Training & Programs
Bring the work to your people
Training and speaking are delivered by First Responder Forward LLC under First Responder Forward. Sessions are built around your agency's size, schedule, and current pressures — from a single roll-call block to a multi-day program.
Education, not treatment
Our programs are not a substitute for therapy. They give responders a foundational understanding of stress, trauma, resilience, moral injury, identity, and the effects of repeated exposure to critical incidents.
That shared language helps responders recognize when more support would help, and helps clinicians, coaches, and supervisors understand the demands of the job — a bridge between education and clinical care.
Forward Online Education Portal
Learn at your pace. Earn proof of completion.
The Forward online education portal is our eLearning home for self-paced courses on stress, resilience, and first responder wellness — available on your schedule, with progress tracking and completion certificates.
Self-paced
Start, pause, and resume between shifts or at home — on any device.
Evidence-informed
Built for the first responder experience by people who understand the job.
Completion certificates
Earn a printable, verified certificate for every course you finish.
Free for approved learners
No cost for verified first responders, military, veterans, and families.
What to expect
- Create your free account
- Request learner access
- Launch your course
- Track progress and earn your certificate
Already have an account?
Sign in to continue your course, view certificates, or request access to new learning.
Sign inFor agencies, academies & HR
Bring First Responder Forward to your organization
Programming for chiefs, sheriffs, fire and EMS leadership, dispatch supervisors, corrections administrators, training officers, academies, and HR.
The problems this addresses
Retention and career sustainability
People leave the profession long before they intend to. Education early in a career gives responders language for what the work does to them — and a reason to stay whole in it.
Cumulative stress, not single incidents
Most strain builds gradually across years of exposure and shift work. Training addresses the accumulation, not just the aftermath of one call.
Leadership and post-incident response
Supervisors set the tone for whether people ask for help. Sessions give command staff concrete language and response practices.
Family impact
Families absorb the job too. Family-facing sessions reduce the isolation that drives conflict at home and distraction on shift.
Who we work with
- Police chiefs & sheriffs
- Fire chiefs & battalion officers
- EMS leadership
- Dispatch & communications supervisors
- Corrections administrators
- Training officers & academies
- HR, risk, and wellness coordinators
- Peer support team leads
How programming is delivered
Agency Training
On-site programming built around your agency's schedule, size, and current pressures.
Conference Presentations
Keynotes and breakout sessions for regional and national gatherings.
Leadership Workshops
Focused sessions for supervisors and command staff on culture and post-incident response.
Webinars
Short, practical online sessions for distributed teams and shift coverage.
Virtual Training
Full-length programming delivered live online for multi-site agencies.
Custom Programs
Programming designed around a specific incident, population, or initiative.
Program catalog
Programs available now, by request
Every topic is scheduled by request in the format that fits you. Pricing depends on group size, travel, and materials.
Tell me when dates are announced
Not ready to book? Leave your email and we'll let you know as soon as open sessions and webinar dates are on the calendar.
Classes from other instructors
Approved outside instructors post their own dates and registration links. Browse what they have scheduled, or apply to list your own classes.
Free course preview
Choosing Mental Health Support: A First Responder's Guide
Take the 5-minute self-paced preview, Is Your Provider Actually Right for You? A First Responder's 5-Minute Check, at no cost. Agencies can request the full in-depth eLearning version or an in-person session — and the in-person version of this course is included with every in-person training we deliver.
Opens in a new tab. Educational only — not therapy, diagnosis, or treatment.
Postpartum & Policing
Perinatal and postpartum mental health in the context of shift work, duty status, and returning to the job.
- Audience:
- Open to all first responders, partners, and supervisors
- Typical length:
- 90 minutes to half day
- Delivery:
- Agency training, Conference presentation, Webinar
What participants leave with
- Recognize perinatal mood and anxiety changes in a public safety context
- Understand duty-status and return-to-work pressures
- Know how supervisors can respond supportively and appropriately
Identity Discovery
Who you are under the uniform: role identity, purpose, and the transitions that come with promotion, injury, retirement, or leaving the profession.
- Audience:
- First responders at any career stage
- Typical length:
- 2 hours to full day
- Delivery:
- Agency training, Conference presentation, Leadership workshop
What participants leave with
- Separate personal identity from occupational role
- Anticipate identity strain at common career transition points
- Build a practical plan for life beyond the badge
Spousal Survival
Practical language and tools for families living alongside the job — communication, secondary stress, and boundaries.
- Audience:
- Spouses, partners, and family members of first responders
- Typical length:
- 2 hours
- Delivery:
- Community session, Agency family night, Webinar
What participants leave with
- Name secondary and vicarious stress without pathologizing it
- Use communication tools that work around shift work
- Know when and how to reach for outside support
Self Psychological First Aid
How to steady yourself in the hours and days after a hard call: warning signs, early self-stabilization, and when to reach for more.
- Audience:
- Open to all first responders
- Typical length:
- Roll-call block to 2 hours
- Delivery:
- Roll-call block, Agency training, Webinar
What participants leave with
- Identify personal early warning signs after a critical incident
- Apply immediate self-stabilization strategies
- Understand what peer support and clinical care each do
Bridging the Gap: Your Brain, Your Body, and Therapy
What actually happens in therapy, how to choose and work with a therapist or mental health coach, and why repeated exposure shows up in the body.
- Audience:
- First responders, families, clinicians, and coaches
- Typical length:
- 2 hours to half day
- Delivery:
- Agency training, Conference presentation, Webinar, Clinician or coach session
What participants leave with
- Explain the stress response in plain, non-clinical language
- Walk into a first therapy appointment prepared
- Evaluate whether a therapist or coach understands the profession
Choosing Mental Health Support: A First Responder's Guide
How to find, evaluate, and start with a therapist or mental health coach who understands the job — what to ask, what different credentials mean, and how to tell whether a provider is the right fit for you.
- Audience:
- First responders, families, peer support teams, and supervisors
- Typical length:
- Self-paced preview (5 minutes) · 60–90 minutes in person
- Delivery:
- Self-paced eLearning, Agency training, Roll-call block, Webinar
What participants leave with
- Know what to ask a provider before the first appointment
- Understand credentials, licensure, and coaching scope in plain language
- Decide confidently whether a provider is the right fit — and what to do if they aren't
Training inquiry
Tell us about your agency
Pick any classes and formats you're interested in and we'll follow up with availability and pricing. No obligation, and every inquiry is read personally.