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It’s necessary to service the demand.”
The Professional Counseling Division team presents
widely trained personnel available 24/7/365 to meet the de- mand. Riley coordinates the addiction counseling flank of the unit, who are all sworn Chicago Police Officers — most of whom, like Riley, are in recovery. Officers are continual- ly being added to addiction counseling, and when they join Unit 128, they have completed specialized training and even academic certification. Some, like Riley, even become board registered interventionists.
The clinicians are all licensed professionals. Some, like Sobo, have ascended to achieve doctorates in psychology. They all have considerable clinical experience and are ex- perts in providing the therapy that can help officers with PTSD, depression and other challenges that most Chicago Police Officers can’t help but endure, considering the vicar- ious trauma they must face every day. They also see family members who are also affected because it’s so hard not to bring home the trauma.
The peer support team includes 300 officers who have taken a 40-hour training session. They have become the first line of response that leads officers to recognize developing mental health breakdowns and helps officers recognize the struggles in their partners, colleagues and friends. A list of peer support team members is posted in every district, and officers will see them at roll calls to know that the support is always available.
“Peer support is out there on the streets and in the dis- tricts and available all the time so police officers can have somebody they can trust to talk to,” Dr. Sobo notes. “It’s a
‘Peer support is out there and available all the time. It’s a person who is professional, who knows that the information is confidential.’
Dr. Sobo
person who is professional, who knows that the information is confidential and knows how to segue a person to the other resources available.”
Nirvana for the Professional Counseling Division would be having clinicians, peer support officers and addiction counselors assigned to every district and unit to cover every shift. Dr. Sobo classifies them as personnel who will become a familiar, trusted person who is part of the fabric of the dis- trict.
Consent seems to have been decreed to move toward such a robust network of services with well-credentialed, expert personnel. A lot has been done to further mental well-being, but as Dr. Sobo notes, “As much as we’re out there, there is still more work to be done.”
But all Chicago Police Officers should know that the work can start here, behind these confidential doors on West Ad- ams.
“We understand where they are coming from,” Riley en- courages. “As people in recovery, we know how it feels to be in their position, and we’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way.”
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