SMART Training to Texas Caruth Police Institute Members

HEART 9/11 delivered a 4-week Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) pilot program to area Caruth Police Institute UNT Dallas and Center for Brain Health members. CPI at UNT Dallas is a police science institute dedicated to excellence in research, policy analysis, and training. The Program is the result of a long-standing partnership between HEART 9/11, the Newtown, CT Police Department - Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting - and the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine at Mass. General Hospital.

The evidence-based HEART 9/11 SMART Training specifically addresses and supports safety, wellness, resilience, and survival of law enforcement officers. SMART Training recognizes that healthy first responders benefit the profession, their families and support system, agencies, and their communities. Through this training, first responders learn invaluable skills which help them to self-evaluate internal bias that may result from trauma exposure, secondary/vicarious trauma; or the multitude of day-to-day calls for services that keep communities safe. Additionally, first responders are equipped with tools to deescalate situations, consistently reducing use of force which improves public perception of law enforcement.