When The Call Hits Home

Hosts:

Dr. Ashlee Gethner, LCSW – Child of a Police Officer

Jennifer Woosley Saylor, LPCC S – Child of a Police Officer

Guests:

AJ DeAndrea - Retired Police Officer

Madalena DeAndrea - Senior Manager of Strategic Projects, Recovery, and Resiliency for Jeffco Public Schools, Child of a Police OfficerEpisode Overview

In this powerful episode, hosts Ashlee and Jennifer welcome father-daughter duo AJ DeAndrea and Madalena DeAndrea fo...

Hosts:

Dr. Ashlee Gethner, LCSW – Child of a Police Officer

Jennifer Woosley Saylor, LPCC S – Child of a Police Officer

Episode Overview

It's the kickoff to 2026 for "When The Call Hits Home"! Jennifer and Ashlee reunite after the holidays each with a few survival stories to share about sick kids, hospital visits, and football games. This episode takes a deep dive into mental health in the world of first r...

Jennifer [00:00:00]:
There is so much pressure on us to get so much done and so many more demands. And sometimes it's just saying no. That ability to say, like, hey, I can't go to the 12 Christmas parties. Welcome back to the podcast.

Ashlee [00:00:16]:
This is Jennifer and I'm Ashlee. It's us again.

Jennifer [00:00:19]:
It is us again.

Jennifer [00:00:21]:
Holiday season.

Jennifer [00:00:23]:
It is. It's a ...

Jennifer [00:00:00]:
First responders will say, I was just in the parking lot at Walmart and I needed to go in and I'm having this large physical reaction. That's because that amygdala talk about not being online, that amygdala has this kind of memory and this connection immediately with their body. And so EMDR does this great job and I say speaking amane, speaking to our amygdala through, through our physical body. You kno...

Jennifer [00:00:00]:
The purpose of gratitude is to help that other part of this, which is literally our mindset. Right. Our cognitive distortions and. And trying to change those to feel better.

Jennifer [00:00:10]:
Yeah, And I agree with that. And I think, you know, I do want to hold space. When you are seeing humanity at its worst or responding to a horrible accident or just seeing those things, it is going to leave an impressio...

Ashlee [00:00:00]:
Law enforcement is huge on this podcast, but we're trying to hit everyone. And here you are saying, like, this was my life as a dispatcher and I do think there is a disconnect sometimes. And I think that's something that I have learned from working in this field. I do think dispatchers don't get recognized enough for these incidences, for the stuff that they hear, that they go through. And look at thi...

Mike Mudd [00:00:00]:
When we would have a critical incident, I didn't have any mechanisms. I wanted to help people. I'd bring them in and talk with them, but that's all we really had. It was get them back out on the street, get them back on the next run. But that wasn't the best thing. You know, a lot of stuff stuck with people. A lot of people leave the field or really become just bitter, angry people. And I'm...

Kristin Greathouse [00:00:00]:
Things that I see a lot is that they apologize for their feelings and that they don't take care of themselves. And so I always hope that I get that across when I'm meeting with any of them, that they are important and they are special and they are valued. And, you know, I hope as. As we work together that they feel that and they start to believe that themselves. Sometimes you need somebody to ...

Ashlee [00:00:00]:
I do know a lot of first responders who struggle with substances and maybe they do get put in a situation where their job is on the line or they have lost their job and then they feel their identity is now completely gone. And I feel like her story of just like resilience and getting help, honestly. Right. Being so vulnerable to open up and get the help. She got all that back. And that's hope that I think som...

Marian Crossgroves [00:00:00]:
Alcohol was my solution and I didn't use it all the time. And the opportunity wasn't there until later in life. But I knew how that made me feel. You know, that was my go to when things got bad. It was because I didn't feel comfortable in my own skin. There's two ways my life could have gone. I could have gone on to feel uncomfortable in every living situation and not been a productive...

Jennifer [00:00:00]:
Hi, welcome back to the podcast. I'm Jennifer.

Ashlee [00:00:03]:
And I'm Ashlee.

Jennifer [00:00:04]:
And I get to introduce our guest today. And as always, we have a special guest. And I was reflecting. I'm like, I actually think I've known this guest since I've been born and I'm not related to them. So it's the first time for that. But we have Dr. Charles Baker with us today and...

Ashlee [00:00:00]:
I think that there's the pros and cons. I think that there's a family system and family dynamic that happens with first responders. That instilling resiliency, which we've talked greatly about within your kids. Right. Like, is what continues to even in the midst of sometimes chaos. Because every family has the right to chaos.

Jennifer [00:00:18]:
Right.

Ashlee [00:00:18]:
Instilling that resiliency ...

Gary Jarboe [00:00:00]:
That's why I keep coming back. This is my 10th time to come back as a P. Well, and I.

Jennifer [00:00:04]:
Think that, Gary, I hope you hear this. In all sincerity, that's why we wanted to ask you these questions for the podcast, because I think it's like, it's such a gift that you give here. And I'm like, I know other people want to hear that in terms of your experience and sharing it.

Ashlee [00:00:00]:
What unique financial challenges do first responders face compared to general public sometimes? Or is there a reason why we see it so much in our office?

Jennifer [00:00:09]:
Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Jennifer.

Ashlee [00:00:12]:
And I'm Ashlee.

Jennifer [00:00:14]:
And it's my turn to say we have a super special guest today. I am so excited about our guest, Brian Box, who I got to meet an a...

Justin Miller [00:00:00]:
Can I get the current number for eap? I have an employee here who might need some services. Their response was, yeah, we don't have EAP anymore due to budget cuts. And I'm like, okay, well, so at that point, in this agency, we didn't have a peer support team. And it was just. There was nothing. There was no. I had nothing to do for that employee. And I kind of felt like a loss other than what I...

Jim Woosley [00:00:00]:
As I was sitting down to relax and enjoy the coffee and the paper, a run comes up over the radio about a shooting at six and Broadway.

Jennifer [00:00:09]:
Welcome back to when the Call Hits Home. This is Jennifer and I'm excited again to meet with my number one hero here, my dad. We enjoyed talking our last episode and so I just wanted to continue and talk some more. So you want to introduce yourself a...

Jennifer [00:00:05]:
Hi. I'm Jennifer Woosley Saylor. I'm a licensed professional clinical counselor and the kid of a cop. And this is the podcast when the call hits home.

Ashlee [00:00:14]:
Hey, everyone. It's Ashlee Gethner. I'm a licensed clinical social worker, and I'm also a child of a police officer.

Jennifer [00:00:21]:
Hi. Welcome back to the pod. I'm Jennifer.

Ashlee [00:00:24]:
And I'm Ashle...

Jennifer [00:00:05]:
Hi. I'm Jennifer Woosley Saylor. I'm a licensed professional clinical counselor and the kid of a cop. And this is the podcast when the call hits home.

Ashlee [00:00:14]:
Hey, everyone. It's Ashlee Gethner. I'm a licensed clinical social worker, and I'm also a child of a police officer.

Jennifer [00:00:21]:
Welcome back to when the call hits home. I'm Jennifer.

Ashlee [00:00:24]:
And I...

Jennifer [00:00:06]:
Hi. I'm Jennifer Woosley Saylor. I'm a licensed professional clinical counselor and the kid of a cop, and this is the podcast when the call hits home.

Ashlee [00:00:14]:
Hey, everyone. It's Ashlee Gethner. I'm a licensed clinical social worker, and I'm also a child of a police officer.

Ashlee [00:00:22]:
Hi. Welcome back to the pod. I'm Jennifer.

Ashlee [00:00:25]:
And I'm Ashlee....