Managing Partner The Institute for Forensic Psychology Oakland, New Jersey, United States
Psychological Fitness for Duty Evaluations (hereafter FFDE) are a complex and powerful, yet often misunderstood, assessment tool within police psychology. Many officers enter the FFDE assuming the worst - that they will leave the evaluation no longer employed by their agency. The presenter will offer a novel approach to FFDE, situating the FFDE as a vital component of a comprehensive officer wellness program for law enforcement agencies. Normalizing the FFDE is part of the larger effort that is currently underway to break the stigma surrounding mental health treatment among police officers. Instead of thinking about the FFDE as the career-ender, the FFDE should be seen as a means for saving careers and saving lives. Then, the presenter will offer data from two studies on FFDE - one with an N of almost 500 and another with an N of nearly 150 - highlighting similarities and differences across the two data sets and how the data can help inform wellness initiatives in police and public safety agencies.
