Wellbeing and recovery in the emergency services: How do we care for those who care for us?

First responders (i.e. operational police officers, firefighters and ambulance officers) perform a critical role in our society, and as such we need them working at their best. In this chapter the authors posit that the wellbeing initiatives in many emergency service organisations are not aimed at first responders achieving their best, but instead, disproportionately, aimed at preventing their worst. Th at is, there is a greater emphasis on secondary and tertiary interventions that aim to prevent ill health and an incongruous emphasis on primary intervention aimed to promote good health. Applying evidence from the field of positive psychology, the authors propose that there is much to be gained in having a more balanced approach to first responder wellbeing.