According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a projected 37% of EMS workers suffer from PTSD. 1 of every 5 police officers contemplates suicide.

An untold number of Fire Fighters suffer from PTSD. That number is unavailable due to lack of cooperation by the Fire Fighters to divulge having an issue. Unwillingness caused by the Stigma.

Who will we be offering treatment to?
• First Responders, PD, FD, and EMS primarily, but we will be helping others as well. 911 Dispatchers, Medical Examiners, Corrections Officers, Disaster Responders, Urban Search and Rescue teams, Military from all branches and not just those locally. We are close enough to all transportation hubs that it will not preclude those that have to travel a distance to get to our facility.
  
  Our web site and IT outreach program will effectively reach First Responders across the World Wide Web. Blog posts, forum conversations and interaction will allow the participants to build an alliance within the room that will carry over into in-person support group meetings that will be facilitated by CTI staff.
  
  The moderated chat rooms and forum discussion will yield very valuable data that will then be utilized to develop educational programs and techniques to address the issues that are seen in these forums.
  
  This facility will be the first of many to be developed east of the Mississippi. Projected locations to be developed include Northern Kentucky, North East Pennsylvania, Northern Michigan, and western Minnesota. These locations will be within close proximity to air transportation hubs as well as highways to facilitate easy access by those that need our service.

Don’t most fire, police, EMS workers have insurance that covers this already? Don't most departments already have access to counseling services?
• Until one witnesses what a normal day as a member of the group considered public safety is, one cannot relate to the tragedy that they experience. Therefore, HOW can one expect to treat that person? In order to allow treatment to work, one must allow that treatment to take place. No matter if you are public safety or not, if you don’t trust the person that is supposed to be there to help you, one will not let them in. First responders are trained to be tough and to take it. In lies the problem. They build a wall. In order to break down that wall, one must be already on the inside. That is the strategy that we will use. These responders are exposed to situations that the normal person only sees in a horror movie and has nightmares about. But they are expected to “suck it up” “Deal with it” "If you can’t take it, I guess you aren’t fit for duty then are you?” They are a special group of people. Yes, municipalities provide access to employee assistance programs. But these are offered at a perceived yet real risk. If one comes forward and admits that a call bothered them, they are:
  
  • 1. Considered weak by their peers
  • 2. Not fit for duty by their employers
  • 3. Sent to disciplinary counseling by staff that cannot relate to what they have experienced.
  
  These people have been taught that they need to bury their emotions and move on to the next call. So they do. Employee assistance programs are projected to help approximately 33% of the responders that need help. It is the other 67% that we are trying to reach.

How many individuals can the facility handle in a year?
• This is dependent upon the acuity of the patients that we see. This will be a 35 bed inpatient facility with some requiring 6 week stays, some will require less. Minimum patient numbers for inpatient would be 280 per year. Outpatient therapies will be offered as well and will number in the hundreds as these outpatient therapies will be remote and take place at multiple locations across the states of North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee.

Is this anything more than an idea at this point?
• Our board of directors is moving forward with planning and documents to secure a Certificate of Need from the State of North Carolina as we speak. Non profit status will also be sought.

How extensive is our staffs professional background/experience in psychological counseling?
• Between the three founders of CTI, we have over 80 years of professional experience to bring to the table.

Who comprises your family of counselors and what are their counseling credentials/experience etc.?
• Cumulatively our clinicians make up almost 50 years of experience in the psychology field.