Welcome to the Guns and Yoga Podcast.  My name is Wendy Hummell.

Cathy Bustos is a retired police Lt. who currently works with first responders as a LPC- Associate at Angels on the Horizon Foundation LLC in Texas.  She provides counseling services to first responders and veterans.  Cathy and her husband, Javier, also a retired Law Enforcement Officer, are known as “That Peer Support Couple”.  They teach, train, and support first responders and their families on the importance of peer support and family wellness.  They share their stories in hopes to help others navigate the challenges of a first responder career such as long hours, hard calls, and having to work holidays. 

I met Cathy and Javier at a conference and had the opportunity to hear them speak.  They are both committed to sharing resources and supporting first responders, veterans, and their families.  Links to their website as well as other resources mentioned will be in the show notes.

During our conversation, Cathy and I discuss a wide range of topics, but one of the reasons I invited her on the show was to discuss her transition from a career in law enforcement to becoming a mental health professional who works exclusively with veterans, FR, and their families.

She references subscribing to a “hierarchy of trauma” along with many other cops and being involved in an OIS is at the top.  During the seminar, she realized after participating in EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a psychotherapy technique designed to treat distressing memories and related symptoms, she was unable to process the memory of a fallen officer at her agency. 

She also shares the first time she became aware she had a physiological response to trauma. Within a short time frame, her husband was involved in a shooting she worked a suicide call of an officer at her agency, and her marriage was struggling. 

Cathy and I spend time discussing her views and experience as a woman in law enforcement and we both weigh in on the backlash against women in law enforcement following the assassination attempt this past summer against Donald Trump. 

For those interested, I have included some additional resources on cultural competence and working with the FR and veteran population; the FOP Vetting Guide and a link to the Responder Resilience Podcast series for Clinicians working with this population.

LINKS:

Justice Clearinghouse Course: Building a Wellness Program from the Ground Up

That Peer Support Couple

FOP Vetting Guide: Wellness Provider Vetting Guide

Responder Resilience podcast series: ResponderTV.com

Trauma Informed Leadership Article: IACP Police Chief Magazine

Angels on the Horizon

Cathy’s contact info. [email protected]