myAIPMA culture of silence and stigma around emotions dominates policing, officer diaries reveal
Sarah-Jane Lennie | Policing Insight
"A research project to collate audio diaries from serving UK police officers has highlighted the impact that stress and emotional suppression is having on their mental health; Former detective inspector Sarah-Jane Lennie, now a Chartered Psychologist and Researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University, outlines the findings from the project, and the implications for policing and police officers.
When you are a police officer, your emotions have to be hidden or pushed down. Officers work hard to detach themselves from their emotions as a way to cope in a culture that has an expectation of silence in the face of trauma. This culture directly contributes to the increase in mental health issues in police officers and staff."
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A culture of silence and stigma around emotions dominates policing, officer diaries reveal, Sarah-Jane Lennie, Policing Insight, 2021