ASAP Peer Support: Proven Mental Health Techniques
Training to help mitigate and manage the mental stress that accompanies First Responder work and help them stay mentally resilient on the front lines.
PEER SUPPORT TRAINING
ASAP trained Peer Support Officers can help their departments support responders in the immediate aftermath of a critical incident.
GROUP SUPPORT
ASAP can be used in both small and large group formats with the ability to mix multiple disciplines such as fire, police, dispatch, and EMS all at the same time.
ONE-ON-ONE
ASAP can also be administered one-on-one to peers who are struggling with a critical incident or for repeated exposure to traumatic events.
SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT
Sonny J. Provetto, LICSW, offers specialized services in trauma treatment as an international expert. Beginning his clinical career at Ground Zero after his time in law enforcement, he has extensive experience with intense traumatic events.
Sonny is a subject matter expert on PTSD and actively conducts research to find effective treatments for first responders. He has developed the Acute Stress Adaptive Protocol (ASAP), an EMDR-based approach designed to treat acute stress following critical incidents.
Sonny is also an EMDRIA-approved consultant, combining his unique background with advanced therapeutic techniques to provide tailored support for trauma survivors, especially within the first responder community.
Look behind the scenes into an early EMDR Intervention Session led by Professor Paul Miller.
Professor Paul Miller is a trauma expert who has worked closely with the VCRW to develop, test, and share the Acute Stress Adaptive Protocol.
The ASAP draws on fundamentals of early EMDR interventions, using bilateral stimulation to help participants process the memories that may subconsciously evoke PTSD symptoms.
The ASAP protocol has been specifically adapted to first responder populations and can be taught to individuals in responder agencies so that each department can have ASAP-trained paraprofessionals ready to support their peers in the immediate aftermath of timing.
Providing an early EMDR intervention, such as the ASAP, as soon as possible after trauma, can help reduce PTSD risk and build mental resilience in our responder populations.
3 Phases of the ASAP Journey
The ASAP is broken into 3 phases:
PHASE I
Phase 1 builds resources and screens for appropriateness to engage in trauma processing and provides a basic understanding of Psychoeducation. In this phase, the training focuses on two sections. The first part enhances “personal skills.” These skills include "
Understanding stress and trauma
Exposure to traumatic stress and the DSM
Neuroscience of trauma
Vulnerability; the need to intervene
Why stress and trauma is different in First Responders
The second section includes all the techniques used in working with peers who exhibit traumatic stress. These techniques include but are not limited to grounding and stabilization exercises and mindfulness techniques.
PHASE II
Phase 2 focuses on the specific aspects of the traumatic experience, allowing participants the opportunity to reprocess the event, move towards a more adaptive understanding of the experience. It focuses on working with groups of responders and teaching them the skills and techniques needed to provide the mindfulness, stabilization and grounding techniques of EMDR early interventions.
These techniques can be used in the day-to-day support work around common stressors, as well as helping stabilize and ground peers when they are feeling overwhelmed in the aftermath of a critical call.
These early interventions are the cornerstone of safety and preparation in performing the ASAP protocol.
PHASE III
Phase 3 builds learning the skills needed to facilitate the ASAP both in a group format and during one-on-one interventions. It focuses on learning the skills needed to facilitate the ASAP both in a group format and during one-on-one interventions.
In this section, members are instructed on the history of the ASAP and it’s roots originating from EMDR trauma therapy. We discuss how it has been shown to help those who are experiencing or have been exposed to traumatic stress and ways to work through their symptoms in a visual way.
We discuss the requirements needed in the process of administering the ASAP in a group format and expose participants to the theoretical foundation of EMDR to understand the impact of using eye movements and tapping (bilateral stimulation) to enhance the processing of a traumatic memory.
An important part of this training helps peers/facilitators detect if participants are ready and feel safe enough to reprocess the traumatic memory.
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