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The first voice on a 911 call carries a lot more than a headset. In this candid, unfiltered conversation with veteran dispatcher and recovery coach Lisa Trusas, we pull back the curtain on what really happens at the console: juggling multiple emergencies at once, coaching panicked parents through CPR, catching danger in a whisper, and making judgment calls with lives on the line. Lisa’s story reframes dispatch as the heart of public safety—where police, fire, and EMS meet—and where the weight of uncertainty often lingers after the line goes dead.

We dig into the human cost of the work and the culture that shapes it. Lisa lays out the “double stigma” dispatchers face—expected to be as tough as sworn personnel while being dismissed as civilians when they seek help. We compare how fire and police approach debriefs and mental health, why dispatchers are too often left out of critical incident reviews, and how Massachusetts’ mandatory behavioral health training is a step forward. Along the way, we discuss the “300-call syndrome,” the risk of missing red flags after too many routine hang-ups, and the practical skills that matter most: active listening, reading background noise, trusting instincts, and knowing when to insist on a second unit.

This conversation also honors the rare moments of closure that keep people going—the infant saved over the phone who grows up and stays in touch—and the quieter calls that reveal unmet needs, like elders who call because they’re lonely. If you care about first responder mental health, emergency communications, crisis intervention, and trauma-informed practice, this is a grounded, real-world look at where help truly begins: the first call. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to support more honest conversations about the people who hold the line before anyone arrives.

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Change that lasts doesn’t come from a one-time high or another sleepless night patched by a pill. It comes from disciplined, daily work that your brain can actually keep—paired with leadership that people trust when it matters most. Steve sits down with Marine veteran and CEO Tony Crescenzo to unpack how audio-driven brain signals can turn short-term “state” shifts into month-later “trait” changes, especially for first responders who need real restorative sleep, calmer stress responses, and sharp, on-demand focus.

Tony explains why many sleep aids trade consciousness for quality, and how targeted signals—played on speakers, no headphones required—help nudge your brain into restorative rhythms you can retain. We talk timing and caution with upregulation tools, creative research that mimics ketamine-like EEG states without the drug, and why a practical 28 to 31 day window is fast when you’re aiming for durable change. Therapy isn’t sidelined; it’s strengthened. Cultural competence, honest fit, and doing the work between sessions matter as much as any technology.

Then we move from personal resilience to organizational resilience. Tony draws from the Marine Corps to break down four levels of leadership, from positional authority to field effect, where mission, vision, values, and culture guide action even when you’re not in the room. He favors bad news because it’s actionable, builds systems that surface hard questions, and sets expectations so clearly that people don’t have to guess. Management keeps metrics on track; leadership gives the plan meaning and keeps teams aligned under pressure.

If you’re a first responder, veteran, or leader trying to build a healthier, higher-performing team, this conversation offers tools you can use today and habits you can keep for the long haul. Subscribe, share this episode with a teammate who needs better sleep or better leadership, and leave a review to help others find the show.

How to reach Jonathan:

1) https://www.IntelligentWaves.com
2) https://www.PeakNeuro.com
3) https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonycrescenzo/

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Ever wish you could quiet the story in your head without having to relive it? We sit down with Marine veteran and defense-tech CEO Tony Crescenzo to explore a practical, science-backed way to downshift the nervous system using neuroacoustic entrainment. Tony opens up about the years he spent running hot—rage, hypervigilance, and fractured sleep—and how a targeted audio protocol shifted his sleep from barely restorative to deeply replenishing. The conversation gets real about why so many first responders and veterans avoid talk therapy, and how culturally aware approaches can make all the difference.

We break down the sleep architecture behind feeling human again. Slow wave sleep restores the body; REM sleep stabilizes emotion and consolidates memory. Tony shares research showing meaningful gains in both, along with a 9% boost in threat recognition—vital for police, fire, EMS, dispatchers, and military communities where seconds matter. You’ll hear how suppressing the prefrontal “rumination engine” while opening the anterior cingulate, parietal, and occipital regions enables somatic processing: the body digests stress so the mind can stand down.

Then we zoom out to cognitive resilience—the brain’s ability to adapt quickly under pressure. Using EEG-guided and AI-personalized protocols, entrainment builds coherence front-to-back and left-to-right, easing brain fog and improving metabolic efficiency. The result is a steadier baseline, faster recovery after spikes, and sleep that actually repairs. If you’ve been stuck between white-knuckle coping and sterile clinical answers, this is a credible path you can start at home, including free app tracks for power naps, rumination relief, and sleep support.

How to reach Jonathan:
1) https://www.IntelligentWaves.com
2) https://www.PeakNeuro.com
3) https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonycrescenzo/

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The hardest part isn’t the call. It’s what your body and mind carry after the sirens fade. We go straight at the myth that strength means silence, and trade it for a practical blueprint to complete the stress cycle, name emotions without fancy language, and rebuild trust through honest conversation.

Stephanie Simpson continues to share simple, fast tools first responders can use to process stress on and off scene. We break down why compartmentalizing is necessary in the moment but corrosive if it becomes a lifestyle, and how two-minute rituals—like shaking out the limbs, breath-led resets, or a quick run—help your nervous system return to baseline. When words are hard, we turn to creativity: playlists that mirror your mood, drawing the shape and color of tension, and short journaling bursts that expand emotional vocabulary over time. These practices aren’t woo; they are physiology and practicality for police, fire, EMS, dispatch, and anyone supporting them.

We also dig into the social side of resilience. Isolation plus workouts can numb; venting without boundaries can spiral. The solution is blending self-soothing with smart connection: candid debriefs, dark humor in safe rooms, and mentors who normalize not knowing. Stephanie explains how coaching pairs with therapy to create forward action, using energy leadership to help you lead your life with intention. For leaders and rookies alike, vulnerability becomes a performance advantage—fewer avoidable errors, tighter teams, and a lighter hidden load.

If you’re ready to replace “I’m fine” with tools that actually work, hit play. Then share this with your crew, subscribe for more conversations like this, and leave a review to help other first responders find these resources. Got a post-shift ritual that helps you reset? Tell us—we want to hear what works on your line.

You can reach Stephanie the following ways: 

Website - www.stephanie-simpson.com   
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniesimpsoncoaching/  
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/stephaniesimpsoncoaching/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/StephanieSimpsonCoaching

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What if the hardest grief in your life isn’t about death, but about change—leaving a team, dropping a title, or stepping away from a community that once defined you? That’s where our conversation with coach and educator Stephanie Simpson begins, and it’s where many first responders secretly live: in the space between who we were and who we’re becoming.

Stephanie shares how her evolution from dancer and teacher to professional coach reshaped her understanding of loss. We dig into why “moving on” often backfires and how “moving forward” honors what mattered while making room for growth. Instead of chasing reasons or culprits, we explore a different order of operations: feel first, then learn. Stephanie offers embodied practices—locating sensations, sculpting feelings, and observing them—to shift from intellectualizing to processing. The result isn’t soft; it’s strategic. Emotions become data you can use under pressure.

We also reframe stress for police, fire, EMS, and dispatch. Stress isn’t the enemy; unmanaged stress is. Stephanie, who teaches stress science to future first responders, explains how too much strain overwhelms and too little erodes purpose, and why internal stressors—perfectionism, shame, the inner critic—often do more damage than any single call. From Inside Out’s portrayal of panic to practical reset routines, we map how to notice, name, and navigate emotions without losing your edge, at work or at home.

If you’ve felt the ache of leaving a role, the pull to find someone to blame, or the pressure to “just get over it,” this conversation offers a more honest path. Subscribe, share this episode with a teammate who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway so we can keep bringing you tools that actually help.

You can reach Stephanie the following ways: 

Website - www.stephanie-simpson.com   
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniesimpsoncoaching/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/stephaniesimpsoncoaching/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/StephanieSimpsonCoaching

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Some conversations ask you to sit up a little straighter. This one asks you to relax your shoulders, tell the truth, and feel what you’ve been carrying. We dive into the messy overlap of trauma and grief in first responder and military cultures, where silence is rewarded and honesty is too often punished, and we share a different path built on authenticity, peer support, and practical skills.

Blythe Landry joins us to map the line between privacy and secrecy, and why crossing it keeps people sick. We talk about ethical self-disclosure—when a helper shares only to serve the client—and how human presence beats formal scripts and stiff suits for building trust. You’ll hear why fit-for-duty vibes can re-trigger rank-based fear, why plain language matters, and how showing up as a person first invites others to do the same. We also confront the system costs of looking away: moved abusers, muted reports, moral injury, and the downstream mix of suicide risk, substance use, gambling, overwork, and other behavioral addictions that masquerade as coping.

Grief work sits at the center. Acute grief isn’t a two-week arc; it softens when people gain tools, witness, and meaning. We break down how trauma shapes worldview and therefore grief, and why evidence-based skills plus an honest community can turn pain into purpose without sugarcoating the loss. Blythe shares a trauma-informed grief coaching track designed for grievers and peer supporters—exactly the kind of culture-fit training that spreads healing inside agencies that need it most.

If you serve, love someone who serves, or lead a team where the unspoken rule is “suck it up,” this conversation offers a better rule: say what’s true, get support, and refuse secrecy. Subscribe, share this with a teammate, and leave a review with one insight you’ll bring back to your crew. Your words might be the reason someone reaches out.

Reach Blythe through her website at https://www.blythelandry.com/

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The hardest conversations often happen in the quiet minutes between calls. We sat down with clinician and co-response partner Amanda Rizoli to explore how real support for first responders is built—on language, trust, and the discipline to show up when services are thin and the need is loud. Amanda works alongside the Milford Police Department’s Family Services Unit and partners with Community Impact, Chris’s Corner Recovery Resource Center, and New England Medical Group to create a wraparound model that meets people where they are.

We talk through the realities of police and EMS life: constant hypervigilance, the pull toward numbing after shift, and the challenge of switching from fight-or-flight to family dinner. Amanda breaks down how she approaches alcohol as a coping strategy without judgment, how she teaches practical skills like structured decompression and tactical breathing, and why brief, timely check-ins during ride-alongs can open doors that a formal office visit can’t. She also shares how a therapy canine lowers defenses on scene, and how clinicians earn credibility by respecting patrol’s turf and knowing when to step back.

Culture and language shape access. As a trilingual clinician, Amanda navigates the nuances of Portuguese and Spanish dialects across Portugal, Brazil, and Latin America, where stigma can be high and immigration status complicates care. We dig into the shift among younger parents willing to break cycles of silence, and how targeted outreach, transparent pathways, and confidentiality build trust. Families matter here: spouses can act as early warning systems, keeping communication open and knowing when work stress is spilling into home. Periodic joint sessions help couples tune the signal without turning the house into a clinic.

If you care about officer wellness, community trust, and practical ways to prevent burnout, this conversation delivers a grounded playbook: co-response done right, multilingual services, stepped care from outpatient to IOP, and the small, repeatable habits that actually make a difference after shift. Subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more first responders and families find these tools.

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In this continued collaboration with Milford TV, we explore how burnout rarely makes a scene—it slips in as irritability, isolation, and the quiet urge to shut out the world. This episode is the conclusion of episode 225 and we open the door on how those whispers grow louder inside the fire service and EMS, why “just call this number” isn’t care, and what it really takes to protect crews before a bad day becomes a disaster. Our guest, Renea Mansfield, shares honest, lived experience—from losing interest in the kitchen table banter to wrestling with passive suicidal thoughts in the height of COVID—and we walk through the small, specific signals leaders and peers need to catch early.

From there, we shift into solutions that actually fit the job. We break down the Frontline Resilience Protocol, a three-pillar framework designed for police and fire: tactical performance tailored to real-world demands, culturally competent mental health support with warm handoffs and follow-up, and leadership development that turns communication into a daily practice. Think job-specific strength and mobility, nervous system regulation you can use in the rig or the hallway, and nutrition choices that work at 2 a.m. Equally important, we get into the human factors—dark humor, stigma, and how trust is built or broken when a captain shrugs off a plea for help.

The throughline is simple: follow-up saves lives. When someone finally says “I’m not okay,” the next step must be personal, fast, and predictable. Leaders need scripts and skills, peers need permission to check back in, and departments benefit from trained outsiders who know the culture and aren’t tangled in station politics. If you’re a chief, union rep, or frontline responder, you’ll walk away with practical steps to spot burnout early, respond with care, and build a system that doesn’t quit when the shift ends.

Her website is waywardwellnesscoaching.org 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waywardwellnesscoaching/ 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/people/Wayward-Wellness-Coaching/61566792351111/  

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

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Burnout doesn’t just come from the calls—it grows in the silence after, inside a culture that either catches you or drops you. We sit down with Renae, a former firefighter-paramedic who now coaches first responders on burnout recovery and nervous system regulation, to unpack how leadership betrayal, union politics, and the loss of seasoned mentors quietly shape morale, retention, and the quality of care on scene.

Renae walks us through two starkly different departments: one with strong traditions, shared meals, and senior firefighters who taught without needing stripes; another that pushed out elders, fast-tracked promotions, and sold “progress” through spoken promises that never made it to paper. The result? Rapid rank with thin experience, confused standards, and burnout that looks like apathy but feels like betrayal. Along the way, we explore why it’s easier to part ways in anger than on good terms, how that psychology plays out in unions and leadership, and what happens when EMS integration shifts priorities without protecting mentorship.

This conversation is practical at its core. We outline how to rebuild a real firehouse: formalize mentorship roles for elders, protect shared rituals that transmit norms, and require written commitments instead of handshakes. We dig into nervous system skills—breathing, grounding, pacing, boundaries—and explain why they only stick inside supportive systems. If you care about first responder wellness, leadership development, and building resilient teams that last, these lessons are for you.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with your crew, and leave a review so more first responders can find it. And make sure to be back for part 2 in the next episode.

You can reach Renae on several platforms to discuss this episode and her program. 

Her website is waywardwellnesscoaching.org 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waywardwellnesscoaching/ 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/people/Wayward-Wellness-Coaching/61566792351111/  

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

And if you’re struggling right now, reach out for professional support—and remember, 988 is available for crisis help in the U.S. and Canada.

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How do we treat our physical health versus our mental health? Former London Metropolitan Police officer Jonathan Kemp spent 12 years in law enforcement while battling undiagnosed bipolar disorder, depression, and dyslexia—yet refused to seek professional help until his late 30s.

"I was determined to fix myself on my own," Kemp reveals in this powerful conversation. "I saw it as an insult to go and see a doctor. It was a weakness or admission of defeat." This mindset, particularly prevalent among first responders and those in high-pressure careers, kept him struggling silently for decades before finally seeking the treatment that transformed his life.

Kemp articulates the profound disconnect in how we approach different aspects of our wellbeing: "If you had a chronic knee problem, you'd go and see a knee specialist. It defies logic that we're happy to see a professional for the rest of our body, but when it comes to the brain, we have this almost inbuilt default that you should figure it out yourself." This insight cuts to the heart of why many resist mental health support despite overwhelming suffering.

The conversation explores how structured environments like policing can sometimes mask mental health challenges, while shift work can exacerbate them by disrupting sleep patterns—what Kemp identifies as his "#1 foundation" for mental health stability. He shares practical advice for supporting struggling colleagues and navigating recovery resources when confidentiality concerns arise, especially in professions where stigma remains powerful.

Now an advocate and author, Kemp discusses his upcoming book "Finding Peace of Mind" (releasing on World Mental Health Day) and his ambitious seven-month awareness walk across the British Isles beginning January 2026. Through both initiatives, he's transforming his decades of struggle into resources that might help others find support sooner.

Visit Jonathan at the following links: 

https://www.viscountrochdale.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jonathankemplondon
https://www.instagram.com/Jonathankemplondon
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathankemplondon

You can order his book at Amazon: www.amazon.com/jonathankemp

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