From isolation to connection: Why storytelling is key to police wellness

By David Berez

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October is Mental Health Awareness Month — a time to spotlight the strength, compassion and courage within the law enforcement community. Across the profession, officers are embracing conversations about wellness and support, breaking old stigmas and fostering new pathways to resilience. These efforts reveal a growing truth: healing in policing doesn’t come from policy alone but from people sharing their experiences and finding meaning together.

Among the most powerful tools for nurturing that resilience is restorative storytelling — an approach that turns experience into insight, struggle into strength and isolation into connection.

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What makes restorative storytelling different

Restorative storytelling differs sharply from trauma dumping for sympathy or profit. True restorative narratives — stories that move beyond accounts of trauma, loss, or struggle to highlight resilience, meaning-making and growth in the aftermath of adversity — integrate both struggle and healing, offering roadmaps for recovery rather than dead-end accounts of suffering.

When officers share their journeys — complete with the messy middle and the hard-won wisdom — they create something powerful: emphasizing hope, agency and the possibility of positive change.

This approach transforms the way officers process their experiences. Rather than carrying trauma in isolation, storytelling allows them to find meaning in their struggles and provide peers with actionable pathways forward. The process cultivates what psychologists call post-traumatic growth, where adversity leads to greater wisdom, strength, and connection.

Storytelling as a science-based resilience tool

Far from being mere emotional support, storytelling operates as a sophisticated resilience-building tool that integrates seamlessly with other proven practices. Programs like the BJA’s VALOR Initiative, Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training (MBRT) and tactical breathing teach officers to manage stress and trauma through science-based methods. Research consistently shows such training reduces both physiological and psychological stress. A study of the Montreal Police Department reports a 79% decrease in suicide over 12 years with resiliency training.

Restorative storytelling amplifies these benefits by creating what researchers call “psychological flexibility” — the ability to stay present with difficult experiences while maintaining access to your values and choices. When officers hear peers describe using tactical breathing during a crisis, or applying mindfulness techniques during a traumatic scene, they’re not just learning techniques — they’re witnessing proof that these tools work in real-world conditions.

Additionally, storytelling reduces isolation, builds relationships, fosters meaning and highlights accomplishment — all building blocks toward well-being.

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From individual healing to collective strength

The HiPP COPS program (Humanities in Positive Psychology Creating Opportunities for Police), part of the Courageous Optimism© Training Series, demonstrates this integration beautifully. Officers learn the science of storytelling, develop a framework of their own story and then share those stories with each other. This is done through expressive writing and creative art. The combination of positive psychology training with narrative sharing creates a powerful feedback loop of learning and application.

This storytelling approach also builds what resilience experts call “anti-fragility” — the capacity to grow stronger from stressors rather than simply surviving them. When officers share how they transformed their worst moments into wisdom, they model this anti-fragile mindset for their peers.

The power of restorative storytelling also lies in its ability to shift department culture. Isolation doesn’t just endanger individual officers — it can undermine entire agencies. When officers hear others describe similar struggles and recovery, help-seeking becomes normalized and accessible instead of stigmatized.

Changing police culture through shared stories

This cultural transformation happens through what social scientists call “social modeling.” The first officer brave enough to share their story after a traumatic incident gives others permission to do the same. The supervisor who talks openly about using mindfulness techniques during high-stress situations creates space for officers to explore similar practices.

The most powerful narratives include concrete strategies others can replicate. As more officers share openly, departments experience a measurable shift toward openness, mutual support, and proactive wellness rather than reactive crisis response. The conversation changes from “suck it up” to “here’s what worked for me.”

This isn’t about creating therapy circles in roll call. It’s simply about normalizing the reality that strong officers use tools, seek support, and learn from each other’s experiences. When storytelling becomes part of the culture, officers develop a collective efficacy — the shared belief that together, they can handle whatever comes their way.

How officers and leaders can put storytelling into practice

For officers ready to embrace this approach, the path forward is clear but requires courage. Start small: first, try using the “me at my best” exercise — a positive psychology intervention where individuals describe themselves at their best, highlighting personal strengths and valued qualities; or share one experience where you overcame a challenge, including the specific strategies that helped. Focus on the learning, not just the struggle. Your story might be the lifeline another officer needs.

For supervisors and administrators, creating opportunities for these conversations requires intentional effort. This means establishing formal programs like peer support groups, but also informal opportunities during training, briefings, or team meetings (on or off the clock). Real change happens when leaders model vulnerability and openness themselves.

Consider implementing “lessons learned” sessions that include not just tactical debriefs but emotional and psychological insights. Invite officers to share not just what happened, but how they processed it, what resources they used, and what they learned about themselves. Make these sessions solution-focused rather than problem-focused.

Departments can also partner with outside training programs that provide structured approaches to narrative sharing within law enforcement contexts. The key is ensuring these efforts are sustained, not one-time events, and that they’re integrated with other wellness initiatives rather than standing alone.

The badge represents more than authority — it embodies a duty to protect and serve, including protecting one another. When officers share their stories of struggle and recovery, they extend this protection beyond physical safety to emotional and psychological well-being.

Every story of resilience becomes a tool for others to use. Every narrative of recovery provides a roadmap for peers facing similar challenges. In this way, storytelling transforms from individual healing to collective strength-building.

As Seneca’s ancient wisdom reminds us: “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” The stories we tell about our struggles can become the beginning of someone else’s recovery. The challenges that once threatened to break us can become the very tools that help others build unshakeable resilience. The stories we tell can heal ourselves through processing and sharing.

When officers are emotionally healthy, they serve with compassion, make sound decisions under stress, and foster stronger community and personal relationships. But first, they must be willing to share their stories — the messy, difficult, ultimately hopeful stories of human beings who chose to keep going, keep growing, and keep serving.

The silence that kills can be broken with stories that heal. The choice is ours.

How could your department create safe spaces for officers to share their stories without stigma? Share below.

About the author

David Berez is a retired police officer with a total of 34 years in emergency services. He is currently earning his Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a Master Resiliency Trainer, mental health advocate for law enforcement, and subject matter expert in impairment and infrastructure and event security. Mr. Berez advises several organizations on public safety matters, most notably Citizens Behind the Badge. Contact Mr. Berez through his website www.six4consultants.com.

|NEXT: Read an excerpt from David Berez’s book, “A Resilient Life: A Cop’s Journey in Pursuit of Purpose.”