An Exploration of the Lived Experiences of Police Officers in Departments with Embedded Clinicians
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Authors
Smith, Amber
Issue Date
2026-05
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Criminal Justice & Public Safety , stigma , police officers , wellness
Alternative Title
Abstract
The problem addressed in this study is the mental health stigma experienced by U.S. police officers that often prevents them from accessing mental health care, resulting in high rates of PTSD and suicide. One potential solution that has emerged to address this mental health stigma for officers is embedding clinicians directly in police departments to support officer wellness. There is a lack of research into the impacts of this type of program, so this study examines the perceptions and experiences of officers in departments with embedded clinicians to better understand how this program impacts mental health stigma for officers. Utilizing a framework of stigma theory and systems theory to understand how stigma is created and transferred in police departments, this study is an interpretive phenomenological analysis of eight interviews from police officers serving at departments with an embedded clinician. Questions were designed to elicit thick descriptions of the participants’ perceptions and experiences with mental health stigma, the embedded clinician, and how this program impacts mental health stigma in their department and in their own perceptions of help seeking. Themes emerged indicating that structural stigma poses the greatest threat to the embedded clinician program having a positive impact, that stigma is gradually shifting as new generations of officers are entering the field, that the cultural competency of the clinician is key to having an impact on reducing the stigma for officers, and that the officers’ own self-stigma is likely to be the most impacted by the clinician. Implications for clinicians include prioritizing cultural competency to build rapport with officers and to work with administrators to reduce structural barriers to care. Implications for police administrators include reducing structural barriers to accessing the program, and making sure that new officers access the clinician early in their career to continue shifting away from mental health stigma. Future research should focus on deepening understanding of how an embedded clinician program can be most effective and decrease stigma.