On-the-Job Mental Wellness: Why Is It So Important?

On this episode of Mental Health Monthly, hosts Dan DeGryse and Chris Muscle sit down with Captain Rich Stack of the Chicago (IL) Fire Department to talk practical leadership and mental wellness on the job. They cover peer support, debriefing after critical incidents, sustaining programs beyond the news cycle, and the stigma that keeps people from asking for help. Stack names the protective factors that carry him: family, faith, mentors and his crew, plus small, concrete practices. The three also share advice for firefighters, leaders, and officers who want usable tools to build resilience and keep crews healthy.