Re: First Ever PTSD Seminar for Tow Company Personnel - Las Vegas

[rreschran]

Hi All … I’m gearing up for this year’s American Towman Show in Las Vegas and I write to invite you to my open forum seminar on, “PTSD and Towers”, the first-time ever presented to tow company owners and their personnel. While other first responders, like fire, rescue and law enforcement have specific programs and protocol designed to face PTSD head-on, the towing and recovery industry hasn’t yet recognized that PTSD is an issue we too are faced with. You’re invited to join me Friday, 0900, May 11^th, in room, “Sonoma C”, by attending this powerful and informational seminar. Come and learn just how powerful the force of PTSD is to those involved in tow and recovery operations. Learn how to recognize or handle the oftentimes debilitating dynamics that cause PTSD. While I don’t claim to be a mental health professional, teaching this course is a way for me to deal with my own level of first-responder PTSD. When life sometimes over-loads’ you, remember this, “You eat an elephant by taking one bite at a time.” See you in Las Vegas.  

 

Randall Resch

Operations Editor 

American Towman Magazine & Tow Industry Week

Alpine, CA.

 

[goodmichael]

I applaud you for starting the dialogue on this subject. As far as what the mind can take, everyone has a different tolerance level. I have been involved in many fatal scenes. I have never had an issue, or lost any sleep due to fatalities with adult victims, but dealing with children, that was always a different story. Still, I was able to cope and function and do the job. I left towing and accepted a job as a child abuse investigator. This was a whole different animal. It really did get to me seeing children killed and permanently injured by their parents as well as the parents new significant other.  Again, everyone has a different level of tolerance to a given situation and stimulus.

I went through a rough patch for about three years. Meds did not help, they made things worse in my opinion. Talking to people did not work. People thought I was making things up, with regards to things I had seen, and what people would to other people.

 

If you are a person who really cares about your staff, if you are one of the others, the ones that cause the insurance rates to go sky high, you are probably not even reading this, please make an effort to be cognizant of what your employees have to process after a horrific event or situation. Facilitating a short debriefing after such event could possibly provide an outlet for your staff to verbalize emotions and prevent a further tragedy. This is a consuming profession. It can be all consuming.

 

And it should give you more respect as a leader, not just a manager.

[brian991219]

I had the good fortune to attend this presentation, and as I expected it was fact filled and informative. Excellent job by Randy Resch, thank you for your contributions to the industry.