Thompson, Jeff
Not Check Box Training: Real Practices in Resilience for Hostage Negotiators

The work of police hostage negotiators is tense, stressful, anxiety-filled, and is often unpredictable. When not properly handled, it can have a detrimental impact on a negotiator's emotional, cognitive, and behavioral health. Fortunately, research has also shown that certain practices can increase one's focus, calm, inner strength, resilience, and create overall better mental health coping strategies. This workshop explores the science behind a collection of resilience practices that have already been embraced by negotiators across the country and world (including the FBI, NYPD, Toronto, and New Zealand). These practices can increase your negotiator effectiveness and also your personal resilience. As with real resilience, no workshop, book, podcast, or article enhances resilience. This only occurs by doing it and practicing it so come to this (very) interactive presentation where you will get to participate in many exercises. Everyone deserves to have positive mental health and that certainly includes hostage negotiators.

Jeff Thompson - Bio
Jeff Thompson, Ph.D., is a research scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center. He is a retired New York City Police Department detective where he was their first-ever mental health and wellness coordinator and previously a hostage negotiator. He teaches at multiple universities and has trained police across the world in hostage negotiation, leadership, resilience, and suicide prevention.