Culture is a unifying force. It unifies by giving us rules and guiding principals on which we agree. In essence it makes us more similar than different. The profession of law enforcement has it's own culture. Thus, there are many similarities in personality, approach, and problems between Law Enforcement officers. This is not to say that they are all clones. Only to point out that a unified group tends to be similar, and thus we can make some general statements about such a group with a certain amount of validity.

The fact that police are different as a group means that a psychologist working with a police officer must also be different. Below are some characteristics that I believe make for a good "police psychologist". I describe these characteristics as advice to any therapist who wants to work with cops. I invite you to listen in to friendly word:

• Throw "professionalism" out the window. NOT, however, competence! No stuffed Shirts. Cops are a cynical lot and will see through you. Be yourself or risk not being believed at all. As a therapist you don't need to be perfect, just be REAL. Be human. Admit mistakes. If you don't know something, admit it! Learn to appreciate who your client is and work with it!
  
  
• Don't use Bullshit Jargon.

  Don't Say:
  -Your Id is cathecting with resultant behavioral acting out causing consequential Ego deterioration and Superego Suppression.
  When you mean:
  -Of course your depressed. Your sitting on your lazy ass wallowing in self pity when you should be working to help yourself!

  
  If you do not talk like a real person why should your client be expected to follow your advice? We may call ourselves Doctors, but the fact is its not titles that honor men, but men that, through their actions, give honor to titles.
  
  
• The couch makes a great joke but a bad technique for working with cops. When an officer gets to the point of seeking counseling he wants tangible advice. Concrete suggestions. A psychologist good at working with police officers may do as much talking as listening. He/she will become a partner in a plan of attack on the officers problem. Just sitting quietly, nodding your head on occasion, and going "uh huh" is not necessarily helpful.
  
  
• Know the cops job. Ride in a sector car. Hang out at a precinct house. Do a tour in the jail. If a therapist does not understand the actual job stresses of a law enforcement officer, as best he can, he cannot do his job well. In a sense the cop's job dictates the therapists job.
  
  
• Common sense. As the saying goes, common sense is not that common. In fact to much school can kill common sense. It can put you into an over analyzing mode that complicated the situation and issues at hand. Often helping a cop to simplify his life - get back to basics - is what is needed. It is a common sense approach to problem solving that can best help do this.
  
  
• Confidentiality. While this is important to all people in counseling, it is crucial for Law Enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers see themselves (correctly I might add) as always being scrutinized by the their peers, bosses, and the public. One of the stressed of police work is the expectation that an officer not be "human". That they handle things that the average person would walk away from. The stress of living up to this image is great. When an officer decides he needs some counseling, the fear that others will think he is weak, incapable, or even look to harm his job is an added stress he does not nee. The fact is that the failure to safeguard confidentiality issues has led to the demise of many attempts made by departments to establish counseling services for their members. Never lose sight of how important this issue is for members of the law enforcement community.
  
  
• Therapists tend to get angry at and discourage 2am crisis calls. Police do not have regular schedules. They do not lead regular lives. A psychologist working closely with police will get more crisis calls in a month than an average therapist may get in a year. As a counselor working with police you need to expect this, prepare for it, and know how to deal with crisis when they occur. Regardless of the time of day.
• Being a cop is not a job. It is a profession. A lifelong career. In fact for most officers it becomes an identity. To work effectively with police officers a therapist has to understand this. They need to know that the job cannot be put on the back burner. It must be protected. Life problems must be viewed with the job in mind.
• A sense of humor. Possibly one of the most important attributes a therapist needs to work effectively with police officers is a sense of humor. Often it is only a sense of humor, a morbid joke, that stands between an officer and insanity. One of the ways I judge the severity of a cops problem is by seeing how impaired his sense of humor is. If an officer is going to bope with the horrors that go with the job, he is going to need that sense of humor. If a therapist is to have any chance of being successful with police officers, they need to understand that sense of humor. Better yet, they need to share it!

REMEMBER