Law Enforcement and First Responder

Program Details

The Law Enforcement, First Responder, and Veteran Program at Ellie Mental Health is a multi-faceted initiative that serves the wellness needs of those who serve and protect our communities. We offer a variety of services to our clients including individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, support groups, and medication management. We also support law enforcement and first responder agencies by offering different services including wellness consultations, critical incident response, peer support team development and oversight, and a variety of training. Each of these offerings is customizable and built specifically to fit the needs, wants, and desires of the organization or individual.

The Law Enforcement, First Responder, and Veteran Program providers are specially trained mental health providers who have received advanced education and who each have a powerful desire to serve those who serve others. Each provider has their own personal connection to these populations and is very aware of the unique challenges that these populations face.

Sometimes, being a member of these populations can be hard. Finding support should not be. Contact the Law Enforcement, First Responder, and Veteran Program to see how we can help support you, your organization, or your family. If you are interested in finding out how we can help, please send us a message via the contact form listed below.

Services Offered

Individual Services

Therapeutic Services
(Individual, Couples, Family)

Medication Management

On-Demand Crisis Support

Law Enforcement Support Group

Law Enforcement social Group

Transition Support
(Retirement + Unexpected Leave)

Organizational Services

Wellness Check-Ins

Critical Incident Response

Peer Support Team Development

Additional Sessions

On-Demand Crisis Support

Peer Support Team Clinical Oversight

Suicide Prevention

Retrospective Fatality Analysis

Training Services

Crisis Response

Bias and Cultural Awareness

Autism Spectrum

Resiliency & Coping Skills

Mental Health First Aid (Fire/EMS, Veterans, Public, Safety, Youth)

Stress Response

Peer Support Team Training

Couples Communication

Wellness-Check-ins

50-minute appointment with a Law Enforcement mental health provider. During the check-in, we are not providing therapy or a diagnosis. It’s more like a conversation. The only documentation for the wellness check-ins is the signed consent form. Confidentiality is critical and the only information that goes back to the department is a check mark next to the officer’s name saying that they did what they needed to do.

Critical Incident Response

The World Health Organization defines a critical incident as an event out of the range of normal experience – one which is sudden and unexpected, involves the perception of a threat to life and can include elements of physical and emotional loss. We typically open this up to any sworn officer or staff who believes they have experienced a critical incident and wants to receive support services. Most departments choose up to five sessions with an Ellie Mental Health provider who has experience working with law enforcement.

Additional Sessions

Wellness check-ins are a good steppingstone to therapy. Sometimes after people have a chance to sit down and talk about how things are going in their life, they recognize that they may benefit from getting set up with a therapist. Many departments have chosen to offer a pool of additional sessions for their staff to use. The average is 3-5 sessions per person. One of the benefits of the department covering the cost of additional sessions is that there aren’t records kept like when using insurance.

Peer Support Team Development
and Clinical Oversight

Clinical providers who specialize in peer support can be assigned to your department to help develop your peer support team and have the following ongoing responsibilities:

1) Monitoring the mental wellness of peer support team members

2) Serving as a “back-up” when peer support interactions needs to be escalated to a mental health provider

3) Serving as a person to debrief with and/or offer referrals

4) Providing continued training and education to the peer support team members.

Medication Management

Our Law Enforcement and First Responder Program has 3 medication management providers who specifically work with law enforcement, first responders, and veterans. They’re specially trained to work with this population and understand the importance of anonymity and confidentiality.

Department-wide Training

We offer a variety of training such as a 2-day Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, Mental Health First Aid, Peer Support Team training, POST-approved mental health training, and customized training as needed.

On-Demand Crisis Support

If an agency has experienced a critical incident or even if a few officers had a rough shift, a couple of our providers can come out to the department to provide individual or group support.

Suicide Postvention

In the unfortunate event of a suicide within your department or agency, immediate support is available in regard to messaging, notifications, individual, and group support.

Our Team

The Law Enforcement, First Responder, and Veteran Program providers are specially trained mental health providers who have received advanced education and who each have a powerful desire to serve those who serve others. Each provider has their own personal connection to these populations and is very aware of the unique challenges that these populations face.

Program Director

Brittany Miskowiec

PhD, MSW, LICSW

Program Director

Brittany was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana and brings a bit of her southern twang and sass to the work she does. She’s worked with law enforcement, first responders, and veterans for almost 15 years and now exclusively works with this population. Brittany moved to Minnesota in 2013 and worked as the Director of Psychological Health at the Minnesota Army National Guard until 2016. Since then, she’s continued to focus on training, education, therapy, and program development for these populations.As the Program Director, Brittany really believes in the importance of the program’s mental health providers being familiar with the type of work that law enforcement, first responders, and veterans do. She undestands that if a therapist has no idea what you go through day to dIt’s important to her that the therapists try to immerse themselves into these cultures so there’s a sense of learn as much as they can about your population to understand the culture. Brittany takes a no bullSh!t approach to therapy and it’s really important to her that people feel comfortable in a therapy setting. She tries to infuse humor into her work with clients.

Law Enforcement and First Responder Therapists

Zoey Alch

MSW, LGSW

Therapist

Zoey has experience working with anxiety, depression, trauma, big life changes, and relational challenges. Zoey utilizes a strengths-based approach to help clients unlock and utilize their potential within themselves. Zoey also utilizes Emotion Focused Therapy to identify underlying feelings that can be uncovered to better understand ourselves and the decisions we make. Zoey uses humor within her practice to allow for comfort and the ability to let your guard down. Zoey enjoys working with law enforcement and first responders because of their passion for helping others and the important role they play in society. Zoey wants to provide a space for this population to speak openly about the challenges and obstacles that can take place in their field of work. In her free time Zoey enjoys playing with her new puppy, being outside, and a good workout.

Liz Banovetz

LMFT

Therapist

Liz has experience working with adults, adolescents and their families—especially those who have experienced trauma, have navigated difficult circumstances and decisions in their lives, or have been in times of transition. She particularly enjoys connecting with clients who are self-motivated and interested in therapeutic practices that can support them in emotional well-being and healthy communication. When working with clients, Liz draws on her ability to listen, build strong therapeutic rapport through compassionate understanding, and provide a space for clients to express themselves and be heard. It’s important, Liz believes, that hope and healing are a part of the therapeutic experience. As a practitioner, Liz’s clinical work is anchored in a client-centered, strengths-based approach; with Liz, clients work on personal goals with achievable milestones, together, to help gain insight, build client self-confidence, and learn new coping techniques. Liz’s areas of interest include trauma, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, parenting and life transitions. Liz applies a well-rounded, tailored approach to meet clients’ needs. The range of her therapeutic techniques include utilizing EMDR, cognitive behavioral therapy, narrative therapy, mindfulness, and solution-focused therapy.

Jennie Karnish

MS, LPCC, LMHC

Complex Family Systems Program Manager

Jennie is authentic, direct, and compassionate. She isn’t afraid to call people out on their sh!%. Jennie received her BA in Criminal Justice and MS in Clinical Counseling. She is the Complex Family Systems Program Manager and a wealth of experience in tackling complex cases. She is Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy certified. Jennie has a lot of experience working with court ordered/court involved cases. Jennie is a therapist and clinical lead for the Law Enforcement First Responders program. She loves supporting those who are often helping others on their worst days.

Emma Murphy

MSW, LGSW

Therapist

Emma is a Licensed Graduate Social Worker who primarily sees clients who are law enforcement professionals, first responders, military service members/veterans and their families. As the wife of a police officer and veteran, clients can expect to be able to work with someone who understands the culture, lifestyle, pressures, and stressors that come with such high-stress, high-stakes careers. Emma draws on a number of evidence-based interventions depending on the needs of the client, and strives for a collaborative therapeutic relationship that is supportive and puts the goals of the client first and foremost. Emma’s approach is usually more direct in nature, and incorporates humor as appropriate. Emma is trained in the use of Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), a highly effective eye-movement therapy used primarily to treat trauma. Other specialties and areas of interest include couples therapy, acute trauma, anxiety, court-ordered individuals and couples, families/parents with special needs children, and mindfulness practices. Outside of her job, Emma loves spending time with her family, riding her horses, knitting, and watching British crime dramas and TV adaptations of Jane Austen novels. Emma is only seeing clients virtually at this time.

Scott Ramsdell

Intern

Some days are hard. At the end of these types of days, it seems like the sh** just does not scrape off your boots. Call after call, day after day, year after year, the sh** builds up until its hardened. I am not talking actual sh**. I am talking metaphorical sh**. I am talking about the thoughts, images, experiences, and memories that you carry. When it gets to be too much, it is normal for people’s personal lives to take a hit. It is in these darker times when clients begin their search for the light. It is my passion to help those who help others, and I have a ton of experience in doing so. My clients are from the law enforcement, first responder and veteran communities. This includes the operators as well as those that support them. I work with adults, adolescents, couples, and families. I understand that no single approach is right for everyone, so I custom-tailor treatments to the client. I am a strengths-based therapist who looks to help my clients identify and leverage their own strengths. I come from a wellness-based background and am extremely familiar with how the body struggles to maintain strength during times of high stress and how it slowly breaks down over time. I am different from most therapists due to the integrated approach that I take in creating a truly customized plan to help my clients get the results that they deserve. Your job is hard. You run towards things that others run from. You experience things that most do not understand. You are a warrior. You are strong. You are supported. It is time to scrape that sh** off your boots.

Matt Reed

Therapist

Matt has worked as a therapist for 8 years, 6 of which were in Virginia where he worked in the Department of Corrections and counseled Veterans until he moved back to Minnesota in 2020. Matt sees himself as a fairly easy-going person and can often lean towards comedy as a source of coping and as a means of relating to others. While he tries not to take himself too seriously, Matt understands that lightheartedness doesn’t mean that difficult conversations don’t have their place at the table as well. He’s very flexible in how he meets with people and wants to make sure that anyone he talks to doesn’t feel uncomfortable. While he also leans toward listening and asking questions rather than giving advice, Matt also knows that offering resources is a necessary part of consultations. If you’re looking for someone to tell you what you should do after just one meeting, Matt probably isn’t for you. If you would like someone who isn’t a family, friend, or colleague to be a sounding-board, active listener or a venting target, look no further.