A patient who received treatment at Sierra Tucson in Tucson, Arizona, shares his personal journey and the stigma he overcame that ultimately led him to experience transformational growth as part of the Red, White and Blue Program. With guidance from the compassionate team, this first responder was able to overcome trauma and personal struggles while also developing a strong bond with other first responders in his process group. Thank you, Sierra Tucson team, for your care and dedication to helping people change their lives for the better.
“I wanted to take some time now to write about my experience at Sierra Tucson and how, with their help, I was able to change my life for the good. By way of background, I am a chief law enforcement executive. I went to Sierra Tucson in July of 2022 when I was truly at a low point in my life.
For as long as I can remember, I was continually making bad decisions in my personal life that were ultimately leading me to sadness and depression. But I was a cop who never felt I could look for assistance from anyone. I would always look to take care of my own problems and was dead set against the concept of treatment or therapy.
In July of 2020, these bad decisions had taken their toll on me and my family, and it was time to give in and get professional assistance. I contacted a healthcare professional I knew and they immediately told me that they would help me to get into Sierra Tucson, as they were the best at what they do.
In addition, I was also told that they had a special program known as the Red, White and Blue (RWB) program that was geared toward people like me. The program solely brings together military and first responders who are in need of assistance and who often share similar traumatic events that related to their professions. This gave me some reassurance that I was on the right track.
Shortly after that, I was on a plane and eventually found myself in the middle of the beautiful Arizona desert at Sierra Tucson. I was anxious and scared and wasn’t sure I did the right thing. That is, until I met William ‘Doc’ Reynolds, the administrator of the RWB program, a former military man and a psychiatrist who I would ultimately become friends with and who helped to change my life for the better. He told me to trust in the process, participate in all my sessions and to take full advantage of the opportunity I was given.
For the next month, I did exactly that. I got to interact daily with his caring, dedicated and professional staff who would ultimately identify some of the root causes of trauma that I had been carrying around my whole life and techniques and methods that would help me to deal with it. All of my days there were highly structured and very intense, which allowed me to focus on my treatment. I can tell you those days were not easy.
The RWB program was great for someone like me, a first responder who did not feel comfortable opening up about things with just anyone. The process group I was with was comprised of former military, cops and firemen. We became so close that we all still talk weekly after nearly two years. The bond we now share is unbreakable.
While I was there, I also got to meet and get to know many ordinary people who were also struggling with maladaptive behaviors. I got to hear about their trauma and some of their stories that led them to alcohol and drug addiction. Just prior to leaving Sierra Tucson, I gave Dr. Reynolds my uniform badge and told him that he could use it any way he wanted to hopefully inspire other first responders like me who were reluctant to seek treatment but were ultimately glad they did.
What I can tell you is that everyone struggles with something, and that it is important that you do something about it before it becomes a real problem. If and when that time comes, I would highly recommend you consider Sierra Tucson as the place to begin your treatment. I can only hope they do as much for you as they did for me.”