Article archive / June 1, 2011
Originally published: . Volume 2, No. 10. Source pages: 9, 10, 11.
When asked what has been especially fulfilling for him as a police psychologist, Dr. Charles Burchell reflects an impressive career-long level of satisfaction.
“Early on it was doing the therapy and the counseling, marital help, helping them serve in their jobs to help society. When I did the trauma work, and with SWAT teams, there was the satisfaction of dealing with traumatic events and helping people get through that. The last part of my career, working with Penny, taking people from the general population and making sure we are sending the Police Academy a qualified group . . . this is fulfilling.”
Dr. Burchell, former president of the Louisiana Psychological Association, brings 27 years of experience in providing psychological services to sworn police officers and their families. He began working with police in 1984 at the New Orleans department, and is an associate of Dr. Penny Dralle, Consulting Psychologist for the NOPD, directing pre- screening procedures of officer candidates for the NOPD academy.
“It's a wonderful profession, protecting the public while enhancing the professional and personal lives of a class of people who do something very necessary. It's important now, more than ever. There is growing suspicion of government and police agencies—New Orleans has a lot of people who view police officers as unfair, brutal, can't be trusted—and one thing police psychologists can do is to help departments make sure their agencies are truly professional.”
Currently based in Texas, Dr. Burchell has served on the faculties of Southern Univ. and Louisiana State Univ. in Baton Rouge, and LSU Health Sciences Center and Xavier Univ. in New Orleans. He earned his degrees at Southern and Louisiana State universities, and interned at Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute at the University of California Medical Center, San Francisco. He has worked for both Hammond and Tulane police departments, the EAP (Employee Assistance Program) for DEA and Border Patrol, and also offers high-risk assessment to client organizations.
He has provided training in stress reduction, diversity issues, and disaster response. He has also provided on-site consultation with SWAT teams dealing with hostage and barricaded suspect situations. Fitness- for-duty examination is also his specialty.
Dr. Burchell’s practice in other areas has concerned assessment of employees felt to be a significant risk to the safety and emotional well-being of others in the workplace. He also has worked as a Military and Family Life Consultant providing stress management and psycho-educational intervention to military members and their families.
Dr. Dralle and Dr. Burchell have studied and built fitness-for-duty assessment processes that are comprised of a series of psychological tests and a structured interview, plus collateral interviews with others who interact with the individual.
Problems in fitness for duty, Charles explains, have to do with officers in the field who began to exhibit behaviors that could cause decreased functioning in their roles, since they are, in fact, “licensed to kill, in certain circumstances.”
Police psychology has evolved in ways that few might have imagined, as changes in planetary weather and patterns of crime affect the public consciousness and international law enforcement. As it has changed and grown, Charles notes, “My career has morphed.”
“In terms of duties, as an African-American man, I had ambivalence about the police department. I knew it was necessary. Most of my experiences had been positive, though not all; I knew there were backgrounds that encouraged racism. I understood the basis for feeling that you didn't call the police unless you really, really needed to. But I talked to some African- American community leaders, and they felt, as I came to feel, that it was important, because they would have an African-American psychologist that could deal with the racism in the department, possibly a change agent in keeping that type of behavior to a minimum.”
“There are always going to be issues involving negligence in hiring and retaining. Corporations and governments have a responsibility to see that the people they hire are capable; they must avail themselves of people who can do that. Psychologists provide tests and interviews for potential recruits regarding background and criminal behavior. In this respect, we first rule out psychopathology. There's no one test, so psychologists use a battery of tests as a matter of ethics and fairness.”
“We try to prevent people with serious mental disorders from becoming officers. We try to rule in those persons who have a particular combination of traits, such as integrity, assertiveness, having a good energy level, ability to concentrate, an ability to work well with others but also ability to make decisions on one's own. Cops often don't have a situation where they can consult with others before making decisions.”
Another aspect that society will continue to need is therapy and counseling for police officers and their families. Charles keeps two goals in mind, both rewarding to the dedicated counseling professional. First, this interaction with struggling public servants “gives you the ability to alleviate stressors and other problems, helping them to do a better job. Anxiety, depression, decreased concentration can interfere with their work, so you can help them. It also increases their quality of life. The other thing is that it helps the public: it keeps them from interactions with the public when their functioning is significantly compromised–'til they get better. Police psychologists know the culture: they know the unique stressors, and can interface with the supervisory administrators.”
The collaborative approach encourages faith within the force, as psychologists show increasing knowledge of and respect for the daily grind of police work.
“They know that we accept them and that we support them. Psychologists who affect things most deeply are the ones who are most familiar with them, their days and schedules; we are part of them, not just sent by the city. In the best departments, depending on our duties, they see us as part of management, or as making counseling available.”
The most successful police psychologists also recognize boundaries. “Before I did the pre- employment screening, a partner and I split the management duties and counseling to avoid inappropriate overlap and ensure confidentiality.”
Dr. Burchell served as an on- scene consultant with the NOPD Special Weapons and Tactics division in their calls for hostage and barricaded suspect situations. Here, as elsewhere, awareness of trouble in the law enforcement camp, as well as in the public, improves results.
The DEA provides counseling services, training, and other response to trauma employees may experience, involving threats, narcotics gangs, suicides, or being hurt in the line of duty.
“When I was with the DEA EAP, '86 to '10, as part of the trauma-response team, I responded to Hurricane Andrew, in Homestead, and also [to events] in Puerto Rico. I responded to the bombing of the Murrah building in Okla., worked at least 12-hour days supporting agents who came in to help—assisted with death notification, supporting families who had lost someone, debriefing agents—a very rewarding experience, and very stressful. There had never been an act of home-grown terrorism like this, so focused on the government.
“Before I left, I visited the site and could smell death. I handled that not only by interacting with my fellow clinicians and also with the program manager, who offered an hour at a time as needed. Also I would call a friend every night. In the face of death like that, it was necessary. What trauma does is change our perception of the stability and predictability of the world. The brain is an organ of predictability; it's one of the things that makes us feel safe. When we have a trauma, we don't know what's going to happen. The same thing took place with Katrina, and is now in Joplin, Mo.”
Time is a “big healer,” though Dr. Charles Burchell teaches that memories, once fragmented, can come back unexpectedly. “'Your feelings, problems are normal for what you've been through.' It's very difficult for them to hear that sometimes. The brain always wants completion, understanding, and sometimes you have to go on without complete understanding.”
“Everywhere, in every setting, for example, people break up. Sometimes there's the fantasy of closure, reuniting, explaining what had happened; but sometimes you will never know—the person may not share, may not be there, may not understand it themselves,” Dr. Charles Burchell said.
“There are small mysteries and there are larger mysteries, and that is the state of our existence.”
Dr. Tom Hannie (L) with Dr. Charles Burchell. Dr. Burchell has served as an on- scene consultant with the NOPD Special Weapons and Tactics division in their calls for hostage and barricaded suspect situations.
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