UCF aims to help first responders cope with trauma

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Experts and first responders will meet at the University of Central Florida Friday to share personal experiences and strategies for self-care during a seminar.

Friday's program intends to help police officers, paramedics, nurses, doctors and other first responders learn the best ways to cope with the emotional toll caused by traumatic events.

UCF police Deputy Chief Carl Metzger, who spent 26 years with the Orlando Police Department, said it can be difficult to discuss trauma.

"You are going to have shootings on a regular basis, you're going to have violence, you are going to have these tragedies," he said. "And with Pulse being the worst of the worst, they impact everyone involved."

Metzger said he tries to leave work at work, but he leans on his friends and family for support and turns to running to relieve stress.

"I can take off that cop hat and put it aside and then put on my dad hat or my husband hat when I go home," he said. "But that doesn't mean I don't think about it."

Caring for victims, survivors and their families can be trying.

"We care deeply about serving the public. We want to help people," Metzger said. "All of us got into this line of work because of that ... Sometimes you can't save everyone, and it hurts."

Friday's seminar was organized by UCF's Larry Barton, a professor of crisis management and public safety. Barton, who also serves as an instructor at the FBI Academy and U.S. Marshals Service, has studied critical incidents for more than 30 years.

The free event, which is open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in room 101 of Classroom II near the Memory Mall. Free parking is available in Garage H.

Cox Media Group