Effects of Psychological Interventions for Mental Health in Police Officers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Police officers are exposed to chronic occupational stress and traumatic events, placing them at increased risk for mental health problems. Previous meta-analyses have been limited by heterogeneous samples and methodological variability. This study evaluated the effectiveness of psychological interventions on mental health and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among police officers using randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and MEDLINE was conducted for studies published between January 2000 and September 2025. The search strategy utilized key terms including "police officers," "psychological interventions," "mental health," and "randomized controlled trials". Only RCTs involving police officers were included. Psychological interventions were compared with waitlist, usual-care, or active control conditions. General mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety, and stress) were analyzed as the primary outcome, and PTSD symptoms as a secondary outcome. Effect sizes were calculated as Hedges's g using random-effects models. Subgroup, meta-regression, sensitivity, and publication bias analyses were conducted when appropriate.

Ten RCTs comprising 637 police officers met the inclusion criteria. Psychological interventions demonstrated moderate improvements in overall mental health (Hedges's g = 0.516, 95% CI = 0.296-0.735, p < 0.001), albeit with substantial heterogeneity. Comparable effects were observed across waitlist and usual-care/active control comparisons. For PTSD symptoms, significant improvements were found only in comparisons with waitlist controls, whereas the overall pooled effect was not statistically significant. Meta-regression showed no dose-response relationship between total intervention hours and treatment effects. Sensitivity analyses confirmed result robustness. The certainty of evidence was rated as moderate for general mental health and low for PTSD symptoms, primarily due to substantial inconsistency and imprecision.

These findings suggest that structured psychological programs show potential to confer added benefits for general mental health beyond routine wellness activities, although the certainty of the evidence is moderate to low. In contrast, the evidence for PTSD symptoms remains inconclusive, with effects failing to reach robust statistical significance. This underscores that preliminary individual-level intervention may be insufficient for trauma-specific symptoms, necessitating further research into specialized, trauma-focused approaches and the role of organizational determinants in enhancing intervention efficacy.