Dear Chiefs Podcast

In this episode, we chat with Tracy a fire wife from South Shore Massachusetts, mother of two, and full-time guidance counselor about your experience as a therapy dog trainer to her family dog, Sparkie. 

First Responders work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year answering the call to serve, help, and protect. Being on the front lines is mentally challenging. It can become overwhelming to First Responders, leading them to feel undervalued + under-supported.  First Responder Therapy Dogs lead the way in addressing mental health needs by providing emotional support to first responders with the use of therapy dogs.

Sparkie + Tracy were certified as a First Responder Therapy Dog team through First Responder Therapy Dogs, a national non-profit, in August 2021 and have done almost 200 visits since being certified.  Visits include fire departments, police departments, dispatch locations, and ems facilities.  Tracy and Sparkie were the first East Coast team to certify and the first team in Massachusetts, and have watched the group evolve and grow exponentially.

Follow Tracy + Sparkie

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barkiesparkie/

Follow First Responder Therapy Dogs

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstrespondertherapydogs/

website: https://firstrespondertherapydogs.org/

First Responders are very good at playing the role of a hero at work, but oftentimes, take on the role of an anti-hero at home. We've touched a little on infidelity in past podcasts, but today we want to dive in deeper. In this episode, we explore how and why infidelity and divorce are so prevalent in the first responder world, how it can be prevented/avoided, and the first steps in reconciliation if it happens. We are joined by Gus Stuart a Fire Chaplain in Northern Nevada.

Gus Stuart is a Fire Chaplain in the Northern Nevada area. He has been in Public Safety since 2003. He works in multiple roles throughout the Public Safety Community including Firefighter, Paramedic, Instructor, Tactical Paramedic, HazMat Technician, Technical Rescue Technician, Water Rescue Technician, and more. In the capacity of Fire Chaplain, he works with public safety members and their families to help overcome different, difficult things faced by the many who serve within the public safety community, including the families and friends of the firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, and police officers of the community. He works in Critical Incident Stress Management, and also works with personnel on building better families, repairing families after different traumas and other forms of damage, and more!

Contact Gus: [email protected]

Game Changer Speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5MMj9l2z14

Is sex too taboo to talk about on a podcast? We don't think so and we asked associate couples therapist Destiny Morris, to join us on the show to talk about sexual intimacy, how pornography can affect healthy love lives, and the high infidelity rates among first responders.

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Books + Podcasts mentioned during this episode:

Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski

Small Things Often: https://open.spotify.com/show/0e1KN182aQsnx4qk1nN3Mf?si=d42b7566d5cc40a6

Follow Destiny

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/on_being_resilient/

Website: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/destiny-morris-ventura-ca/928057

We talk about Mental Health a lot on this podcast and this episode is no exception. We sat down with Steven Hough from First H.E.L.P to chat about reducing the mental health stigma among First Responders and preventing suicide through education and advocacy. 

First H.E.L.P. reduces mental health stigma for First Responders through education, advocating for benefits for those suffering from post-traumatic stress, acknowledging the service and sacrifice of First Responders lost to suicide, assisting officers in their search for healing, and bringing awareness to suicide and mental health issues.

Steven Hough is a 20-year veteran of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. During his time with the Sheriff’s Office Steven also spent seven years assigned as a Task Force Officer for the US Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force based in Pensacola, FL. While serving a warrant with the task force Steven was shot numerous times, including once in the face. As a result of his actions, Steven was awarded the Congressional Badge of Bravery, the United States Marshal’s Purple Heart, and the Medal of Valor from Santa Rosa County.

Books Discussed In This Episode:

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

 Left Of Bang by Jason A. Riley & Patrick Van Horne

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Follow First H.E.L.P

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firsthelp.org_/

Website: https://1sthelp.org/

Follow Dear Chiefs Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearchiefspodcast/

Website: https://www.dearchiefs.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dearchiefspodcast

We talk so much about mental health on the podcast, but we rarely talk about the importance of physical health and how they go hand in hand.

Join us as we discuss being a husband to a Law Enforcement Officer, Neuro Athletics, and how to reduce perceived threats in our brains with Tony Rhine. 

Tony Rhine is incredibly passionate about helping people be the best version of themselves. He has worked in the training and rehabilitation field since 2010 and has worked with a myriad of different populations.  From experience with rehabilitation of PTSD, ADD, Autism, chronic pain, and other complex issues to training professional athletes in various sports, Tony has extensive experience in taking people from their worst physical state to their best.  Tony has worked alongside various Doctors, Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, and other Medical professionals as a primary referral to assist them with their most complex patients.

In addition to running Tony Rhine NeuroAthletic Training, He was formerly the Education Advisor for Z-Health Education, the global leader in neuro-centric education for health and fitness professionals.  He is a Master Practitioner Candidate with Z-Health and has taken over 400 hours of their coursework for continuing education in the field of applied neurology.

BOOKS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE

The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge

The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle

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FOLLOW TONY RHINE

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tony.j.rhine/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHTUlMV0ET4Ul2kILo6yOcg

website: https://www.tonyrhine.com/

FOLLOW DEAR CHIEFS

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearchiefspodcast

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dearchiefspodcast

Website: https://www.dearchiefs.com

JOIN OUR EXCLUSIVE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dearchiefspodcast

If you are a stay-at-home mom struggling with self-worth and identity, this episode may be for you! 

For this episode invited fire wife Jessica Thoma of Fit Family Fire to join us to talk about her experience as a fire wife and with fitness, but more importantly, how she was able to go from pouring only into her family and being at the mercy of her husband’s fire department to thriving as a mom and fire wife.

Jessica Thoma is a mother of three and fire wife of 10 years.

When their first daughter was born, she and her husband made the decision that she would be a stay-at-home mom and remain home to raise their children. Shortly after having their second daughter though, everything changed.

Jessica had depleted herself by pouring into her family and living at the mercy of the fire department which was unsustainable. In an attempt to find herself again, she started an at-home fitness program and it changed her life.

Not even knowing where it would lead, Jessica decided to take her passion for these programs one step further and become a coach in hopes of helping other moms.

Books Mentioned on the show:

The Five Second Rule by Mel Robbins

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Follow Jessica

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fit_family_fire/

Follow Dear Chiefs Podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearchiefspodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dearchiefspodcast

Website: http://www.dearchiefs.com

"thoughts become your results and the great thing about thoughts is that they are optional."

Do you have a healthy thought life?

Join us as we explore how thoughts affect our success and life coaching for first responders and their families with Don Pemberton of First Responder Coaching.  

Don Pemberton is a 4th generation firefighter who has 22 years of first responder experience. He started his career in the San Francisco Bay Area, but now is a firefighter/ paramedic for the Henderson Fire Department in the Las Vegas Valley.

The First Responder Coaching Company is composed of 35 coaches across the nation of current, retired, and spouses of first responders who have received extensive coach training. Coaching sessions can be purchased individually and by organizations that wish to foster a positive, proactive approach to mental health.

This year Don became a certified life coach who specializes in supporting first responders and their families to become the best they can be on the job and at home. He is passionate about the health and safety of first responders and their families.  Don’s grandfather took his life after 25 years of fire service experience, and in September of 2019, a firefighter at the Henderson Fire Department took his own life as well.

Books mentioned on the show:

The Power Of Now by Eckhart Toll

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Follow Don:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstresponderlifecoach/

website: https://1strespondercoaching.org/

You've all been asking us to spill the tea on all things fire wife life, so today, we answered your most frequently asked questions about being married to firefighters!

Follow Dear Chiefs Podcast

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/dearchiefspodcast

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dearchiefspodcast

website: https://www.dearchiefs.com/

In this episode, we sit down with Zac Titus to talk about mental health, acting, and his new movie "Two Yellow Lines".

"Two Yellow Lines" is about a former smokejumper living in the mountains of Montana, who tragically lost most of his unit in a runaway backcountry fire.

Refreshingly, this isn’t a typical Hollywood firefighting movie that showcases the heroism of the job. Instead, it showcases the real-life aspects and mental health struggles that wildland firefighters often face throughout their careers. 

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean

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Follow Zac Titus

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zactitus1

Find out more about Two Yellow Lines:  https://www.twoyellowlinesfilm.com/

In this episode, we interview Jason Patton. He is best known on social media as Fire Department Chronicles and the face of Fire Department Coffee. We’ve been following Jason on Instagram for a long time and wanted to have a genuine conversation about his work as a mental health and addiction advocate, his mission for his social media platforms, and how he’s helping move Fire Department Coffee into the future.

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Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify