Intensive Trauma Recovery Retreat

Haymarket Center offers a series of educational seminars and retreats for uniformed first responders and essential personnel that focuses on resilience, health and wellness, and stress and trauma that is specific to responder culture. 

This small group (less than 20) retreat focuses on the impact of working as responders, where accumulative and critical incident stress-related trauma exposure and traumatic stress injuries occur related to incident exposure, moral injury, and organizational issues. Many responders experience critical incident stress and post-traumatic stress across their careers and it is often it is minimalized, overlooked or stigmatized. This event includes group discussions on topics including traumatic stress injury, responder culture, resilience planning, suicide prevention and grief. Small group discussions allow for focused  conversations using CISM and peer support approaches. Stress management techniques and Eye Movement Desensitization are also offered.  The faculty are all first responder/essential personnel specialists and culturally competent and experts in their fields of trauma.  

This event is not meant to be a substitute for therapy, nor is it a traditional seminar course or training for CIT or peer support. It is a retreat event focusing on one’s personal experiences as a person exposed to a range of traumatic events and experiences in their career.

Who	Open to Law Enforcement, Corrections, Essential Emergency Hospital/Nursing, FF, EMS, Disaster, Emergency Medical Responder Personnel, Telecommunication, Emergency Management, Disaster and Death Responders.
Where	Chicago/Northwest Suburbs (information provided upon registration)
When	Sunday, Registration 10:30 am; Start Sunday 11 am –  Wednesday 2pm
How	Registration open as listed below
Cost	Grant funded through to Haymarket Center of Chicago.
Staff/Peers	Our volunteer team are first responder/essential personnel culturally competent

2025 Registration

Notice: 2025 registration closes 12 days prior to date.

2026 Registration

Note: 2026 registration closes 14 days prior to date.

Dates	Closing Dates
Jan 25-28	January 11
Mar 3-8	February 17
April 26-29	April 12
June 13-17	May 30
July 12-15	June 28
Aug 16-19	August 2
Oct 18-21	October 4
Dec 12-16	November 28

How to apply

Limited openings. Pre-registration for the next event is available with name, best direct phone number and direct email, and preferred date. There is a brief screening at registration. Once registered, specific information will be provided.

Contact

For questions or concerns, please contact:
Kammie R Juzwin, PsyD at info@kjuzin.com or 630-517-0003

Program Description

Haymarket Center of Chicago offers this grant-funded event as part of their mission to serve their community. Their belief is that a healthy community starts with taking care of and supporting their first responders and essential personnel.

This is a limited registration event (15-18). It is held in a Chicago metropolitan hotel with easy access from major highways. Registration begins at 10:30am, the program begins Sunday at 11:00AM and concludes Wednesday at 2:00pm. The day begins at 8:00am and concludes after dinner.

All arrangements are made for you. All participants are housed in a single occupancy room. Parking and meals are provided. Other specific details will be sent in another mailing when registration is confirmed. If you are flying in, please arrive at O’Hare, there is a hotel shuttle available (hotel specifics provided at registration).

Related to specific components of the program:

Educational training discussions which focus on specific issues related to mental health and wellness in first/essential personnel. Taught by professionals competent in MH/first responder culture. 

Topics include: 

a. Traumatic Stress Spectrum related to responders/essential personnel 

• Personal and professional career contributions/maintaining factors
• Types of traumas, traumatic exposure and impact
• Understanding the spectrum of stress and trauma (including critical incident stress) 

b. Psychology of Responders & Cost of Responding Perspective 

• Understanding the connection to self-destructiveness, hopelessness & suicide
• Connections to lifestyle, relationship, mental health, physical health and behavioral risk factors 

c. Suicide Recognition and Prevention

• The importance of perspective, acknowledgment, openness, commitment to self-maintenance, and purpose in life
• Risk and protective factors
• How to talk about It
• Stress Management and Lifestyle Healthy Coping 
• Health and Wellness Over the Course of Your Career 
• Officer Wellness Initiatives & Resources 
• Recognizing limits and available resources
• Recognizing how to access support throughout the career
• Planning for wholistic health and wellness

Small Group CISM-based discussions focusing on individual experiences of career-related trauma and critical incident stress discussion related to personal challenges and experiences 

• Personal impact of the profession/career on personal life
• Personal life challenges and management strategies

 Interventions & Activities

• Specific intervention resources; Stress Management Techniques – Mind/Body relaxation, tension reduction including somatic interventions (tai chi, yoga, tapping, guided imagery, relaxation), meditation, stress management apps and resources
• Eye Movement Reprocessing & Desensitization (EMD) in UFR application – Optional 
• Overall lifestyle, planning, wellness & career mindset techniques

Philanthropic support helps ensure that we can offer this program free of cost for participants. Your generous support of:

• $5,700 will provide one day of meals for all participants
• $1,400 will underwrite the cost of the welcome reception
• $875 will allow one participant to attend the 3-day retreat