Confidential. Trusted. Effective.

First Responder Wellness

First Responder Wellness treats police, fire, EMS, corrections, dispatch and their families, and no one else. Care runs from medically supervised detox through residential treatment, intensive outpatient, online outpatient and supportive living, so you can start at the level your situation actually calls for. Everything is confidential and HIPAA protected, and nobody at your department hears from us without your permission.

Key Takeaways

Who it is for: sworn and civilian public safety personnel, peer supporters, and spouses and immediate family.
What we treat: substance use and alcohol, PTSD and PTSI, trauma, anxiety, depression, operational stress and burnout.
Levels of care: detox, residential, intensive outpatient, online outpatient and supportive living, in California and Washington.
How to start: call admissions, which answers seven days a week, or ask us to check your insurance benefits first.

Level of care	Who it fits	What it involves
Medical detox	Withdrawal that needs medical supervision	Medically supervised withdrawal management before therapy starts
Residential treatment	Substance use, severe trauma symptoms or safety concerns that need a structured setting	Twenty-four hour care, daily individual and group therapy, peer support
Intensive outpatient (IOP)	Regular clinical care while living at home	Group therapy several times a week plus individual sessions
Online outpatient (virtual IOP)	Shift work, distance or a schedule that will not allow clinic visits	The same structured outpatient program delivered by secure telehealth
Supportive living	Stepping down after residential	Phase-two housing with continued counseling and case management

Length of stay is set by clinical need and by what your plan authorizes, not by a fixed calendar.

Explore FRW programs

who this is for

Police officers and sheriff's deputies
Firefighters
EMS and paramedics
Corrections staff
9-1-1 dispatchers
Peer supporters and wellness coordinators
Spouses, partners and immediate family

If you are not sure this is the right call:

Learn about signs a responder needs help

What We Treat

Our programs address the full spectrum of first responder challenges, including:

Stress injuries and trauma exposure

Alcohol misuse and substance use

Depression, anxiety, hypervigilance, and sleep issues

Anger, relationship problems, and compassion fatigue

Organizational and cumulative stress

Overspending

Porn Addiction

Unresolved Critical Incident Trauma

When substance use and mental health show up together

Most responders who come to us are not dealing with one thing. Drinking that started as a way to sleep sits alongside trauma symptoms, and treating either one alone tends to leave the other running.

We treat both in the same plan. That means withdrawal management where it is clinically indicated, trauma-focused therapy, coordinated medication management, a case manager who handles benefits and paperwork, and a return-to-duty conversation that starts early rather than in the last week.

Family is part of that plan when you want it to be. Spouses and partners carry a lot of the load at home, and the program includes them by design.

How we work with you

Clinical care here is delivered by staff who work with public safety full time, alongside peers with lived experience in the job. Day to day, that looks like individual counseling, group therapy with other responders, family and spouse involvement, peer support, case management, and experiential work including equine therapy and breathwork.

Groups are first responders only. That single fact does more for early engagement than anything else we do, because nobody has to explain the job first.

Meet the people who deliver it

The First Responder Wellness clinical team

Verify your insurance benefits

We work with most major plans and accept workers' compensation.

Verify Benefits Call 888-443-4898

What to expect

1. Call admissions. You reach a person, not a queue. We take basic details, explain what is and is not shared, and ask what you want to happen next. You decide who we contact.

2. Clinical assessment. A licensed clinician works through symptoms, trauma exposure, substance use and any immediate safety concerns. That assessment drives the level-of-care recommendation.

3. Your treatment plan. We build it with you. It names the therapy, the supports, and anything practical that has to be handled, including work and family logistics. You agree to it before care starts.

4. Treatment begins. Detox, residential, IOP or online outpatient, at the level the assessment supports. Admissions runs seven days a week.

5. First-week review and duty planning. Clinicians review progress and adjust. With your written permission, and only with it, we coordinate return-to-duty planning with occupational health or your department.

Before you call

Insurance and workers' compensation

We are in network with most major commercial plans, including Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Optum, Anthem and Blue Shield, and we accept workers' compensation claims with employer-directed billing.

Kaiser Southern California and Kaiser Colorado are contracted. Kaiser Northern California is not, so call us and we will talk through the options on your plan.

The fastest way to find out where you stand is to let us check your benefits. Bring your member ID and, if this is a workers' comp claim, your claim number and adjuster contact.

Sort out coverage

Location

Where we are

Residential treatment is in Newport Beach, California. Outpatient care runs in California and Washington, and online outpatient reaches responders anywhere we are licensed to treat.

First Responder Wellness 20351 SW Acacia Street, Newport Beach, CA 92660 888-443-4898

All First Responder Wellness locations

Why First Responder Wellness

A first-responder-only environment

You are not the one cop or one firefighter in a room of civilians. Everyone in the program does the job. Clinicians and peer staff include people with lived first-responder experience, and the schedule is built around public safety realities rather than adapted to them.

Most behavioral health providers publish no outcomes at all. Ours, refreshed each January:

70% average reduction in PCL-5 scores, the standard measure for PTSD, from admission to discharge

More than 2,000 first responders treated since 2018

94% return-to-work rate

First Responder Wellness is accredited by The Joint Commission.

A full continuum, not a single program

Detox, residential, intensive outpatient, virtual IOP and supportive living sit inside one program, so a step up or a step down does not mean starting over with a new provider.

Return-to-duty planning from the start

Getting back to the job is part of the clinical plan, not an afterthought at discharge. With your written authorization, we coordinate timelines and aftercare with your department, EAP or union.

For departments and peer supporters

If you are a peer supporter or a commander trying to get one of your people help, call the admissions line and we will walk through options with you, including what can and cannot be shared back.

Critical incident response and CISM debriefings are delivered by The Counseling Team International, a separate FR Health company, and agency contracting runs through them.

Department resources

“We’ve had remarkable results—probably the best of any treatment center we’ve ever sent our first responders to. They treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve and they have long-term results."

Ret. Sgt. Nick Bauer
Seattle Police Department

“They are really air traffic controllers for wellness services. Sometimes the conversation starts and stops at First Responder Wellness.”

Dr. Cherylynn Lee
First Responder Psychologist

Speak with someone who has done the job.

Start confidential admissions Call 888-443-4898

"It just gave me that good feeling, like this is a place where I think deputies, other law enforcement, first responders, would feel safe."

Deputy Mike Lawson
Retired

“First Responder Wellness saved his life.”

Chief Michael Cash
Guadalupe Department of Public Safety

"I knew I needed help. I reached almost a rock bottom breaking point. I was the first person in our department who reached out and went to a program to get help. It was amazing. It was with competent clinicians, people who welcomed me, and my tribe with people in law enforcement."

Gus
Police Officer & Alumnus

"I felt like I was drowning, and couldn’t catch a breath. With that, I am now 2.5 years out [of the program]. I can still see the rainbows and the butterflies."

Kelly
Dispatcher & Alumna

Frequently Asked Questions

Transparency and trust are an integral part of our identity.

Will my insurance cover treatment?

We are in network with most major commercial plans and we accept workers' compensation, but what your specific policy covers depends on your plan and your benefits. We check benefits before admission and explain what we find. Ask admissions to run that check before you commit to anything.

How long will I be in treatment?

It depends on the level of care and on your clinical needs. Your clinician recommends a length of stay after the assessment and reviews it as you progress, and your plan authorization factors into it. We will tell you what we are recommending and why.

Will my department find out?

Not from us. Your care is protected by HIPAA and by our own confidentiality policies, and we contact nobody without your written permission. Where workers' compensation, a court order or a fitness-for-duty evaluation applies, limited information may be required by law, and we explain exactly what that means during intake.

Who is the program for?

Sworn and civilian public safety personnel and their immediate families: police, fire, EMS, corrections, dispatch, and peer supporters. We treat substance use and alcohol, PTSD and PTSI, trauma, anxiety, depression, operational stress and burnout. We do not treat schizophrenia or active psychosis, and we help coordinate appropriate care when that is what someone needs.

What happens when I call?

You speak with an admissions team member, who takes basic information, explains confidentiality and asks what you want to happen next. If it looks like a fit, a licensed clinician completes a clinical assessment and recommends a level of care. Admissions answers seven days a week.

How is this different from a civilian program?

The population is the difference. Groups are responders only, clinicians work with public safety full time, peers have done the job, and treatment planning assumes shift work, critical incidents and a return to duty. Civilian programs can deliver good clinical care and still miss all of that.

Medical review

Medically reviewed by Stephen Odom, PhD, Chief Clinical Officer · Last reviewed September 2026

See The First Responder Wellness clinical team

This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider about your specific situation. If you are in crisis, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.