Opinions wanted:Firefighter counselling

[english]

I'm living in England studying to be a psychologist (I'm a counsellor) for u.s firefighters.My plan is to be independent of firehouses so that firefighters can come to me privately and off the record with their work and personal problems.
I would like to offer a free e mail counselling service as well as internet chat and phone service.This will allow firefighters to not have to face anyone,not have to go to an appointment and can express themselves freely without fear of interruption,judgement or embarrassment.
My aim will be to help firefighters with stress,family issues,help their families,wives and girlfriends accept and understand the job better and you!
What I need from you is feedback and suggestions.Will this service be of good use to you?What else would you expect from such a service or from your counsellor?I aim to offer a friendly,relaxed approach.No psycho babble!
I am training to help you so I want to know your views and be told by you,not psycologists what they think you need.
If you want more details feel free to contact me.
All suggestions welcome.

[RspctFrmCalgary]

I'm living in England studying to be a psychologist (I'm a counsellor) for u.s firefighters.

Why American firefighters and not English, or Irish, or Scots? Would make more sense to offer these services in the UK, wouldn't it????

[english]

Why American firefighters and not English, or Irish, or Scots? Would make more sense to offer these services in the UK, wouldn't it????

There are several reasons why I am moving my career to the U.S.
Firstly,firefighters there see far more action than the ones here.Therefore I feel are likely to need more help.But while I do live here I can counsel English firefighters.Even if I moved I would not turn anyone away.
I believe that counselling by the internet is growing fast.That can be done anywhere in the world and the client does not have to worry about appointments,being seen to be having counselling and does not have to face the counsellor.
Secondly,the U.S is where I want to be.I do not intend on living in England forever!
In California they are begging for counsellors.There are alot of adverts here for counsellors to go to America,even Canada.England has plenty of counsellors and not enough clients!

[DeputyMarshal]

FWIW, licensing requirements for "counselors" will vary from state to state and I have no idea how an internet based counseling service would be regulated. Before you invest yourself too deeply in this plan I'd strongly suggest doing some legal and related business research in addition to your studies in psychology.

Good luck!

[Bones42]

and yet in her other thread she is promising "no counselling".

This one ain't adding up.

[english]

and yet in her other thread she is promising "no counselling".

This one ain't adding up.

I meant no counselling when I talk to you guys on here.
I'm not here to ask for your problems.Just to make friends,ask for opinions and maybe some help to understand the job.
Psychology is not just about getting into peoples head and helping them.It's about the psychology of the job.

[english]

FWIW, licensing requirements for "counselors" will vary from state to state and I have no idea how an internet based counseling service would be regulated. Before you invest yourself too deeply in this plan I'd strongly suggest doing some legal and related business research in addition to your studies in psychology.

Good luck!

Thank you for your advice.
It's going to be a big step but I've taken on business and other studies and I'm trying to learn as much as I can from your side of the pond.

[ROOKIELZ]

FWIW, I think internet counselling would be much trickier.

A key component is the abilility to read body language, tone, and inflection when someone is speaking.

The internet would prevent the ability to see these clues. And a person can much more sucessfully hide or accentuate facets of character through a computer screen.

It would be a labourious proceedure to say the least.

~ROOK~

[cisdfirefighter]

It sounds like you have the best of intentions. Good luck with it. How do you know U.S. fire fighters do more work than English Fire fighters? I'd also suggest that face to face counseeling would be the best approach. But using e-mail or the internet could be a tool. Try looking into the critical incident stress management website. That should give you a few leads and idea's if you hav'nt looked into it already. Why did you pick Firefighting? Have you any actual experience with the emergency services? I'm just asking because I've seen before when an ambitious outsider or officer tries to change things there can be a mighty big baklash and resistance.

[firemanmike218]

English,

I am palnning a trip to London and would like to know if I could help you in you. My wife and I have never been to London and would like to know more about your endevor. Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Binaroundawhile]

While your goal is lofty, I doubt you would have a lot of success. There are some "new wave" folks that buy into CSID and such, but I haven't met many. If this is truly how you want to "help", you have my best wishes. Just doubtful of your success. IMHO, California might be a good place to start. They are very "progressive" there.

[DeputyMarshal]

There are some "new wave" folks that buy into CSID and such, but I haven't met many.

If you're actually referring to CISD or, more properly, CISM there are more than a few people who believe in its effectiveness.

BTW, it's hardly "new wave" -- CISD has been around for almost 20 years and has been well supported in published studies in the literature.