At the age of 16 Trent “Maxi” Maxwell became the youngest professional lifeguard on Bondi Beach, the busiest beach in Australia. Lifeguards on Bondi conduct up to 200 rescues in one day, also dealing with drownings, suicides, accidents, heart attacks, shark attacks and so much more. You can watch the action by searching for “Bondi Rescue” on Netflix. As a young lifeguard Maxi responded to a suicide on the neighboring beach of Bronte and he talks about the impact that incident had on him. In 2013, Maxi became an ambassador for the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, Headspace. Maxi and another Bondi Lifeguard Jesse Polluck road jet skis 1900 miles over 16 days to raise awareness for mental health and suicide. Maxi is also a firefighter with the New South Wales Fire & Rescue services. Watch the documentary they made about the trip called “The Ride East Coast” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs7hiHq3C0g&list=PL0Xa58krD0jWb5YSfCzWJk86JCwbwxB-j Maxi is the author of 3 children’s books on water and fire safety and runs a company called “Live Learn Survive. Learn more about him and  Live Learn Survive here: https://www.lifeguardmaxi.com.au/ Watch the ‘Bondi Rescue’ episode Ali & Maxi talk about on Netflix here: https://www.netflix.com/watch/81029212?trackId=14170286&tctx=2%2C0%2Cfa0f80a7-7dbb-4697-9bd7-fa9618227cc2-57411882%2C0c72e4c2-7d78-4905-a674-48fa250edaed_50534565X3XX1565187759247%2C0c72e4c2-7d78-4905-a674-48fa250edaed_ROOT You can find Maxi on Instagram at @lifeguardmaxi In Clinician’s Corner Dr. Anne Bisek talks to the Fire Chief’s out there about how their younger firefighters are processing critical calls developmentally. Learn more about product sponsor, Fire Department Coffee here: https://www.firedeptcoffee.com/

In Over a Cup’s 12th episode Ali recaps each of Dr. Anne Bisek’s Clinician’s Corner. Dr. Bisek tells us: What the first session of therapy could look like How to learn if a clinician is the right fit for you How to know if you need therapy How to incorporate family into our positive coping skills How long people usually need to go to therapy How to maintain positive coping skills when life gets busy About (EMDR) eye movement desensitization and reprocessing About grief About the 5 factor Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory As Dr. Bisek says “the longer it goes on, the less likely it is to resolve on its own.” Don't wait any longer. Help that helps is out there! Check out our product sponsor Nyad Inc at www.Nyad.com Visit www.onthejobandoff.com to learn more about the annual membership platform.

In this episode of Over a Cup, host Ali Rothrock recaps the first 10 guests. From Jason Patton to John Lightsey we will hear a snippet from each guest’s interview as they share an important part of their mental health message. To learn more about our product sponsor visit Nyad.com

In this powerful 10th episode of Over a Cup, FDNY dispatcher John Lightsey (ret.) tells us his story of dispatching the infamous September 11th attacks. John was working in the Manhattan communications center on that Tuesday morning and did not leave for the next 4 days. When he was finally released, John went to Ground Zero. Ali included much of John’s recorded dispatch audio from that morning, including audio of both towers being struck, collapsing and the ensuing chaos. While some of the audio is difficult to listen to as Ali puts it “I figure if people like Mike Dugan and John Lightsey can live this and live with it, we can certainly listen. And I don't think we can fully appreciate the prices they paid unless we hear them paying it.” This episode was created to honor and highlight the extraordinary work that emergency dispatchers do every day. Learn more about our product sponsor Nyad, Inc. by visiting their website.

In this special resource episode of Over a Cup, we have guest Sean Toomey. Sean is a Colorado firefighter who runs First Responder Sleep Recovery along with his wife Jacqueline. We received so many questions from our listeners about how to improve their sleep both at work and at home that we felt it was important to dedicate an entire episode to this topic. Sean tells us “interrupted and poor quality sleep is linked in a substantial way to cancer, to metabolic disorders, to cardiovascular disease…you can make the argument that sleep loss is the #1 cause of firefighter mortality.” Sean talks to us about how losing his friend to suicide in 2016 and feeling the personal impact of interrupted sleep lead him to dedicate his time to helping first responders sleep better. He talks to us about how to change our sleep environment, the positive benefit of dreams, how to calm pre-sleep anxiety, and the small improvements we can make at the station to improve sleep.  To learn more about First Responder Sleep Recovery visit https://www.firstrespondersleeprecovery.com/ Learn more about our product sponsor Nyad Inc. by visiting www.Nyad.com

On July 19th, 2018 a line of severe thunderstorms rolled into Branson, Missouri. Fire Chief Bruce Bjorge was on duty when a duck boat that was carrying 31 people sunk on nearby Table Rock Lake. 17 people drowned, including 9 people from the same family. He tells us about managing the scale of that incident, the mental health resources that were relied upon for the first responders and the ways this experience brought their community closer together. In Clinician’s Corner Dr. Anne Bisek talks to us about post-traumatic growth. She tells us the five facets of the Post-Traumatic Growth inventory and the ways that adverse life experiences can sometimes be a catalyst for positive growth. Learn more about our product sponsor Nyad Inc. by visiting www.Nyad.com

On October 11, 2018 Melanie Clark began to live a nightmare. She was on the phone with her husband Lt. Brad Clark when she heard the tones go for what would be his last call. While operating on the scene of an accident Brad was struck by a tractor trailer and killed. The actions he took in the seconds before the impact saved the lives of his 3 crew members. Melanie tells us about the role counseling is playing in her grief journey, the way the fire service community has rallied around her and what she is doing now to prevent other first responders from dying the way her husband did. Dr. Bisek talks about “being on call to grief,” the places grief is often the worst and the time frame we should give ourselves to be actively grieving. To learn more about Melanie’s work with the #MoveOverVA laws visit her social media.

In March of 2017 Kelly Herron was in the middle of a marathon training run. She stopped in the bathroom of Golden Gardens State Park in Seattle and was confronted by a man who'd been hiding in a stall waiting for a woman to attack. It took everything Kelly had to fight him off and lock him in the bathroom until police arrived. Over night Kelly became famous for the battlecry she'd screamed at him and for the courageous way she reacted.  Kelly talks to us about the ways the attack challenged her sobriety, how EMDR therapy helped and a recent positive encounter she had with a first responder.  In Clinican's Corner Dr. Anne Bisek explains what EMDR therapy is and how it acts as "windshield wipers for the brain."

Our guest for the 5th episode is Chris Ackley. Chris is a veteran, firefighter, paramedic, husband and father who received two Purple Hearts while serving our country. Chris tells us about getting injured and the healing process he endured both physically and mentally. Chris tells us about his transition back home and about how he found a new mission after his experiences in war. Chris asks us all the question "what do you want to be known for? Tune in next week for the return of Clinician's Corner with Dr. Anne Bisek.  If you want to donate to the bike ride fundraiser to benefit the NVFC's Share the Load hotline visit www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/marc-warrens-bike-ride-for-first-responders-mental-health-to-benefit-the-nvfc

Our guest for the 4th episode is Frank DeAngelis. Frank was the Principal of Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 and continued to serve as leader of the school for 15 years after the shooting there. Ali talks about the cultural significance of the Columbine shooting and Frank tells us what life has been like since he “joined a club no one ever wants to join.” We can all learn so much from Frank, both in the way he responded to the tragedy and in everything he has done since. In Clinician’s Corner Dr. Anne Bisek answers the question “how can I maintain positive coping skills when life gets really busy?” Dr. Bisek also introduces us to the concept of “extra favorite everything.” Ali’s research for this episode came from “They Call Me Mr. De” by Frank DeAngelis. To support the Columbine community and learn more about the victims visit www.ColumbineMemorial.org