Providers see an increased demand for mental health services after LA fires

Survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires who lost everything are now dealing with a heavy mental toll. And so are the first responders. 

“We all know the personal cost. Broken marriages, families torn apart, colleagues lost to suicide,” said Liz Brown, a CalFire battalion chief. Brown spoke at a press conference earlier this month where state senators announced legislation to increase CalFire’s budget.

Dr. Stephen Odom is a licensed therapist and heads First Responder Wellness. The organization contracts with local governments to provide mental health resources for public safety officers and firefighters.

The state’s massive fires are uniquely traumatic for first responders, Odom said.

“This is home for a lot of the firefighters and law enforcement officers,” he said. “Like these are the places they patrol, these are the places they protect. And overnight, it was gone.”

Mental health professionals are seeing an increased demand for therapy since the fires, but mental health isn’t always built into the public safety work culture. 

“We typically say, you know, they're the first to respond and the last to seek help. And that's not really the best approach,” Odom said.

Joy Alafia heads the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and said the increased demand for therapy needs to be met quickly.

“Timely mental health care is essential for recovery and continued professional success,” Alafia said. “With an ongoing firefighter shortage in California, we must keep our trained professionals fit for duty.”

Alafia emphasized the importance of cultural competency when it comes to providing mental health care for first responders, especially because therapy often isn’t a big part of work culture for public safety officers. Ideally, there would be more providers who come from a first responder background.

“That's equally important and I think it helps to validate the individual,” Alafia said. “They’re more seen and the conversation can advance perhaps in ways that are more relatable between both the therapist and the first responder.”

To meet the moment when mental health demand is high, mental health professionals like Alafia are hoping the state can find ways to reduce barriers to entry for their profession. 

Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers announced legislation to increase CalFire’s budget and make all firefighting positions year-round as the fire season expands to winter months. Legislators said the bill could help reduce burnout for first responders that are usually short-staffed during off-season emergencies like the fires in LA last month.

Democratic State Senator Sasha Renee Perez represents Altadena where communities were destroyed by the Eaton Fire. She said full time employment for CalFire responders will mean access to more benefits.

“That means they're going to have health care coverage throughout the entire year,” Perez said. “So, that will actually allow them to be able to utilize mental health services and to have the health care coverage that they need in order to see a therapist.”