World-first SOLAR trials into mental health protection for Fire and Rescue

People who work in the emergency services sector are more than twice as likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of the nature of their work.

But in many cases, those who witness distressing and traumatic events on a regular basis don’t seek professional help until it’s too late. By the time they admit they are struggling, their professional and personal lives are falling apart.

There is a major push across all emergency services to find early intervention programs that can help people who don’t have a disorder yet, but who are showing early signs of psychological problems. Trials are being held to help ward off debilitating mental health issues.

The search for an effective early-intervention program to help emergency services workers avoid serious mental health problems has led to a collaboration between leading Australian researchers and clinicians and Fire and Rescue NSW.

This current research is a five-year program of work examining how NSW emergency services personnel can be helped to protect their mental health. It ultimately seeks to prevent the rates and incidents of psychological injury that occur as a result of exposure to traumatic incidents and workplace stressors.

After being screened for mental health symptoms, eligible emergency service workers can access the SOLAR program, which is a low intensity psychosocial program designed to help people manage high levels of stress and distress following trauma exposure.

Both the screening tool and the app will be delivered in a confidential way so that firefighters feel confident to participate.  Details of how firefighters can be involved will be available shortly through workplaces.

These world-first SOLAR Trials into mental health protection for Fire and Rescue NSW are being conducted by Phoenix Australia, University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Black Dog Institute, supported by icare NSW.