Train-the-Trainer SMART Program for First Responders

Rhode Island Police Officers successfully completed the Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Train-the-Trainer Program on December 15th and 16th. In addition to the 8-week core program, these officers participated in an intensive two-day virtual implementation session taught by Dr. John Denninger, MD, Ph.D. and Harvard Professor. The Program is customized to prepare First Responders to integrate the SMART Program into their departments. These Officers can now deliver the SMART Program to other responders at the discretion of HEART 9/11.

The SMART Program for First Responders 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.

This partnership was born of a shared aspiration to help first responders manage both chronic and acute stress and to help those who may be suffering from burnout.

Responders learn a variety of self-care interventions, allowing them to build a course of action to manage stress and improve overall health and wellbeing.

Dr. John Denninger, MD, PhD, Director of Research, BHI - Instructor Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School