Welcome to the City of Plantation Podcast. In this episode, Dr. J and I are joined by Dr. Vincent Van Hasselt. Dr. Van Hasselt is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the First Responder Research and Training Program at Nova Southeastern University. He is also a Reserve Police Officer with the City of Plantation Police Department, where he is Training Coordinator of the Crisis Response Team and Clinical Director of the Critical Incident Stress Management Team. In this episode, we discuss the psychological effects of the Coronavirus response and methods that can be utilized to overcome the various challenges, many of us are experiencing due to it. This Podcast is aimed at keeping the residents of Plantation informed regarding how the City and its various Departments are responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Please subscribe to this podcast, as we will be producing new episodes on a regular basis.
Guest: Dr. Vincent Van Hasselt
Hosts: Deputy Chief Joel Gordon / Division Chief Ezra Lubow
Produced by: Ezra Lubow
Music: Oakwood Station - Summer Breeze Memories
Cover Art: The City of Plantation
Welcome to the City of Plantation Podcast. In this episode, Dr. J and I are joined by Dr. Vincent Van Hasselt. Dr. Van Hasselt is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the First Responder Research and Training Program at Nova Southeastern University. He is also a Reserve Police Officer with the City of Plantation Police Department, where he is Training Coordinator of the Crisis Response Team and Clinical Director of the Critical Incident Stress Management Team. In this episode, we discuss the psychological effects of the Coronavirus response and methods that can be utilized to overcome the various challenges, many of us are experiencing due to it. This Podcast is aimed at keeping the residents of Plantation informed regarding how the City and its various Departments are responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Please subscribe to this podcast, as we will be producing new episodes on a regular basis.
Guest: Dr. Vincent Van Hasselt
Hosts: Deputy Chief Joel Gordon / Division Chief Ezra Lubow
Produced by: Ezra Lubow
Music: Oakwood Station - Summer Breeze Memories
Cover Art: The City of Plantation
Hello plantation. Welcome to the city of plantations podcast. I'm dr Jay formerly with plantation information radio. Thank you for tuning in. We hope the information provided within the episodes of this podcast helped keep you your family and your friends safe. During this pandemic. We're joined today by Dr. Vincent van Hassell, a professor of psychology at Nova Southeastern university. Dr van hassled has done a great deal of work with critical incident stress management as it relates to first responders. This is obviously an issue that's near and dear to his heart as he's also a reserved police officer here in plantation. Dr van Hassell. Thank you so much for joining us today by phone. I can only imagine how busy you must be during this time.
Speaker 2:Well, it is a busy time. See if I wanted to thank you first of all for all the work that you're doing and all the first responders everywhere, uh, for keeping our community safe. So it's an honor to be here with you today.
Speaker 1:So when we first began talking with dr van Hassell, we proposed a few topics which we thought might be good for him to address. He then came back to us with a few different thoughts, which were way better than anything we put together. And the first of these was the concept of resilience. So dr van Hassell, can you explain what you mean by resilience and how it applies under the current circumstances?
Speaker 2:Sure. Um, well essentially refers to sort of that psychological quality that allows those pay of, you know, getting impacted by significant life adversities. But we're able to come back and, uh, often come back at least as strong as we were before. Uh, this kind of is kind of, it comes from the field of positive psychology. You know, and historically psychology has focused on deficits, problems and diagnoses. Uh, in positive psychology, there's an emphasis on what are the positives that people have that we can build on. Uh, and resilience is one of those important concepts. And again, it's talking about, you know, rather than letting problems, chromatic events or failures overcome one oneself, uh, you know, the resilient person finds a way to deal with them. Uh, let's pass them and moves on towards their goals.
Speaker 3:Excellent. You mentioned goals in times, like these goal setting seems a bit bizarre. Why is goal setting important and what's the best way people can do it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well this would be, you know, under that category of resilience building strategies in setting, first of all, having a schedule, setting some structure, having some goals to work toward and using that schedule is structured or like you get to them, keeps you busy, but it also keeps your focus, uh, as well as, you know, maintains an activity level that's important for you and to be able to prove that you can get some things done even under some very trying circumstances like we're facing now. Um, so structure, schedule, uh, goals, they're all sort of interwoven. Uh, but very important, you know, especially under stressful circumstances.
Speaker 3:Seems like that would be applicable, especially now that so many families are homeschooling and children at home. Do you, you see that the same way?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, especially in terms of the concept of resilience, um, we know that resilient parents have resilient children and um, you know, in a sense they serve as buffers. Now when you have a safe, stable, nurturing environment, when you know you have supportive family, supportive relationships, um, things go much better for everybody and the children, it's in progress as well. So in a sense that parents serve as role models of resilience and that this helps the family system, you know, keep on a positive note and do reasonably well actually under tough circumstances like that.
Speaker 3:So if I consider myself resilient, what are some of the characteristics I should look for in myself or maybe in others?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a great question because there's several that have been identified, uh, between research and just, you know, I'm working clinically with people over the years. I'll go through a few of them with you and check out, let's see what we can do with the list here. First of all, resilient people tend to be more optimistic. All right? They're not getting down right away, up there, and they're facing some kind of significant challenge. Uh, you know, they keep rough. They're upbeat, especially under some tough times. Um, they don't catastrophize with me. Well, you know, they don't start to engage in negative, self-defeating, uh, types of thinking. Rather they try to really focus on positive things and you know, what is that they can do that's constructive to help them get through a difficult, difficult time, a result when people also engage in health care, they may be some kind of health care schedule and we can talk later about, uh, you know, different types of stress management approaches, but they do things that are good for themselves and maintain themselves physically and psychologically. And probably one of the most important, well, a couple of most important couple important things are they see setbacks as challenges. All right? There's been a rise to the occasion it or take on the challenge. They're going to get past this and their thinking is very positive about now. At the same time, I was the only people they're capable of reaching out to others for social support. But we know how important that is. Uh, you know, to have social contact and we know how challenging that is at this point under the circumstances. But to make every effort for whatever means possible that, you know, to say, to be able to mean some social support structure for themselves as well as their families. Uh, so those are the things that tend to be more character, progressive Evers, younger people. Uh, there are other things, but those are some real key factors.
Speaker 3:So under these circumstances it's, it's kind of easy to be self-defeating and, and negative and start having negative thoughts. What are some, some ways that we can overcome those habits?
Speaker 2:Well, part of it has to do with doing that expression is being more active, doing more and trying to think less. Uh, you know, staying busy, staying active, doing things that are constructive. Uh, you know, in a sense the feelings catch up with behaviors, get half to really focus on, you know, being, you know, keeping the activity level high. But also, you know, the resilient person tends to catch themselves thinking negatively, you know, kind of the more irrational, self-defeating types of thoughts that people might get under the circumstances and actually engage in some more positive self talk. So, I don't know whether you call them affirmations or positive self statements, they're able to engage in sort of an inner dialogue that keeps them going and in a positive vein. And when they find themselves kind of being impacted by the negative thoughts or actions that are things that are going on around them, they're able to catch them early and counter them.
Speaker 3:So this actually takes some active engagement with yourself in order to recognize when you're feeling this way and then come and take the appropriate measures or steps to turn that approach or that attitude or those thoughts around, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's exactly correct. And the earlier events, the better, uh, you know, if one finest oneself kind of sinking and to kind of a darker mood or feeling irritable or uncomfortable, uh, you know, really want to catch those early and start to do whatever kind of works for you, uh, to be able to counter those. And that kind of falls under the heading of know resilience building strategies. And you know, for example, uh, you know, a lot of people find exercise to be very helpful. For one thing when you're exercising that's really isn't incompatible with negative thinking or negative characteristics or things that would not be in your best interest. And it doesn't really matter what the exercise is. And I know we would have to be creative at this point, but you know, whether you like yoga, the like walking you like running, you do calisthenics are all kinds of things that you can do even under these circumstances that are really important because we know that the more you are in, the more physically active you are, the better your mood. Uh, so there's a clear relationship between activity level exercise and uh, mood state.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. I know most of us in, uh, in the, uh, first responder field find something physical to do, uh, on a regular basis. Does a stress reliever as a mood enhancer. And, uh, I know I enjoy my bicycle ride every night after work. It helps me focus. Relax is the, and that's kinda what we're talking about, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah. And you know, when I've been involved with a lot of water, quote critical incidents that briefings and these are kind of followups at the first responders after they've been in something that's particularly stressful or difficult. Uh, we always emphasize the importance of keeping a good physical exercise regimen, which is often for up for a lot of people. Cause when they went through a lot of stress, it's pretty easy to let good habits go. But during those times of trouble or stress, that's a special important for all of sudden some things it's forced yourself to do those kinds of things that maybe you don't feel like doing at the moment. And you don't have to do your best at them. You don't have to throw your Baptist ramen, you don't have to do your longest bike ride. But if you can do anything at all that's a physical in nature, it can only help your mood and your outlook though those things are important. Now of course related to that, you need to get good sleep, you need to have good diet. And I know it's often very difficult to maintain these things under the kind of certain circumstances we're under. But that's part of where the dealing, you know, really trying to make that effort and um, you know, it's not easy, uh, but to do everything you can to keep these things going in a positive thing.
Speaker 1:Right? Absolutely. All right. So with that in mind and the idea that, you know, people are kind of getting cabin fever and, and we're starting to see now where communities, whole communities are starting to really protest beings, you know, the stay at home waters and being locked in declaring their freedoms, whatever. Have you. Um, people are obviously anxious to get back to working to get back to what, what's probably going to be our new normal lives. How do you see that happening? How do you see people adjusting to that and how do you see them making that happen?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, this is sort of where I have to defer to the medical specialist. Um, and you know, I think we have to be very careful at this point. Uh, I know the different positions on it. And it's everything from cabin fever to, you know, being very concerned about, you know, with an explicate check comes from a, so the transition has to be very carefully put together and very well thought out. Um, yes. You know, people want to get out and everybody does, but you can of course weigh the risks with that. Uh, just in terms of, you know, being able to get out of one's house. I, I will say is, you know, plant punching in particular has an awful lot of nice opportunities to do things outside. Uh, we have to be in a wonderful city where there, you know, I think of people going in parks or can't at this point, but just think of the notion of, you know, taking a walk or exercising, riding a bicycle, you know, these kinds of things we can do in our city. And I were, when we were talking about getting back to work and the workplace into gyms and all that. Well that's going to be a, you know, I think based on the science and of course that's going to differ depending on, you know, where you live, you know, what region we're in and that has to be done carefully. So that's less psychological and I guess more medical, you know, those types of decisions.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's kind of a combination of the two. Yeah. All right. Well we'll document hassle. We know you're busy and we appreciate you giving us the time. Um, so thank you. Thank you very much for being with us today. And um, and speaking with our audience, um, you know, it's important that people remain not only physically but mentally healthy as we've talked about and emotionally healthy as well. So, you know, once again from, from us on, on behalf of the residents. Thank you very much for your time and your insight.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm glad to be here. And as I said, it's an honor to be with you and keep doing the great work that you're doing.
Speaker 1:And you too. Thank you, sir.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're welcome. Take care.
Speaker 1:You've been listening to the city of planned patient podcasts here in plantation. We're working hard to bring you the latest, most accurate information available, the Corona virus pandemic. Remember, if you have specific questions, you can email them to ask cityHall@plantation.org don't forget to visit the COBIT 19 page on our website and register forever bridge for up to the minute changes regarding the outbreak. We want to thank you for tuning in and taking the time to listen to the experts about how to keep yourselves, your family, and your business safe and healthy during the prices. And don't forget to wash your hands. Cover your cough and maintain a safe distance.