This article explores why helpers often struggle to ask for support and how counseling can be reframed as a practical tool for sustainability rather than a sign of weakness. By aligning counseling with the values of competence, readiness, and growth, helpers can access support that truly fits their world.  Read More…

Tags: first responder culture, health care workers, mental health care, burnout, counseling, resilience, helpers

Today's reflection is about Matt's transition from EMS to mental health counseling, showing how both fields can share similar missions of helping people in crisis. He outlines lessons each can borrow from the other and shares his vision of building a bridge between first response and long-term healing.   Read More…

Tags: EMS, counseling, mental health care, resilience, first responder wellness

Money steers mental health care more than most clients realize. Here Matt explains how insurance incentives shape clinical decisions and shows how time-limited, skills-based therapy plans can deliver effective care without open-ended treatment. Tactical Counseling clarifies its private-pay model and new superbill option while emphasizing planned, collaborative endings.   Read More…

Tags: insurance, superbills, privatepay, therapy tools, sfbt, dbt, counseling, outcomes, policy

This post explores the parallels between EMS protocols and mental health diagnostics, particularly the use and limitations of the DSM-5-TR. While diagnostic labels offer clarity and structure, psychotherapy helps humanize those labels, bridging the gap between clinical language and lived experience.   Read More…

Tags: mental health care, diagnosis, dsm-5-tr, counseling, EMS, trauma-informed care, psychotherapy, first responder wellness, anxiety, acute stress disorder, ptsd