Policing has always been psychological challenging. On any given shift police officers may encounter a range of psychological challenges including domestic violence, interacting with people experiencing mental health issues, violent crime, even attending the aftermath of horrible accidents. The long exhausting shifts can also result in stressful person interactions within one’s personal life. The presence of COVID and political issues related to instances of over-policing have increased these stresses even more. This course has two goals. First, we want to inform officers how their stress system works and why they sometimes feel as they do. With this as a foundation we then describe some strategies officers can use to manage this system, giving themselves much needed breaks from the stress response and overall empowering them with a greater sense of control over how their bodies react to stress.
Offered By


Understanding and Managing the Stresses of Police Work
University of TorontoAbout this Course
Offered by

University of Toronto
Established in 1827, the University of Toronto is one of the world’s leading universities, renowned for its excellence in teaching, research, innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as its impact on economic prosperity and social well-being around the globe.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Understanding the Stress of Police Work
This module consists of two videos, each followed by a short multiple-choice assessment. The first video will describe the biological machinery underlying your stress response; how it works and how it makes you feel. The second video will then consider the stresses of police work and how society's expectations of you with respect to your ability to manage stress is to a large extent an unreasonable ask.
The NaRLy Approach to Managing Stress
This module consists of three videos that break down the NaRLy approach to its three constitute elements, (1) Learning how to NOTICE your stress level, (2) learning how to then use RELAXATION to counter the stress response, and (3) then use the power of active LISTENING to also reduce the stress response in those you are interacting with.
It's All About the Pratice
As is true for all skills, the biggest factor determining how helpful this course will be for you comes down to that one factor ... how much you practice the skills you learned. To encourage and inform you this last video focuses on how practice works, why the first few practice sessions are the most important to get through, and the benefits you will get if you stick with it!
Reviews
- 5 stars87.17%
- 4 stars9.89%
- 3 stars2.19%
- 2 stars0.73%
TOP REVIEWS FROM UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING THE STRESSES OF POLICE WORK
well done, so important to be mindfull of stress, and listening skills.
I thank you for this course. It has helped me a lot in understanding police officers. I do Bible lectures with them and this is an additional understanding. God bless you, sir!
I really enjoyed this course. I thought the Instructor was very knowledgeable and his course is very helpful. I tried his techniques out and I will continue to.
Really easy to follow and pleasant to watch - simplifying how to manage situations for your own and other benefit. Thank you for taking time to put this together. Now I need to practice x
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
Is financial aid available?
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.