Our Story

Since 2015, Emergency Responders Assistance Program (ERAP), a non-profit organization of citizens and first responders, has been providing unique and extensive mental health seminars to first responders who have been negatively affected by a critical incident. The seminars, called Emergency Responders Critical Incident Seminars (ERCISs), are underwritten by ERAP and provide psychological support to affected first responders and significant others. Exposure to critical incidents, if left unaddressed, often leads to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), deteriorating job performance, family violence, substance abuse, and suicide.

ERAP is the only non-profit organization in the U.S. that offers mental health support to a broad range of first responders: law enforcement, fire fighters, emergency medical technicians, medical examiner personnel, and now health care workers. ERCIS utilizes the expertise of mental health professionals and peer first responders to address exposure to critical incidents and provide coping skills to prevent adverse consequences.

The year 2020, with its Covid-19 pandemic, is marked by tremendous challenges to another vital group of public servants- medical workers. With the immense challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic have generated, including helplessness in dealing with death and disease and limited resources in an overwhelmed health system,  came an increase in PTSD and post- traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in health workers in the forefront of the fight to contain and treat the pandemic. There is now a large volume of studies showing significant incidence of insomnia, adverse somatic and psychiatric symptoms, job burnout, PTSD, and even suicide among a vulnerable segment of frontline healthcare workers.

Based on its experience and expertise in helping traumatized first responders, ERAP has created a mental health seminar for healthcare workers negatively affected by their experience in fighting Covid19.  Emergency Medical Responders Assistance Program (EMRAP) provides psychoeducational information to healthcare workers and their life partners along with practical skills to improve resilience.  EMRAP offers a unique program that includes Peer Support Mentoring, Critical Incident Stress Debriefings, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy in a 3.5 day intensive program that is being offered through telehealth. The mission of this program is to mitigate some of adverse effects experienced by healthcare workers fighting Covid19 and teach resilience and coping skills.