The system of mental health care and psychoeducation as a form of counteracting the psychological stress related to the profession of a police officer

Abstract

The main task of this publication is to present the psychological care and psycho-education system in the Polish Police. The aim of the mental health care system is to provide help and psychological support to police officers and police employees, and to relieve their tensions caused by negative external factors, called stressors. This help and support is necessary due to the fact that the profession of a police offi cer is considered a ‘high-risk’ job, one of the most stressful in the world and resulting in many diffi cult experiences, burdens and problems in the psychological sphere. Persistent mental disorders are often the cause of somatic diseases. Police offi cers on duty are confronted with many diffi cult situations, stressful events and they are exposed to numerous challenging and risky situations, which in consequence are the cause of the professional stress in offi cers. This, in turn, leads to psychological tensions and various ailments, somatic and mental illnesses. The article presents a number of factors that occur in the external service that are sources of work stress. Reference has also been made to the fact that a very common source of this stress is an inappropriate management process within the Police. The reason for numerous tensions are often confl icts between superiors and subordinates. However, the key to the publication is the description of the functioning of the mentioned system. The history of its creation is the fi rst step in its presentation here. The organisational structure of the system, the relatively full range of tasks assigned to offi cers, the organisation of their work, as well as the catalogue of events requiring their intervention and the forms of psychological assistance have all been presented. The paper also focuses on the psycho-education system — the one carried out directly by police psychologists, and this performed in a broader sense, called the psychological education which is carried out by the lecturers and management of the Police. As part of this psychological education process, future and current managers are equipped with a wide range of psychological knowledge. It is necessary for managers at various levels to be the fi rst to provide the necessary psychological support and ‘fi rst aid’ to their subordinates in cases of occupational stress and psychological load caused by service conditions. The conclusion shows that a well-functioning system of psychological care and psycho-education has a positive impact on the mental condition of police offi cers and employees, on their level of satisfaction with police service, and indirectly on the quality and effectiveness of the police work.