A new training program is designed to help police officers identify and address Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The program will focus on helping officers recognize the signs of PTSD, develop resilience, and find sources of peer support. Northern Illinois University Psychology Professor Michelle Lilly will be presenting at the sessions. She said they’re important for addressing a higher rate of suicide among first responders.
“The importance cannot be understated," she said. "We have a duty I think, as a public, to protect those who are sworn to protect us.”
Officer Shawn Curry of the Peoria Police Department will co-present the sessions with Dr. Lilly.
The first of these two-day sessions will take place in January in DeKalb. Others are planned later in the year at Edwardsville, Hoffman Estates, and Naperville.
Copyright 2019 WNIJ Northern Public Radio
