CENTRAL ILLINOIS POLICE TRAINING CENTER
Brian Fengel, Director
Phone: (309) 690-7350
Fax: (309) 690-7359
Jean Swan: jswan@icc.edu
Heather Grove: hgrove@icc.edu
Stress and Burnout – Correctional Officers
Instructor: Gail Sullivan
November 17, 2022
8am – 12pm
Class will meet at: CIPTC, ICC Peoria Campus, 5407 N. University, Poplar Hall P101, Peoria
Enrollment Deadline: November 14, 2022
Course Size: Minimum -15 Maximum – 64
Course Objective
This training program has been designed by a clinical professional with the purpose of addressing the issues related to correctional officers and the various forms of stress that are unique to their profession.
Being a correctional officer requires that a person have specific skills in order to maintain positive and healthy attitudes within their professional and personal lives. Correctional officers often see the negative side of life and the negative aspects of people. These pressures take their toll on officers. The effects upon officers is seen in elevated rates of suicide. The United States Department of Justice report indicates correctional officers have the highest rate of suicide among all American law enforcement officers.
Course Content
The goal of this course is to train correctional officers in self-care and in positive image production. In order to achieve this goal, focus will be specifically placed upon:
Stress and the correctional officer
Negative effects of stress on the body
Consequences of stress and coping strategies
Coping with the stress of a colleague’s suicide
Addressing the myth of the infallible image
Cognitive strategies of stress reduction
Alcoholism – Divorce – Drug Abuse
Suicide epidemic in correctional officers
Humor as a tool of stress reduction
Healthy lifestyles and stress reduction
COVID and stress prevention in confinement
About the Instructor:
Gail P. Sullivan graduated from Loyola University (BA) and DePaul University (MA) with honors. She has worked in social services and criminal justice for the past 25 years in the private and public sectors. She has provided therapy to 100 employees (Illinois certified) to serve the needs of sexually traumatized and problematic children under the age of 12 years. As an expert, she was on the States Attorney Task Force for the Mass Molestation of Children and the Cook County Child Death Review Team. She has developed curriculum that meets State requirements for the certification of juvenile police officers. She provides training for Cook County Adult Probation, Illinois Crisis Intervention Team and Homeland Security, as well as MTUs across the state.
