LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A topic that used to be foreign to first responders is now getting top priority: mental health.
Arkansas State Police is training therapists to help better care for those who encounter and experience scenes of trauma.
"I remember when I started in law enforcement it was kind of the, 'Suck it up, Buttercup. We are going to make it. Keep working,'" said Buster Lackey with Arkansas State Police.
Lackey has worked in law enforcement for almost two decades. Now, he's working with the Arkansas State Police to implement more mental health resources for thousands of state troopers.
The agency is helping to train two dozen therapists to specialize in working with law enforcement on a unique therapy: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy.
The therapy replicates rapid eye movements, like what we experience during sleep.
Lizy Wiggins is leading the training and is also the CEO of EMDR Restorative Consulting. She's treated hundreds of patients and has seen successful results using this therapy to process traumatic events.
"We're getting to pick what we work on, and the client just tells us the key elements that are disturbing, so they don't have to go through the whole thing," Wiggins said.
Once the therapists are trained, they will ride along with troopers to learn the job of law enforcement, helping therapists understand law enforcement better when treating them.
Each trooper can get up to 12 free therapy sessions through the department.