive at a crime scene, they are often tasked with providing support to traumatized victims of crimes. Compassion fatigue is a type of traumatization (“cost of caring”) experienced by caregiving professionals who work with traumatized populations (Figley...

First responders are often exposed to multiple potentially traumatic incidents over the course of their career. However, scientific research showed that first responders are more resilient compared with the general population. In addition, experience of life-threatening situations and acute stress may lead first responders to the development of pos...

Police work is challenging. Police officers are sworn to maintain peace and order in our communities. However, police officers often jeopardize their own safety and lives in order to serve and protect civilians from eminent threat. Exposure to multiple critical incidents may have severe impact on officers’ health and personal lives. This book prese...

SWAT team officers are trained in the use of sophisticated equipment and have advanced tactical knowledge to combat high-risk critical situations. Nevertheless, traumatic experiences are often embedded in SWAT team officers' missions. In this chapter, we explore the life-threatening cases experienced by three SWAT team officers.

In this chapter, we present the case of two police officers who were deployed on a UN peacekeeping mission during the war in former Yugoslavia. Police officers in this case were kept as hostages by a group of armed guerrillas.

The chapter presents the experiences of two police officers who were shot multiple times and seriously wounded by a terrorist. Following the physical recovery they had to testify in court while exposed to the terrorist's death threats and hate speech, which was allowed to be voiced in the courtroom.

Over the last years there has been great controversy surrounding police officers using weapons on unarmed civilians. However, there is a lack of research to explore the consequences that these officers experience following these events. In the present chapter, we present the case of two officers who shot and killed suspects who they - mistakenly -...

This chapter illustrates the case of a law enforcement professional who effectively thwarted a mass shooter in a religious assembly right after he started shooting civilians. Law enforcement professional in this case faced and stopped the mass shooter using her weapon and saving the lives of thousands of people.

The authors examined the role of familial and national social identification in shaping the well-being (positive self-esteem [PSE] and satisfaction with life [SL]) among Israeli adolescents following a terrorist attack. Adolescents living in an attacked town (n = 259; M age = 16.19 years, SD = 0.74 years) and adolescents living in a not attacked to...

Police work is challenging and entails officers’ exposure to multiple critical incidents. Police officers are supposed to adapt to different critical circumstances so that they resolve critical events effectively. That is, officers may have to use lethal force in order to prevent a violent offender from harming innocent people. On the other hand, o...

Special Forces Police are called to the most dangerous situations that require skills and equipment beyond the training available to a patrol officer. We recruited a platoon of special forces (n = 18) and examined their basal and reactivity levels of cortisol in relation to occupational duties. Moreover, we measured the impact of a multiday program...

Research has shown a connection between trauma exposure and elevated health risks among police officers. This study explored police health professionals' knowledge and current practices in educating officers about the trauma-health relationship. Results indicated the main method of education included lectures and seminars, but participants expresse...

Sexual aggression is defined as the offenders' act to impose his or her sexual will over another, nonconsenting, person using behaviors such as threats, intimidation, drugs, or physical force. Sexual aggression may happen to any person regardless of his/her socioeconomic status, education, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and so forth. Historica...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) refers to various types of abuse that may take place in heterosexual couples, LGBT couples, teen couples, and former intimates. Victims and perpetrators of IPV may come from all ages, ethnic groups, racial groups, religions, occupations, socioeconomic status levels, education levels, and geographical areas. Historica...

Policing presents a complex set of risk factors for occupational health and safety among officers, including environmental, psychosocial, and health risks. Environmental risks include facing critical incidents such as violent offenders, hostage negotiations, intense crime scenes, and irate civilians. Critical incidents are high pressure situations...

Police officers routinely face critical incidents such as violent offenders, motor vehicle fatalities, and mistreated children (Cross & Ashley, 2004; Karlsson & Christianson, 2003). Police are tasked with keeping the peace and helping traumatized victims. Over time, the effort to alleviate the victims’ suffering may come with a cost. Charles Figley...

The idea of fostering ‘resilience’ among police and military personnel is a topic of growing interest (Andersen et al., 2015a; Cornum, Matthews, & Seligman, 2011; Reivich, Seligman, & McBride, 2011). This topic is particularly timely in light of recent media depictions of questionable use-of-force actions by police and the subsequent public retalia...

Research regarding what police officers currently know (or want to know) about the impact of trauma exposure on mental and physical health is rare. Given that police training and educational practices differ based on country or territory, studies using standardized surveys to discover police officer’s preferences or openness to learning further inf...

Police Special Forces (a.k.a. special weapons and tactics [SWAT]) officers are tasked with responding to the most critical situations, including incidents that require specialized skills and equipment beyond typical policing activities. In this study, we tested the feasibility of applying Arnetz and colleagues’ resilience promotion training that wa...

Evidence from the field of intergroup relations shows that interactions with a member of a different cultural group is often defined by threat and anxiety (termed “cross-group threat”). Police officers often work in partnerships and frequently face traumatic incidents in the line of duty. This study explores the unexamined issue of cross-group thre...

Police officers face chronic stress and exposure to traumatic events in the line of duty. Over the course of their career, officers often experience mental and physical health issues related to such exposures. The authors propose that police educators are an untapped resource, able to teach trainees at the start of their career about the health rea...

For the second year we were invited to be trainers at a training seminar for senior police educators, held in the German Federal Police University and sponsored by the European Police College, hence, having the opportunity to build on their previous applications. We applied exercises (psychoeducation, mindfulness/awareness, journaling, processing i...

Victimology primarily focuses on the victims' experiences, offenders' motivations, the relationships between victims and offenders, and related criminal justice procedures. Victims of crimes often suffer multiple effects, including psychological and physical harm, and financial losses. The severity of the impact of trauma on victims' lives depends...

Dating violence is characterized by any form of violence or threat from one partner to the other within a romantic relationship. This type of violence can be identified in any dating relationship regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. Females are more often the targets of dating violence than males, especially in regard to sev...

Police misconduct refers to any inappropriate behavior on the part of any police officer that violates police policy, morality, or/and the law, and may also entail some type of personal benefit for the police officer involved. In a police misconduct situation a police officer behaves in an improper, immoral, or/and illegal way that discredits his/h...

The study of police officers’ trauma through the police culture perspective reveals a unique form of trauma with biological, psychological, and sociocultural implications. The author presents an inclusive and dimensional theoretical conceptualization of police trauma, termed Police Complex Spiral Trauma (PCST), which constitutes a symbolic represen...

Currently, the focus and information about training police officers relates primarily to physical and mental fitness and ways to help others. There are very few resources and almost no information available to guide police officers about ways to handle loss and trauma. Officers respond to critical incidents that have the potential to be traumatic a...

This paper will address the impact of 9/11 on a university campus classroom near Ground Zero. The effect on an NYU graduate Trauma course 8 years post 9/11 will be described. Dale & Alpert (2006) have addressed the impact in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 on NYU, and the healing process both within the course, in the Applied Psychology Department...