The excitement is building as we move towards July 11th and our Annual Emergency Services Behavioral Health Summit. We are proud to have a great slate of speakers and today we welcome Elizabeth Evans, MSW, LISW-CP as she will bring her presentation “First Responder Resiliency” to our attendees.
Elizabeth has an amazing background in working with first responders in all disciplines of emergency services and we are fortunate to have her with us for the Summit. Read further for a full biography on Elizabeth:
Elizabeth Evans, MSW, LISW-CP is a licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Certified First Responder Counselor. She holds a master’s degree in social work from Norfolk State University (2000) and a bachelor’s in arts in speech communication with a minor in criminal justice from James Madison University (1994) in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. As a clinical social worker, she has worked in elementary schools, adult day care and rehab settings, a group home for severely sexually abused children, Dorchester Children’s Center as a forensic interviewer and therapist, MUSC outpatient psych (MUHA, the MUSC hospital authority) as a therapist, and since 2012 she has owned her own have private practice on Daniel Island with therapist employees. In 2022, she became a part of the MUSC Resilient Responder Program working clinically with First Responders while maintaining private practice.
The MUSC Resilient Responder Program was established in 2020 to fill a need for front line personnel serving in various positions throughout the greater Lowcountry of South Carolina frequently responding to traumatic circumstances. It initially began with firefighters, forensic teams, and coroners but has since added police and detention officers, special traffic teams, and animal care workers.
The program is based on the belief that positive mental health begins at the top and filters down through an organization. Their goal is twofold – to help the individual manage stress by teaching resiliency skills for processing trauma and to help organizations maintain a healthy workforce by providing a tool based, stigma free progressive wellness environment. The wellness approach includes a bridge into mental health resources available through a person’s company for those individuals seeking additional care.
The program relies on the leadership of medical and clinical expert team members that are licensed and/or certified at the highest levels of their field. Additionally, Certified First Responder Counselors have also trained as Clinical Peer Team Support Members through Law Enforcement and the Fire Service.
Elizabeth will discuss specific services offered by the program including customized programs to meet the needs of the various agencies and organizations being served.