LAPD officers participate in a unique addiction counseling program
It’s no secret that first responders, firefighters and police officers face incredible on the job stress. Unfortunately, this stress often leads to addiction issues at home and on the job as they try to deal with the enormous pressure they face day after day.
One benchmark solution to help alleviate the challenges of police addiction can be found at the LAPD. As reported by Los Angeles Magazine, the LAPD program is the only one west of the Mississippi run by two cops who are in recovery: Alongside Detective Mike Margolis is Sergeant Gus Marroquin, compact, soft-spoken, and ten years sober. As part of the department’s Behavioral Science Services Division, they work with 16 psychologists to reach out to 9,900 sworn police officers, 2,800 civilian employees, and their families, providing one-on-one therapy and treatment for addiction, domestic violence, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and depression.
It makes sense. “Cops are resilient but susceptible,” says Kevin Jablonski, the psychologist who runs BSS. “They encounter daily trauma. They see suffering the public never experiences.” And like many first responders—ER docs, nurses and firefighters—they self-medicate to deal with the stress. According to a 2011 study published in The American Journal on Addictions, 18 percent of male officers and almost 16 percent of female officers indicated that they’d dealt with adverse consequences from using alcohol.
Are you or a loved one struggling with addiction, lying to yourself and others? Don’t wait any longer to ask for help. In today’s environment, you never know when your next dose will be your last!
Our Neuro Rehabilitation approach helps address the root causes of addiction once and for all.
To learn more about this unique addiction program at the LAPD, please visit Los Angeles Magazine.com.
