Williams spent more than 20 years working in crisis and trauma from differing perspectives, both with the Orange County Sheriff deputies in peer support and victims of crime with the Community Service Programs (CSP) Victim Assistance Programs.While the connections between the two may not be apparent at first, Williams says, “When you think of crime and victimization, it’s like a ripple effect. When you throw a rock in a pond, the ripples spread and many people are affected.”While working with the sheriff’s and victims’ programs,
Williams said she was “peer pressured,” to go back to school and earn her doctorate. In 2019, she created Premier, which offers counseling, consulting, peer support, crisis response and wellness resources to criminal justice personnel and first responders.
Since Williams entered the field, shocking statistics such as the rate of suicide among police have been researched and discussed with solutions hard to come by. Between 2016 and 2022, 1,200 law enforcement and corrections officers died by suicide according to First HELP, an organization that tracks first responder suicides.Officer-involved shootings, child abuse, vehicle accidents, death or serious injury of co-workers, line-of-duty death, and gruesome homicides are just a few examples of such events, referred to as critical incidents that police are regularly exposed to.
While members of the public may be exposed to two or three critical incidents in a life, by the time a police officer retires that can easily be subjected to 200 or 300, Williams said.Williams sat with Joe Vargas, a retired Anaheim Police Captain and columnist, content editor with Behind the Badge, to talk about trauma, PTSD, and mental issues responders face, the realities and myths, and strategies to handle and treat them.
For more information about Premeir 1st Responders click on the link.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.