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New Recruits to Retirement: Increasing Self-Awareness throughout Career

Objectives and Summary:

This course will offer a greater understanding of the mental and emotional impacts as a career fire fighter. Attendees will learn about a new recruit’s adjustment to fire service culture, looking deeper into the development of one’s identity into a fire fighter, including how fire service members become a part of a close-knit community. Topics discussed will include improving resiliency and identifying and understanding the impacts of being a fire fighter on oneself and on fire service families.

Attendees will discover protective factors that will help a fire fighter throughout their career and the importance of fire fighter wellness- physical, mental, emotional. Attendees will learn tools to prepare for retirement, including the loss of identity and community. Discussion will be focused on how to set fire fighters up for success after the fire service. (“But once a fire fighter, always a fire fighter”-Kathleen’s Father)

Presented By:

Hannah Elmore, MSW

Senior Clinical Outreach Coordinator
Hannah Elmore is the Clinical Outreach Coordinator for the IAFF Center of Excellence through Advanced Recovery Systems. Hannah works with first responders through connection to behavioral health resources, providing education, and offering support. Hannah educates on behavioral health topics pertaining to the fire service and first responder communities to departments, peer teams, families and clinicians. Hannah is a certified IAFF Peer Supporter.

Kathleen Hensley, LMHC

LMHC & Doctoral Student
Kathleen is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) working in private practice at The Crane Center, LLC in Destin, Florida. She is Certified First Responder Counselor and is trained in the unique culture of First Responders. She enjoys training and educating first responders on the importance of mental health wellness in the first responder culture. She is the proud daughter of a retired 25-year fire fighter and the sister of an active fire fighter in Alabama.

Jeff Campbell

IAFF Master Peer Support Instructor
Jeff Campbell is a Battalion Chief who manages the Health & Wellness Division at Central Pierce Fire & Rescue in Puyallup, WA. Jeff has been a professional Fire Fighter for 22 years and has been involved with Behavioral Health and Peer Support since 2010. In 2019 Jeff was appointed as Master Peer Support and Resilience Instructor with the IAFF. Jeff helped to develop the Oregon State Council of Fire Fighters Peer Support Network and the IAFF 9th District Peer Support Network.
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