Reslilient Minds - Building the Psychological Strength of Fire Fighters

The Resilient Minds^TM 8-hour course contains four modules that were developed by fire fighters for fire fighters to increase the ability to:

• Recognize the effects of psychological stress/trauma in self and peers
• Understand trauma-informed practices
• Communicate with peers who may be struggling
• Using evidence-based trauma informed approach to respond, safely, and appropriately to distressed citizens
• Apply personal strategies for managing stress, mitigating trauma, and boosting resilience

What fire fighters are saying about our program:

“The facilitators created a safe, comfortable and interesting learning environment. We were impressed with the interactive capabilities of the Zoom classroom and the way it was incorporated into the course. They taught us coping skills such as the 4R Action Toolkit that we will be able to take into our careers and use to remain healthy for ourselves and our families. As members of the fire service, we would recommend this course to anyone involved in emergency response.”

– Fire Fighter recruits in Class 2021-01 (A Platoon), Whitby Fire & Emergency Services, Ontario

Teagan began her career in emergency services in 2017 as a Communicator with the Brantford Police Service. In 2019 she decided it was time for a change and she joined the fire family as a Communicator with the Brantford Fire Department. Since then Teagan has stepped into the role of Fire Safety Educator (FSE) and has held the position since 2021. Although she enjoyed her time serving her community as a 9-1-1- operator Teagan values being able to take a proactive approach to protecting her community by teaching about fire and life safety in her role as FSE. Teagan holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Guelph and loves applying sociological concepts in her pursuit of Community Risk Reduction. She is currently pursuing further education in leadership. She is proud to also be serving as a Director on the board of the Ontario Association of Fire Educators (OAFE). Outside of her fire service career Teagan has a passion for food and beverage. She enjoys spending her time cooking, trying new restaurants and working part-time at a casual fine dining restaurant.

Katerina Barton is the Manager of Planning & Finance at the London Fire Department and a PhD student researching the culture and language of suicide in relation to the efficacy of suicide prevention programs. With several years spent practicing in the mental health field and six years in Fire, she can provide perspective across these areas and combine experience from both to help support those in the fire service and beyond.