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Crees, Thomas, BA, CIT, CBHL, CPO

Thomas Crees is currently enrolled in Webster University’s Master of Arts program in Professional Counseling with an emphasis in Clinical Mental Health. He received his bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Webster University. Tom’s area of research is based around Post Traumatic Stress within first responders, Trauma-Informed Care, and utilization of alternative therapy methods for PTS. Tom has presented to multiple law enforcement agencies, hospitals, and military installations on post-traumatic stress, Trauma-Informed Care, and crisis intervention for first responders and their families. His knowledge and research in these areas come from several years of lived experienced in both law enforcement and military service.

Tom’s current professional role is as the Community Treatment Liaison at ARCA, Assisted Recovery Centers of America. In this role, Tom assists law enforcement with crisis intervention response to calls for services involving individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. Before this role, Tom was a police officer with the St. Louis County Police Department. His last assignment within the police department was the Crisis Intervention Unit as the first Homeless Outreach Officer in the St. Louis County Region. Tom’s primary role was to develop best practices for law enforcement’s response and interactions with the unhoused population. Tom’s law enforcement experience ranges from criminal investigations, drug interdiction, executive protection, crisis intervention, and response to civil unrest. During his tenure with the St. Louis County Police Department, Crees served as an executive board member to the department’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the St. Louis Area CIT Council.

Crees is a Missouri POST certified instructor in crisis intervention, interview and interrogations, human behavioral analysis, and basic/advanced law enforcement training. Crees is currently a lead instructor for the St. Louis area Crisis Intervention Team program. In which Crees instructs officers on Hospital Procedures for Individuals in Mental Health Crisis, Building Legitimacy in Diverse Communities, as well as Law Enforcement and the Unhoused.

Prior to his law enforcement career, Tom served eight years in the United States Army as an infantry sergeant assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. Tom served multiple tours in hostile environments around the world.

Tom is a member of the American Counseling Association, the St. Louis County Continuum of Care, the Missouri Crisis Intervention Team Council, the International Association of Undercover Officers, and the St. Louis Area CIT Council. Tom Crees also works for Loaves and Fishes and St. Louis County Government as the Homeless Outreach Coordinator for the St. Louis County Region.

Presentation(s): 

Compassion Fatigue among First Responders


 

 

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Compassion Fatigue among First Responders

Speaker(s):

Watson, Lori, PHR

Crees, Thomas

Presentation:

High-stress helping professionals such as law enforcement, first responders, and healthcare professionals are exposed to secondary traumatic stress (STS) throughout their careers and sometimes experience primary trauma. This exposure to trauma in their professions, mixed with the stress and pressures of the job, can produce symptoms of compassion fatigue (CF). In our current climate, the prevalence of behavioral health intervention among law enforcement is a conversational topic as departments experience societal pressure to reform policing. This presentation explores the emotional and physical impact of CF and STS on the well-being of those impacted; and how CF, specifically, can exacerbate volatile situations or incidents between first responders and citizens. The presentation will identify specific risk factors and distinguish the difference between burnout and compassion fatigue.

Further, the presentation will present literature on the behavioral outcomes of compassion fatigue in law enforcement officers, specifically, and the implications for the field of counseling among this demographic. Research evidences success and benefits of psychotherapy, psychoeducation, and workplace/peer support programming among law enforcement officers and agencies that implement counseling practices.

Through interactive methods and review of case studies, workshop participants will learn to identify compassion fatigue, and apply counseling and wellness interventions to each case.

Objectives:

  1. Distinguish the difference between burnout and compassion fatigue (CF).

  2. Review literature and research on the symptoms of CF and its relation to post traumatic stress disorder.

  3. Understand the neurobiological impact of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and its relation to CF.

  4. Discuss treatment areas and methods defined in research that encourage compassion satisfaction and address STS and compassion fatigue.

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When Your Consumer Needs A Guardian: Practical, Ethical, and Legal Aspects of Seeking Guardianship

Speaker(s):

Reynolds, James, MD

Thomas, Denise, JD

Presentation:

Guardianship proceedings over a mental health consumer will result, if successful, in that consumer losing a great deal of personal autonomy. Such a decision by a family member or clinician is fraught with moral and ethical considerations. On the other hand, for those consumers rendered incapable of making rational choices regarding their health or personal affairs due to a mental illness or intellectual disability, failure to do so in a timely fashion can also lead to harm. Clinicians called upon to give testimony in this area may be inexperienced in court or in working with attorneys.

Dr. Reynolds will discuss clinical, legal, and ethical implications of instituting guardianship proceedings based on his experiences with the Missouri Department of Mental Health. He will also give tips on how to prepare for court and effectively present one’s case from the witness stand. This lecture will be similar to the one given on this topic in 2021, but with adjustments based on audience feedback. Questions and personal anecdotes from the audience will be encouraged.

Objectives:

  1. Identify major factors in recognizing the need for guardianship proceedings when working with a consumer.

  2. Learn effective ways of communicating clinical principles to legal professionals and jurors.

  3. Identify special areas of interest to the court in guardianship hearings, including the right to vote, the right to drive, and the right to marry.

  4. Identify some harms that might arise from delaying guardianship proceedings when they are clinically indicated.

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What’s the Risk? The Evolution of Sexual Offending

Speaker(s):

Colwick, Rachel, MA, LPC, NCC

Moore, Mark, MA, LPC, NCC

Presentation:

This presentation will review empirically supported treatment models associated with persons who have committed sexual abusive acts. The primary models for discussion will include Risk Needs Responsivity (RNR) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The presenters will explain the dynamic risk factors related to this population as well as the protective factors, or features that have been shown to help lower rate of recidivism. Finally, treatment tools or strategies along with case examples will be depicted within this presentation.

Objectives:

  1. Discuss the empirical based models associated with sexual offen

  2. Explain the dynamic risk factors associated with sexual offending including the protective factors (or features shown to help lower recidivism rate)

  3. Identify treatment targets and interventions or strategies

By

Watson, Lori, PHR

Lori J. Watson is enrolled in Webster University’s Master of Arts program in Professional Counseling (Clinical Mental Health emphasis). She has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Concordia University, Ann Arbor, and a Professional in Human Resource (PHR) certification. Watson’s research focus is in secondary traumatic stress/vicarious trauma, specifically compassion fatigue (CF) and the impact of CF on first responders, law enforcement professionals, and other helping professions. She has written about the neurobiology of trauma, the effects of compassion fatigue on law enforcement officers and other helping professions, and on the effects of secondary trauma on first responders’ postvention practices. She has presented on secondary traumatic stress in nurses and among law enforcement officers; specifically recognizing the signs and differences between burnout and compassion fatigue when secondary traumatic stress is present. Watson’s manuscript on CF in law enforcement officers is currently in review mode for publication at the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, an international criminal justice publication.

Watson’s current professional role is Deputy Title IX & HR Coordinator at Webster University; before this role, she served as a paralegal at the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy where her interest in law solidified. At Webster, Watson provides educational programming on sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking and conducts investigations on sexual harassment claims which ignited her interest in the impact of vicarious trauma. She also provides wellness and mental health programming for the University at large. She has participated in a variety of legal and human resource training and education including Clery Act and Violence Against Women Act compliance, Court Appointed Special Advocate techniques, Interpersonal Communication, Workplace Harassment Prevention, and Management, Restoring the Soul After Sexual Trauma, and Understanding Transgender Issues in the Workplace. Watson is a member of the National Association of Legal Assistants, the Missouri Peace Officers Association, the American Counseling Association, and the Association of Title IX Administrators.

Presentation(s): 

Compassion Fatigue among First Responders


 

 

By

Reynolds, James, MD

Dr. James Reynolds is a forensic psychiatrist in private practice in Northwest Missouri. He is board certified in general and forensic psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. For 22 years he served as a medical administrator, clinical psychiatrist, and expert forensic examiner for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, retiring from State service in June, 2021.

Dr. Reynolds has prepared Guardianship packets on many consumers in both Missouri and Colorado, and has testified in court on nearly two hundred occasions, including a number of Guardianship hearings. He has lectured on numerous occasions to clinical and legal professionals in various academic venues. He holds an appointment as Associate Professor with the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and Assistant Professorships with several other medical schools.

Presentation(s): 

When Your Consumer Needs A Guardian: Practical, Ethical, and Legal Aspects of Seeking Guardianship


 

 

By

Moore, Mark, MA, LPC, NCC

Mark Moore has his Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is a Licensed Professional Counselor, as well as a National Board Certified Counselor. Mark is published and co-authored in two articles in the Safer Society Press. Further, Mark is a member of the professional organization, Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA). Mark has vast experience in working with a variety of populations such as those suffering from mood disorders, psychotic disorders, grief, trauma related experiences or PTSD, to name a few. Specifically, Mark has specialized in the treatment of sexual offenders starting with conducting group and individual therapy sessions for the Cape Girardeau, MO Probation and Parole. For over 8 years, Mark has been working at Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center (SORTS-Sexual Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Services) and has been implementing process groups, psycho-educational groups, and individual therapy for those who are civilly committed sexual violent predators. Mark also spent time conducting process groups and psycho-educational groups at Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP). Primarily, Mark has been working with those that have scored moderate to high psychopathy levels, Antisocial Personality Disorders, and Narcissistic Personality Disorders. Lastly, he has conducted numerous professional presentations including three previous trainings at the Spring Training Institute.


Presentation(s): 

What’s the Risk? The Evolution of Sexual Offending


 

 

By

Colwick, Rachel, MA, LPC, NCC

Rachel Colwick has her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is a Licensed Professional Counselor, as well as a National Board Certified Counselor. Rachel is published and co-authored in two articles in the Safer Society Press. Rachel has a vast amount of clinical experience in working with those who have suffered from mood disorders, personality disorders , psychotic disorders, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, grief, trauma, and self-harming behaviors, to name a few. For over 7 years, Rachel has implemented process groups, psycho-educational groups, and individual therapy for those who are civilly committed sexual violent predators (SVPs) while at Missouri Sexual Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Services (SORTS) and Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP). Rachel is currently supervising over a program which provides treatment services to those suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder, cognitive challenges, psychotic disorders, and those with histories of sexual offenses. Lastly, she has conducted numerous professional presentations including three previous trainings at the Spring Training Institute.

 

Presentation(s): 

What’s the Risk? The Evolution of Sexual Offending