Staff Psychologist Requested for Waco, TX, Responders

Waco Police Chief Sheryl Victorian and Fire Chief Robby Bergerson have requested a staff psychologist dedicated to the well-being of the city’s public safety personnel.

Victorian listed the $177,000 personnel request as her top budget priority for the coming year, and City Manager Bradley Ford said it is a top priority for city administrators as well.

“Our public safety teams put their hearts, minds, and bodies on the line every day serving the people of Waco,” Ford said by email. “This includes our first responders like police officers and firefighters, as well as our dispatch teams, crime scene technicians, and other support staff who experience trauma related to the calls they handle.

“With the full support of our city council, my office has made supporting the mental health of our more than 500 public safety personnel a top priority this year.”

Adding a public safety psychologist falls in line with a citywide Total Wellbeing campaign to increase awareness of the city’s employee assistance program, wellness initiatives and comprehensive employee services, Ford said.

Victorian and Bergerson both acknowledged the untimely deaths of two Waco police officers who ended their own lives within the past year. Both officers also served in the military before joining the Waco Police Department.

“We need to start ingraining wellness into our culture,” Victorian said. “And it can’t be a one-time thing because we lost two officers. It needs to be an ongoing thing.”

Nationwide between 2016 and 2022 an average of 184 law enforcement and corrections personnel ended their own lives each year, according First H.E.L.P., a national organization that works to reduce mental health stigma for all first responders.

Bergerson said that across the firefighting profession nationwide, firefighter suicides exceed the number of other line of duty deaths each year.

“Waco’s police have lost two officers to suicide, but fortunately we have not, and any opportunity for access to mental heath assistance is critically important for firefighters and all first responders,” Bergerson said.

According to Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance data reported by the National Fire Protection Association, 110 firefighters, 17 emergency medical technicians and four dispatchers died by suicide last year.

Victorian said she and her leadership team have begun making changes to ensure officers and all personnel know the department’s leaders care.

“And I want our team to understand that their leadership cares about their total well-being and that a healthy officer is a more efficient, more effective, a safer officer, more alert officer, and dispatch the same way,” Victorian said. “We care and we’re not just here to see numbers and how many calls you can answer or how many arrests you can make.

We’re here to take care of you first. And we know if we take care of our team, that they can take care of the community.”

Likewise, Bergerson said overall stress and particularly the stress of critical incidents affect firefighters, and having a dedicated public safety psychologist available to help meet the health needs that go along with the job will have a positive impact on the fire service.

Dealing with car crashes, medical emergencies and other potentially traumatic situations, including sometimes fatal incidents, takes a toll, whether over the course of a career or in the wake of a particular situation, he said.

“We see traumatic events over the course of our careers,” Bergerson said. “We currently have a pretty robust system of peer support for firefighters, but having that added layer of a psychologist accessible or on staff would just be hugely beneficial.”

The pressures of public safety work also extend beyond the officers and firefighters.

Dispatchers hear the chaos and fear of emergency calls but let the call go when first responders arrive. And then they take another call, Victorian said. Police department records personnel can also experience what is known as secondary post-traumatic stress from reading reports, and some have asked for mental health support, Victorian said.

Both chiefs said separately that their personnel are all people who, like anyone else, have to process chaos and stress. But unlike most people, they may deal with trauma and pressure every time they go to work.

Both departments have trained peer support systems that can help with processing daily emotional responses to what they see, but a public safety psychologist is needed to offer healthier ways of dealing with these emotions.

“When I grew up as a young police officer, asking for help was a sign of weakness,” Victorian said. “The idea was, this is what you signed up for, right? … But now I don’t want to just not to ignore the importance of how people grew up, what their experiences are, their spirituality, or any of that. Because people cope in different ways.

“And I just want to make sure that our officers are coping in healthy ways and not unhealthy ways that can lead you to a feeling of hopelessness and ultimately suicide. That’s not what I want. I want to make sure that it’s a healthy way, and I think that a staff psychologist can help bring some of those things out and offer ways for us to be able to cope, healthier ways.”

She said the staff psychologist may respond to scenes of violence or other potentially traumatic situations. Their office would be away from police headquarters for a degree of separation but they would be available to all who want their services.

“Having that access where the individual can reach out on their own and talk to somebody and get the help that they need will be tremendous,” Bergerson said.

Asked about Victorian’s request for a psychologist on staff, Ford said he deeply appreciates her commitment and leadership to support the city’s public safety teams.

“The request demonstrates our shared commitment to ensuring our brave men and women in public safety have every resource they need to serve our community while maintaining their own wellbeing,” Ford said.

The city also is seeking a two-year $200,000 federal grant under the Law Enforcement Mental Health Wellness Act.

The grant would not pay for the public safety psychologist but would support other mental health wellness efforts in the department.

The money could be spent for the implementation of peer support, training, family resources, suicide prevention, stress reduction, clinical support and other wellness programs to benefit police personnel and their families, city council documents say. The services will improve efficiency, decision-making, training and crisis management of police personnel by enhancing their mental health, wellness and resilience, supporting peak performance, fostering a culture of support and safety, and improving staff retention, according to council documents.

Victorian said it is important for the department to be more aware of mental health and caring toward team members. "The way we treat them inside the headquarters is the way they will respond to the community," Victorian said.

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