Stress management in the Federal Bureau of Investigation: principles for program development

Images from the destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the compound in Waco, Texas, the World Trade Center in New York City, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, burned themselves into the public's consciousness as disasters viewed from a distance. Many law enforcement officers and rescue workers experienced those images firsthand. Headlines flash in newspapers, and sound bites blare on the airwaves as many law enforcement professionals suffer in silence. With increasing frequency, such major critical incidents, as well as smaller-scale events such as shootings, accidents, and personal tragedies--which all emergency response personnel encounter throughout their careers--encroach on their daily lives and may cause intense stress reactions. Managers within the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) commit to mitigating the ill effects of stressors on fellow employees. The FBI's Behavioral Science Unit and the Employee Assistance Unit work together to teach FBI employees a three-step process--how to recognize, understand, and cope with the stress in their lives. Given the alarming increase in violence, terrorism, and related crimes, there exists a myriad of organizations as well as other law enforcement agencies which could benefit from a similar formula. This paper describes how the FBI operationalizes stress management.