The uniform can make you look bulletproof while your nervous system quietly keeps score. We talk with Joe and Christina, a husband and wife counseling team, about what happens when years of calls, deployments, and high-stakes decisions start turning the emotional volume down. Joe shares his path from Army National Guard combat medic to police officer to counselor, and Christina brings the often-missed perspective of the spouse who lived the schedule, the stress, and the home life that has to absorb the overflow.

We dig into compassion fatigue and why numbness is not “just part of the job.” We also get honest about first responder culture: dark humor, shutting down after tough scenes, and the common habit of trying to process trauma at a bar instead of in a healthier space. You’ll hear practical ways to stay grounded using evidence-based coping skills like mindfulness, distress tolerance, and present-moment awareness, plus why physical health and mental health are connected for real recovery.

Joe and Christina also explain what therapy actually looks like for law enforcement, EMS, dispatch, corrections, military, and their families. No interrogation. No career backchannel. Just confidential, culturally competent counseling that helps you clarify your values and break destructive loops like self-judgment and negative self-talk. They share how the Clearbrook Counseling Professionals Public Servant Program in Ankeny and Ames supports flexible scheduling and telehealth across Iowa, so help is not stuck weeks away.

If you know a helper who is carrying too much, share this conversation with them. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what is the biggest barrier that keeps public servants from getting mental health support?

If you or someone you know is in crisis and at risk of self-harm, please call or text 988, the suicide and crisis lifeline.

To contact us directly send an email to Dan@10-42project.org or call 515-350-6274
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Trauma swapping is one of those habits that feels supportive in the moment, then quietly keeps the whole nervous system on high alert. We sit down with Rick and Monique from Real Connections Counseling and Coaching to name what’s actually happening when first responders start one-upping each other’s worst calls and why that “instant relief” can turn into rumination, anger, isolation, and relationship damage later. If you’ve ever left a shift, a bar, or a buddy conversation feeling weirdly stuck or keyed up, this one will hit home.

We also get practical about what helps. Rick and Monique explain their team-based approach to counseling, including two-hour couples therapy sessions that give you room to tell the whole story without racing the clock. We talk about how to externalize the problem so you can face it together, how grief and loss show up as secondary trauma for police, fire, EMS, and dispatch, and why the goal isn’t forgetting what you saw but learning to reprocess it so it stops running your life.

Finally, we challenge the “only we understand” bubble. Community matters, but it can’t be limited to the blue line. We dig into why connecting with safe people outside the job, rebuilding hobbies, getting back into nature, and sharing the emotional experience rather than the graphic details can create a real soft place to land and a real path to healing. If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with someone on your crew, and leave a review so more first responders and families can find it.

If you or someone you know is in crisis and at risk of self-harm, please call or text 988, the suicide and crisis lifeline.

To contact us directly send an email to Dan@10-42project.org or call 515-350-6274
Visit our website! 10-42project.org
Check us out on social media!
Youtube: @1042project
Facebook: www.facebook.com/1042project
Instagram: 1042_project

The toughest part isn’t the call; it’s what echoes after. We sat down with a physician assistant who runs a ketamine clinic and a therapist who treats first responders to unpack how evidence‑based tools can make trauma feel survivable again. If you’ve only heard about ketamine from street stories or ER sedation, this conversation will reset the frame: controlled, low‑dose treatment can increase neuroplasticity, reduce the emotional punch of memories, and lower cravings that keep people stuck. Add structured therapy, and the path forward gets clearer.

We walk through how ketamine works, why it’s tightly regulated, and what a typical protocol looks like. Then we dig into the power of pairing medicine with psychotherapy, where insights from sessions carry into counseling and make reprocessing less triggering. EMDR gets a plain‑spoken breakdown, so it’s no longer mysterious or intimidating. The goal is simple: help the brain revisit hard moments without panic and install healthier beliefs that last.

Personal stories bring urgency to the science. A pediatric code that changed a father’s life, the high‑school collapse that pushed an EMT to become a PA, and the post‑COVID ER chaos that led to building a calmer clinic for first responders. We talk openly about stigma, addiction fears, and why many see alcohol use drop as they heal. You’ll hear how peer support lowers the barrier to trying something new, and why an objective, self‑compassionate view; can be the hinge for recovery.

If you serve and carry images you avoid, there’s hope with safe, supervised ketamine therapy, EMDR, and steady talk therapy. Reach out with your questions, share this with a partner or teammate, and help us keep these tools in the hands of the people who need them most. Follow the show, leave a review, and tell us what you want us to explore next.

If you or someone you know is in crisis and at risk of self-harm, please call or text 988, the suicide and crisis lifeline.

To contact us directly send an email to Dan@10-42project.org or call 515-350-6274
Visit our website! 10-42project.org
Check us out on social media!
Youtube: @1042project
Facebook: www.facebook.com/1042project
Instagram: 1042_project