Rescuing Everyone Else First: Trauma in the Fire Service and First Responders with Blaise Harris LCMHC

Blaise Harris, LCMHC, is a therapist, former firefighter, and founder of G Squared Consulting & Counseling Services — known online as The Dope Black Therapist. His practice focuses on trauma work with Black men and first responders, drawing on his own experience surviving a divorce, major depressive disorder, and suicide attempts before finding his way into the field. In this episode, Brittani and Blaise cover: How Blaise's own mental health crisis (post-divorce depression, suicidal ideation, psychiatric hospitalization) led him to therapy — and to specializing in first responders and Black men Why first responders have protocols for every physical emergency but none for their mental health PTSD stats among first responders and why the real numbers are likely far higher than reported The stigma differences across police, fire, EMS, and dispatch Navigating racism and mistrust as a Black first responder, including a story of being called a slur on the job How to talk to a partner about a hard shift without needing to "fix" it — communicating needs instead of details Naming and setting an internal boundary with anxiety/depression ("acknowledge it, then tell it to shut up") His advice for first responders on choosing a therapist — "try them on like shoes" Find Blaise on Instagram ⁠@the_dopeblacktherapist⁠ or at ⁠thedopeblacktherapist.com⁠. Brittani's Resources Website: ⁠https://www.brittaniprocknow.com/⁠ IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/brittani_procknow⁠ Intimacy Workbook: ⁠https://howtorelate.kit.com/b956780219⁠ Newsletter: ⁠https://howtorelate.kit.com/e9f87bb2dc⁠ ☕ Support the show and drink coffee! Proud to have Larry's Coffee as a show sponsor. Keep caffeinated with quality coffee. ⁠https://larryscoffee.com/relate⁠ Therapist Threads: ⁠https://howtorelate.kit.com/069297fffb⁠