About Heal the Badge
Our Origins
A newly promoted patrol sergeant, I responded with my squad members to address a possible child neglect case. Unfortunately, such a call for service has been common throughout my law enforcement career spanning two states. Further, my assignment prior to promotion was as a Special Victim’s Unit (SVU) detective. I was accustomed to investigating such incidents as a component of my previous assignment.
I had conducted extensive forensic interviews with numerous children, teenagers and adults, who had been the unfortunate victims of unthinkable physical and sexual abuse. Thus, as I arrived on scene several minutes after the initial officers had begun their investigation, I did not anticipate an emotional reaction, such as I witnessed and experienced, as I collaborated with my fellow officers.
I was not prepared for the explicit display of visible emotional trauma I perceived upon the faces of veteran police officers. These officers had spent years working in the trenches, running into danger, shouldering the burdens of others, and otherwise meeting people in their traumatic moments. Yet, there was something about this call for service that penetrated the fortified exterior shell of two veteran police officers. I had known these officers for several years and had never witnessed such an emotional display.
Our Mission
Heal the Badge Consulting is dedicated to all who choose to share the burdens of others and lift them out of dire circumstances. Although specifically designed to enrich the lives of law enforcement professionals and their families, the principles, values, ideas, themes and suggestions contained in our training materials are disseminated with the intention of enhancing the lives of all who choose to engage with us. It is our aim to assist you in magnifying joy and fulfillment within your journey through a productive law enforcement career, while simultaneously succeeding in home and family life, ultimately thriving well beyond retirement. This goal is most likely to be accomplished, as law enforcement professionals successfully overcome emotional obstacles preventing personal progression, realize their unique intended purposes on this earth and ultimately experience the joy of sustained progressive levels of achievement within, outside and beyond the law enforcement career. Please review our training outline located under the training tab. If you are interested in scheduling a training course for your organization, please contact us by emailing Josh@healthebadge.com.
Our Approach
We assert no claims of grandeur. In our pursuit of knowledge and understanding in this realm, we have found reoccurring themes communicated by numerous scholars, as well as law enforcement and leadership professionals. The wisdom of these truths provide peace, understanding and purpose to our lives. It is our intention to add our unique perspective to the realms of emotional resilience and emotional mastery, asserting the belief that originality can yet be integrated into these topics, as we assist law enforcement professionals, including leaders and their families, overcome obstacles inhibiting success. This project has been constructed with the intention of synthesizing existing scholarly and professional material with our own analysis, including personal and professional insights. Equally important, the common themes, insights, inspiration, and hope derived as result of interaction with law enforcement and military veterans, connects clinical scholarly research with the humanity in all of us.
Our Motivation
Motivation drives our behavior. This venture is inspired by love. No other phenomenon could provide the pure intentions necessary to create a truly authentic work, capable of communicating the urgency we feel to lift you, our brothers and sisters, in the noble work unique to your life missions. After years of professional and personal experience, synthesized with academic study and much pondering, we remain convinced that the origins of all good deeds in the world can be traced to human compassion. Although the cynical among us may not comfortably discuss the love motivating their dedication, we cannot deny it. We assert the love we feel fuels our willingness as law enforcement professionals to sacrifice personal safety and endure emotional burdens, in the hope our efforts will lend meaningful assistance to our fellow men. In turn, this outward facing focus provides meaning, nourishes the soul and delivers fulfillment.
However, while immersed in the noble quest to rescue our neighbors, we have sometimes neglected each other. This endeavor constitutes our attempt to invite our brothers and sisters to consider their own emotional, physical and spiritual well-being, and resolve to fortify it, because even courageous law enforcement professionals require rejuvenation. We invite you to join us in our mission to support, educate, and ultimately heal the brave men, women and families of our law enforcement community.