Where do I begin? When I came through the gate, I was broken (or as I've learned -- bruised). I was immediately let out of my car and met by two of my peers who whooshed me to admissions. From that point on, all I felt was acceptance, belonging, and that I was in a judgement-free zone.
In my mind, I was broken, unrepairable, and had issues that no one could fix. Boy was I wrong. Whether it was in individual sessions with Remi (My Clinician), or group therapy with Dan, Pat, Ashley, Tiffany, Alanna, Kourtney, Kimberly, and others -- I was given the tools, grace, and ability to begin to fix myself.
Plus, the clinicians aren't here to just get a paycheck. They genuinely CARE about the patients, you can literally feel that in the sessions.
At my clinician's suggestion, I underwent EMDR treatment and literally felt chains being removed, and childhood trauma no longer had the power that it did on me before coming here.
Insofar as the facilities, the station houses are comfy, the supporting staff are incredible, and the Fire every evening is the perfect place to unwind, and listen to your peers share their journey to what led them here to the COE.
I could go on and on about how magical this place is, but Google doesn't have the bandwidth for me to sing my praises. I feel like every single person in the fire service would benefit from coming here.
ONWARD!
