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The most downloaded conversation of the year returns for a reason: it’s the raw, practical guide first responders and their families keep asking for. We sit with Sgt. Michael Sugrue—Air Force security forces veteran, Walnut Creek Police sergeant, and author of Relentless Courage—to talk about the weight of hundreds of traumatic calls, how a 2012 shooting upended his life, and the exact steps that pulled him back from the edge.

Michael breaks down why suicide remains the top threat for police, fire, EMS, and dispatch: a culture that prizes invincibility, training that skips mental readiness, and an identity so fused to the job that retirement can feel like free fall. He explains how “silent” suicides hide in line‑of‑duty risks, why official counts underreport the crisis, and what leadership must do to turn the tide. We go deep on solutions: culturally competent therapy, confidential peer lines, retreats like West Coast Post‑Trauma Retreat and Save A Warrior, and daily practices—meditation, gratitude, strength work, honest conversations—that sustain real resilience.

We also challenge common myths. Therapy doesn’t take your gun; it gives you your life back. EMDR helps many but not all; the real power is a personalized toolkit. Early intervention keeps stress acute and treatable; waiting turns injuries into entrenched patterns that cost careers and families. Michael’s book, co‑authored with Dr. Shauna Springer, bridges the gap between gut‑level storytelling and clear psychology, giving responders and loved ones a shared language to start hard conversations and map a path forward.

If you serve—or love someone who does—this is a roadmap to stay in the fight without losing yourself. Hit play, share it with a partner or teammate, and let’s normalize help as a standard of care. If the episode resonates, subscribe, leave a quick review, and pass it to one person who needs to hear it today.

You can reach Michael on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sgtmichaelsugrue?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

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From crime and trauma scene cleanup to midnight dispatch and station kitchens, we gathered the most powerful lessons from a year of conversations with first responders, clinicians.

Here are the links for all the episodes:

Krista Gregg (E.188): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-188

Jessica Jamieson (E.192): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-192

Beth Salmo (E.204): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-204

Elizabeth Ecklund (E.207): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-207

Gordon Brewer (E.211): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-211

Bill Dwinnells (E.220): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-220

Deidre Gestrin (E.221): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-221

Adam Neff (E.222): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-222

Renae Mansfield (E.225): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-225

Amanda Rizoli (E.227): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-227

Blythe Landry (E.228): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-228

Stephanie Simpson (E.229): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-229

Lisa Trusas (E.231): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-231

Joe Rizzuti (E.233): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e-233

Justin Jacobs (E.235): https://

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When the lights are flashing and the clock is ticking, we train for everything—except the weight we carry home. We sit down with Coast Guard veteran and grief coach Justin Jacobs to unpack the invisible load of moral injury, the shock of losing the uniform, and the quiet ways unprocessed grief leaks into performance, relationships, and health. From the chaos of capsized boats to the stillness after a tough outcome, Justin names what many feel and few say out loud.

We explore how grief hides inside anxiety, depression, and burnout, and why so many transitions—retirement, reassignment, even a “first civilian job”—feel harder than expected. Justin explains decision fatigue after service, when structure vanishes and every choice suddenly feels permanent. He offers a simple reframe: plan early, expect detours, and treat course corrections as progress, not failure. Along the way, we draw clear parallels between the Coast Guard and first responders—rapid action, limited bench strength, and constant pressure to move on to the next call.

Most importantly, we get practical. Think “mental PPE”: a shared vocabulary for moral injury, short decompressions after hard calls, peer check-ins that don’t try to fix but do make space to feel. We talk about what genuinely helps the bereaved—curiosity, presence, honest permission to tell the whole truth about the person who’s gone—and what to retire forever, including hollow platitudes that minimize real pain. Justin’s own story of loss and growth brings empathy and precision to every tool he shares.

If you serve, lead, or love someone who does, this conversation is a field guide for staying human under pressure and building a culture that protects people as fiercely as it protects the mission. Listen, share with your crew, and tell us what “mental PPE” looks like in your world. If this resonates, follow, rate, and review so more first responders can find it—and subscribe for more candid, actionable conversations.

His Instagram is @manlygrief

His Website is: http://www.manlygrief.com

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What if the most powerful tool on a crisis scene isn’t a badge or a diagnosis, but a practiced partnership? We continue our conversation with Dr. Sarah Abbott about co-response and unpack how pairing clinicians with police changes the outcome of calls involving mental health, substance use, and high-stress events—from domestic incidents with kids present to house fires and welfare checks where information is thin.

We trace the arc from a pioneering certificate at William James College to statewide intensives built on scenario-based, hands-on training. Instead of chasing labels, the curriculum teaches behavior reading, de-escalation under pressure, and language that preserves dignity while lowering risk. We dig into veterans’ mental health and firearm culture, highlighting lethal means safety training that helps clinicians speak credibly about storage, temporary transfer, and time-limited access without shaming or seizing. A vivid field story shows how clear communication with dispatch and officers can soften the room, protect everyone on scene, and build trust that lasts past one call.

The conversation widens to where co-response goes next. Through Abbott Solutions for Justice and the International Co-Responder Alliance, these practices are spreading across states and overseas, with growing momentum on college campuses that function like small cities. We explore why campus police and clinicians need shared playbooks, how programs like Johns Hopkins are leading, and what it takes to turn skepticism into skill—consistently, respectfully, and at scale. If you care about first responder wellness, community safety, and practical tools that work at 2 a.m., this is your roadmap for doing crisis response better.

Subscribe for more conversations on co-response, first responder mental health, and practical de-escalation. Share this episode with a colleague who needs these tools, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

To reach Sarah, please visit her website at: https://www.abbottsolutionsforjustice.com

Sarah can also befound on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-solutions-for-justice-llc/?viewAsMember=true

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Crises rarely look like TV. Most calls aren’t bank robberies; they’re frantic welfare checks, neighbor standoffs over fences, a parent terrified for a missing teen, or someone hearing voices at 2 a.m. We sit down with Dr. Sarah Abbott, a pioneer of the police–clinician co-response model, to unpack how pairing a trained clinician with officers at the point of contact reshapes outcomes: fewer arrests, fewer injuries, and far more dignity for the person in distress.

Sarah shares the origin story from Massachusetts, where “jail diversion” began as a humane alternative for low-level offenses tangled with mental illness and grew into a comprehensive crisis response approach now spreading nationally and internationally. We get honest about the early skepticism and what changed minds: consistent data, strong command support, and the day-to-day reality that most police work involves behavioral health, not crime. We also go inside Section 12—involuntary transport in Massachusetts—and why sending officers with little background information is risky for everyone. The fix is coordination and clarity: share what you legally can, add a clinician to the response, and approach the door with a plan rooted in safety and rapport.

Training is the force multiplier. Sarah breaks down how academy curricula evolved to center practical de-escalation and communication, then explains why the biggest gains come later with advanced, scenario-driven refreshers once officers have real street context. We talk tactics for engaging someone in psychosis without lying or escalating, why 988 is essential but not a complete substitute, and how blending 988, CIT, and co-response builds a smarter, safer safety net. We close with Sarah’s work at William James College and the new Center for Crisis Response and Behavioral Health, designed to scale what works across departments and borders.

If you care about first responder mental health, public safety, and better outcomes for people in crisis, this conversation offers a clear roadmap. Listen, share it with your team, and leave a review so more agencies can find these tools and put them to work in their communities.

To reach Sarah, please visit her website at: https://www.abbottsolutionsforjustice.com

Sarah can also befound on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-solutions-for-justice-llc/?viewAsMember=true

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The silence after the last shift can be deafening. We dive into what really happens when the badge comes off and the calls stop, tracing the steep drop from team identity and adrenaline to isolation, substance use, and rising suicide risk. With honesty and urgency, we unpack why retirement hits first responders so hard and outline a practical safety net that works in the real world.

We talk through the addictive rhythm of police, fire, EMS, and corrections work—why the culture bonds like family, and why role loss feels like grief, not change management. From the “greatest show in town” to the long, quiet afternoons, we map the transition pitfalls: relationship strain, gambling, financial pressure, heavy drinking, and access to means. Then we move to solutions that stick: QPR training for everyone, union-led outreach to members on injury or IA, and a retiree association built on peer mentors, quarterly meetups, and easy referral to culture-competent clinicians and recovery coaches.

Therapy only helps when it respects the culture. We make the case for long-term, stigma-free care that starts at the kitchen table, not a clipboard wall. Leaders play a decisive role, too: fund peer teams, protect privacy, standardize evaluations, and create fair return-to-duty paths that treat mental health injuries like broken bones. Fire service models show how trust grows when unions hold the keys and chiefs clear the way. Our aim is simple—keep people connected, valued, and alive long after the radio goes quiet.

If this conversation resonates, share it with your crew, subscribe for more candid tools and stories, and leave a review to help other first responders find us. Your voice can pull someone back from the edge.

If you are interested, please visit the Onsite academy at https://onsiteacademy.org/

Visit the NEPBA at https://www.nepba.org/

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What does it take to build mental health care that first responders actually trust? We sit down with former Revere police officer Joe Rizzuti, whose journey from stacked line-of-duty trauma and alcohol use to peer support leadership strips away the clichés and gets to what works. Joe’s story starts with a tough childhood, a military turnaround, and a policing career shaped by high-stakes cases and a deep love for community. It also includes administrative betrayals, devastating calls, and the moment he walked into On-Site Academy expecting a firearms range and found a lifeline instead.

From there, Joe breaks down how cultural competence changes outcomes. If a clinician doesn’t understand roll call, shift work, gallows humor, and the weight of cumulative stress, trust collapses. He explains how he vets treatment programs—On-Site for acute resets, First Responder Wellness in California for intensive trauma work, and union-aligned options like IAFF Centers of Excellence—while calling out profit-first models that fail responders. We talk insurance constraints, travel realities, and why credibility is earned one referral at a time.

We also tackle the retiree cliff and why too many officers and firefighters struggle within five years of leaving the job. Joe’s answer: a coaching model adapted from recovery support that restores purpose, routine, and community long before the badge comes off. The takeaway is clear—care must be team-driven, ego-free, and relentlessly practical. If you lead, remove barriers. If you treat, learn the culture. If you’re a peer, keep checking in long after the headlines fade.

If you are interested, please visit the Onsite academy at https://onsiteacademy.org/

Visit the NEPBA at https://www.nepba.org/

Subscribe, share with a teammate who needs it, and leave a review to help more first responders find this conversation.

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A culture that actually protects first responders doesn’t happen by accident—it’s built on day-one expectations, family inclusion, and leaders who tell the truth even when the news is hard. We sit down with Doug Wyman to map what real organizational wellness looks like and why “Inside the Box” has become a powerful framework for shifting identity, policy, and practice in policing.

We start where most programs fail: leaving wellness to HR or EAP and forgetting families. Doug explains how to onboard spouses and partners with the same care we give new hires, and why a 10–15 minute decompression ritual at the door can prevent years of resentment at home. From there, we dig into the mentorship pipeline—how great FTOs set career goals, normalize therapy, and keep officers engaged long after field training. As rank rises, the view widens; without peer networks and rank-specific training, command staff unintentionally import narrow worldviews into complex events like suicide, deepening stigma and pain.

The episode unpacks procedural justice for the inside of the house—dignity, voice, clear motives, and follow-through—to counter “administration betrayal.” We name the Man Box and the Cop Box, exploring how rigid ideals make therapy, medication, or simple human tenderness feel like violations. Doug shows how emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and the Four Agreements become everyday tools that change culture one conversation at a time. And we get practical: field officers should carry the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, because at 3 a.m. on a bridge you need the right questions, not another search tab.

If you lead, supervise, dispatch, or love a first responder, this conversation offers a blueprint you can use tomorrow—family education, mentorship, internal fairness, and tools that save lives. Listen, share with your team, and tell us what belongs outside the box. If this resonated, subscribe, leave a review, and pass it to a colleague who needs a better way forward.

Go to Doug's LinkedIn website at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-wyman-6b80852a/details/featured/

The Class Inside the Box - Focuses on Organizational Wellness and Post Traumatic growth and is for first line supervisors and command staff.

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