Communication Dispatchers
A dispatcher/communications employee must have more attention to detail than most of the population! The ability to switch from a life and death emergency to a nuisance call and then a hang up can be exhilarating. The boredom of a slow shift and too many celebrity magazines can be mind numbing. The hours of constant sitting and looking at a computer monitor have physical consequences. The working relationship with colleagues can be a source of saving grace, or toxic negativity during a shift.
What one communications employee is troubled by can vary from person to person. Some dispatchers struggle with not knowing the outcome of an emergency call and want to find an emergency responder who worked the call. Some can be haunted by the sounds in their memory, or worse, the imaginary scenario of what could have happened; still others find it helpful not to have the visual images, photos or security films of an incident.
If there is a call that repeats in your mind; you find your thoughts or mood changing at home or at work, or if you wonder when you will answer that call again, please consider making an appointment so we can clear that call.
Helpful Videos
Helpful Books
- The PTSD Workbook: Simple, Effective Techniques for Overcoming Traumatic Stress Symptoms
- Under the Headset: Surviving Dispatcher Stress
Helpful Links
- A Little Laughter Goes a Long Way!
- International Academies of Emergency Dispatch
- National Emergency Number Association
- West Cost Post-Trauma Retreat
- There is an alternative to choir practice: Peace Officers Fellowship Meetings
- Stigma of medications
- San Mateo County CISM Team
How to choose a psychologist