“The History of Behavioral Health Care for First Responders”
Christ
opher Wells is the Trauma-Informed Systems Supervisor for the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. In this role Chris has been providing consultation and training to staff from DMH and other agencies across the state since 2003. Chris received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Florida and a Master of Education in Clinical Counseling from The Citadel. Chris has worked with SCDMH since 1995 and has specialized in treating individuals who have experienced traumatic events.
opher Wells is the Trauma-Informed Systems Supervisor for the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. In this role Chris has been providing consultation and training to staff from DMH and other agencies across the state since 2003. Chris received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Florida and a Master of Education in Clinical Counseling from The Citadel. Chris has worked with SCDMH since 1995 and has specialized in treating individuals who have experienced traumatic events.His roles have included serving as a counselor with the Hugo Outreach Support Team, as a clinician at the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center and as a clinician and peer clinical supervisor with the Charleston Firefighter Support Team, where he was a founding member. Chris has also been a member of the Lowcountry Firefighter Support Team since its inception as a non-profit organization in 2013. His contributions to these two fire fighter support teams span seventeen years of amazing work in helping our first responders and building a program that is second to none. Chris’ presentation will include a look at the beginning of programs offering behavioral health services for all first responders and the difficulty in providing services throughout the various cultures of emergency services. These cultures will include firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMS personnel, 911 telecommunicators, chaplains, and others who serve our first responders. He will also facilitate a panel discussion with members of emergency services from different generations to highlight just how far we have come.