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Source: ONE News
Police officers are increasingly seeking counselling after traumatic events, with Christchurch's February 22 earthquake contributing to a near doubling of referrals in the past year.
Figures released under the Official Information Act showed a spike in referrals for trauma, from 567 in 2010 to 983 last year.
February's earthquake, which killed 182 people, was believed to be the main cause of the sharp rise as police officers from across the country responded to the disaster.
Canterbury district commander Superintendent Gary Knowles, who started his new job last month, sent 40 officers to help with the quake recovery, when he was Tasman district boss.
His team helped pull bodies from the Canterbury TV building, where 115 people perished.
''When they came back and you sat them down and asked 'what was it like for you?' You could see it in their faces,'' Knowles said.
''Some of them would say, 'boss with all due respect unless you are down there, you see it, you smell it, you breath it, you can't understand it'.''
That was when he decided his team could do with some counselling.
Knowles said the latest referral figure showed a change in police culture, with more officers seeking help.
''I see it as extremely positive and encouraging that those numbers have gone up,'' he said.
''A lot of things that happen in your life as a police officer can be horrific. Sometimes you can be exposed to the worst of human life,'' he said.
''I think traditionally, people would have suffered on and deteriorated. It takes real courage these days to step out and say, 'look I'm just not coping. I need help'.''
Police's trauma policy offers counselling to officers for up to three sessions, each costing an average of $130 per hour, though a clinical psychologist could request an extension if needed.
National manager of wellness and safety, Stu Duncan, said police staff involved in the earthquake were offered the service as a precautionary measure.
He said the 2011 referral figure also included traumatic experiences such as car crashes and a ''number of incidents involving children''.
Already this year, staff involved in last month's Carterton balloon crash investigation in the Wairarapa have had trauma counselling.
''How people react to those incidents will be on an individual basis, depending on their personalities,'' Duncan said.
''They are always going to be part of who you are and you can't delete them, but we want to reduce the negative impact they can have.''
Officers needing counselling for non-work personal issues have access to the Employee Assistance Programme.
That has seen an annual increase since referrals were first recorded in 2009 - 592 in the first year, 1042 in 2010 and 1158 last year.
Staff also had access to a welfare officer who worked for police to help with any work-related or personal problems.
With 300 Canterbury staff members directly affected by the quake, a second welfare officer was hired in the district, Knowles said.
''You can still see people are suffering, you can tell people are hurting,'' he said.
''And it's not solely the work environment, it's going home to a house that is broken and damaged, it's going home to kids that are stressed,'' he said.
Knowles, who ran the mine rescue operation after the Pike River disaster on the West Coast in November 2010, said he too had sought counselling during his 35 years in the force.
He didn't seek help following the mine disaster that killed 29 men because it was a ''different environment''.
''But I can look back at times of my life where I have been involved in a police shooting.''
Knowles said there was ''nothing to be afraid or ashamed of''.
''When I joined the job in 1977, if you had a traumatic event in your life, you were told to harden up and get on with it.
''Well that's not appropriate anymore, it never was,'' he said.
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