Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

This presentation will highlight activities used to create a healthy learning climate to allowmembers of a police force to discuss the impact of trauma on that service. The Durham RegionalPolice Services had the author develop training to discuss Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in thecontext of policing. This grew into the creation of an interactive educational forum devoted to:policing culture regarding how to deal with trauma; experiential learning/simulation to bringforth attitudinal issues that created barriers for seeking help for trauma; reflective techniques onsimilarities between those the police try to help who have trauma issues (e.g. caused by domesticviolence) and themselves; and developing peer support and networking opportunities. This wastied into the concept of creating mental health champions across the force as “go-to” individualsas a first step for seeking information and help. Demonstrations of some of the techniques andthe key elements that came out of the training will be shared at this presentation.From Knowledge to Real World Practice: Are Online Simulations a Source ofAuthentic Learning for Police Officers?Wendy Stanyon, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (wendy.stanyon@uoit.ca)Phillip Lillie, Durham Regional Police Services, Canada (plillie@drps.ca)Marjory Whitehouse, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Services(whitehousem@ontarioshores.ca)This presentation will highlight the findings from a research study designed to determinewhether police officers – after having completed a series of interactive, video-based simulations– are able to apply the knowledge they have gained in subsequent on-the-job interactions withmentally ill individuals within the community. This collaborative research effort between auniversity, a tertiary mental health facility and a regional police service builds on the findingsfrom a prior study undertaken by this unique partnership that examined the use of simulation toeducate police about mental illness and how to effectively interact with mentally ill persons. Theresearchers were able to conclude that simulation training is at least as effective as face-to-faceeducation; however, because the primary objective of the simulation training is long termtransfer of knowledge, further research was planned to evaluate whether police officers areapplying their acquired knowledge following the training program. This level of evaluation mayalso lead to the identification of factors that are inhibiting or conducive to knowledge transfer,which could help police services in creating environments that provide optimum conditions forthe sustained success of simulated training resources. A demonstration of the simulations willalso be included in this presentation.Moral Distress among Correctional PsychologistsMegan Fischer, Athabasca University (meganfischerpc@gmail.com)236