Shields Down: Healing for First Responders

Welcome to "Shields Down: Healing for First Responders," the podcast dedicated to helping first responders navigate PTSD recovery, stress management, and emotional resilience. Hosted by Adam Henson, this series dives deep into the mental health challenges faced by police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and correctional officers, providing expert insights, real-life stories, and practical strategies for healing.

Each episode may feature mental health professionals, trauma specialists, and first responders who have walked the path of PTSD recovery, sharing actionable tools for managing stress, anxiety, trauma, and burnout. From coping with critical incidents to building emotional strength and peer support, we cover what it takes to reclaim your mental well-being while continuing to serve.

🔹 Topics We Cover:
✔️ PTSD and trauma recovery in first responders
✔️ Mental health strategies for police, firefighters, paramedics & COs
✔️ Coping mechanisms for stress, anxiety, and burnout
✔️ How to build resilience and emotional armor
✔️ Navigating family life and relationships with PTSD
✔️ The role of peer support and professional help
✔️ Overcoming the stigma of mental health in first responder culture
✔️ Work-life balance strategies for high-stress careers
✔️ Mindfulness, self-care, and stress reduction techniques
✔️ Real stories of hope, strength, and post-traumatic growth

✔ Plus more...

Join us as we break the silence around PTSD and mental health in first responders. Whether you're struggling, supporting a loved one, or simply looking to strengthen your mental fitness, "Shields Down" is your safe space for guidance, connection, and healing.

🎙️ Subscribe now and take the first step toward recovery—because lowering your shield is the first step to reclaiming your strength. Your well-being matters, and your journey isn’t over.

Contributors

Host

Adam Henson

Adam Henson is a Resilience Coach, PTSD educator, and the host of the PTSD Transformation Podcast: Real Talk. Real Tools. Real Transformation. A correctional officer with over a decade of frontline experience, Adam has lived through the personal and professional toll of trauma, burnout, and PTSD — and turned that pain into purpose.

After losing his son and witnessing too many colleagues struggle in silence, Adam founded the PTSD Transformation Academy, a movement dedicated to helping first responders shift from merely surviving to truly thriving. Through his courses, workbooks, coaching, and podcast, Adam equips police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and correctional staff with practical tools for healing, growth, and long-term resilience.

Combining lived experience, professional insight, and a deep compassion for those who serve, Adam brings real talk, real tools, and real hope to those ready to reclaim their lives.

https://www.ptsd-transformation.com/