Growing up playing football, barefoot, in the streets of Trinidad
set Dr. Dara Rampersad to be a unique, caring and thoughtful person and practitioner.
His is not the typical origin story for most PhD Psychologists; likewise, his mission
to serve public safety is not normal either. In episode 63 Dr Dara and I discuss
resiliency, why it matters and how it’s developed. We also discuss growing up
in Trinidad and how the sport of cricket lead to baseball. A great guest and
fantastic episode, enjoy!
Dr. Dara Rampersad is a First
Responder and Forensic psychologist who is licensed in both Arizona and
Hawaii. He is certified in Crisis
Intervention Teams (CIT) as a CIT Coordinator, and is trained in Critical
Incident Stress Management (CISM), and FBI- Crisis Negotiator Teams (CNT). In
addition, Dr. Rampersad is licensed as a professional counselor in Arizona and
Colorado, and is nationally board certified in counseling, with over 20 years
of experience in the mental health field.
Dr. Rampersad owns and operates
BluePaz First Responder Services, which hosts annual first responder health and
wellness conferences and provides counseling, consulting, coaching, critical
incident stress debriefings, and training to first responders and their
departments on resiliency, stress management and other pertinent topics.
Dr. Rampersad helped to start the
world’s first hospital-based CIT program, and he currently serves as the
Director of Crisis Services for a large multi-state hospital system. He is also
an instructor for many law enforcement agencies, and trains on crisis and
Mental Health Tactical Intervention (MHTI) to fire departments, paramedics, and
other first responders.
Dr. Rampersad is a founding member
and first President of the Arizona CIT Association. He also serves on the CIT
International and EMSHelp boards of directors, Mesa Police Department mental
health advisory board, and Phoenix Fire Department paramedic training advisory
board.
Dr. Rampersad works with the Peoria
Police Department and Prescott Valley Police Department as a member of their
peer support team, and was also involved as a team leader for an International
Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) policy group; revising policies and
procedures for how law enforcement assist people mental health crisis.
Dr. Rampersad helped to launch Maui
County Police Department’s and the State of Hawaii’s very first CIT program
aimed to improve first responder service delivery to people living with mental
illness. During this time, he was also able to assist in starting Maui County’s
first felony/circuit court mental health court, and he was selected by CIT
International as an international behavioral health practitioner of the year.
Dr. Rampersad has appeared on
multiple television and radio programs to speak on law enforcement response to
mental health, violence risk assessment, homelessness, and other mental health
issues. He has also served as an expert witness in complex judicial cases
involving involuntary hospitalization and fitness to proceed issues.
Dr. Rampersad has been given
letters of commendation by the Governor of Hawaii and the Mayor and Chief of
Police of Maui County for his pioneering work in the field of mental health. He
was also lauded by and received commendations from the Phoenix Police
Department for his assistance in selecting their CIT detective squads, and for
his ongoing work in assisting law enforcement as a first responder
psychologist.
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You can find the Fireground Fitness podcast wherever great podcasts are
located. So, search it out and subscribe. Your feedback is powerful, and
greatly appreciated. Go to apple podcasts, subscribe, rate and review the
podcast or shoot me an email!
If you would like to contact today’s guest...
IG: @drdarabluepaz
FB: BluePaz
LinkedIn: Dr. Dara Rampersad
Your host can be reached at:
IG: @firegroundfitness
FB: @fireground fitness
Twitter: @firegroundfit
Email: raynegray@firegroundfitness.com
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