International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience
Open Access

Commentary

Mental Preparedness as a Pathway to Police Resilience and Optimal Functioning in the Line of Duty

Judith P. Andersen^1*, Konstantinos Papazoglou¹, Bengt B. Arnetz², Peter I. Collins^3,4

¹University of Toronto - Mississauga, Mississauga, Department of Psychology, Ontario, Canada

²Wayne State University, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Detroit, Michigan, USA

³University of Toronto, Division of Forensic Psychiatry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

⁴Complex Mental Illness Program, Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

*Corresponding Author:

E-mail: judith.andersen@utoronto.ca

The idea of fostering ‘resilience’ among police and military personnel is a topic of growing interest (Andersen et al., 2015a; Cornum, Matthews, & Seligman, 2011; Reivich, Seligman, & McBride, 2011). This topic is particularly timely in light of recent media depictions of questionable use-of-force actions by police and the subsequent public retaliations against the police