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EdPDLaw welcomes Police Psychotherapist, Stephanie Samuels, MA, MSW, LCSW, founder of CopLine™ to the Team
Stephanie
Samuels, MA, MSW, LCSW, is a
psychotherapist that has worked exclusively with law enforcement
officers in
New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Ms. Samuels has
lectured all
over the country on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and its
devastating effects on the law enforcement community. She has
received
numerous prestigious awards, has taught for 10 years at the Monmouth
County Police Academy, lectured at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA
and authored five legislative bills in the State of New
Jersey. Ms. Samuels also authored a legislative bill in
Pennsylvania pushing to have a psychological injury
recognized as the equivalent of a physical injury.
Ms. Samuels is the creator and founder of COPLINE™, a National Law Enforcement Crisis Hotline that will be manned by retired law enforcement officers and is set to come on-line in the summer. The goal of COPLINE™ is to decrease PTSD within the country's law enforcement community which is associated with divorce, depression, alcoholism, domestic violence, and suicide.
The concept behind
COPLINE™ is simple. Only a "cop" understands and
trusts
another "cop".
We all know how frustrating it becomes to try to explain a work related situation to anyone other than another police officer. Spouses and family members have a limited ability to understand the dynamics of police work and most officers try to shield their families from the stressors of work. This leads to isolation and frustration.
COPLINE™ assures
that you
will be talking to a fellow officer who already understands the
dynamics of the situation. The officer can concentrate
directly
on the problem without having to explain the politics or inner
workings of the Department.
Because many officers have
difficulties trusting one another and fear reprisals from their
Departments, COPLINE™ allows the officer to remain anonymous
while receiving the help he needs.
FACT
- An officer's chance of taking his own life is 8 times greater than the odds of him being killed by a perpetrator.
- An officer is 3 times more
likely to take his own life than to lose his life in a traffic accident.
- Law enforcement officers have a higher divorce and substance abuse rate than the general population.
- LEO's are exposed to more trauma in a single day than the average citizen is exposed to in a life time.
- 38% - 58% of LEO's are suffering from PTSD and never seek treatment.
A FEW GOOD LEO'S
COPLINE™ is a not-for-profit organization and is seeking retired officers to volunteer to man the phones. Officers will receive 40 hours of training. COPLINE™ will come to a central location to commence training. Officers will be supplied with the telephone and computer software necessary for the job. Volunteers may donate as little or as much time as they want.
To volunteer, download this form, print and mail.
A FEW GOOD MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
COPLINE™ is
looking for mental health professionals throughout the country with
experience dealing with LEO's to add to its network. If you
know of someone that you can recommend, please download and forward
this form
to them.
For additional information contact:
Stephanie Samuels
The Counseling and Critical Incident Debriefing Center, LLC
COPLINE™
501 Iron Bridge Road # 6
Freehold, NJ 07728
(732) 577-8300 ext. 1