Blau went through the police academy nine years ago and is now one of about 50 psychologists in the country who is also a police officer. Working with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office in Bradenton, Florida, Blau has instituted a peer counseling program and offers his services free of charge to other officers.
Stress is based on unusual experience.
Police are not used to sharing their feelings, so the psychologist has to be sensitive to the police job. But once police decide to deal with it, they get down to business quickly. Six to eight sessions, that's it. After a critical incident we see them briefly once a day for about a week. During those times we focus on the incident, we focus on what connections it has to the officer's experience.