Real Resilience When We Need It Most

Watch the short video above

Regardless of who you are and what your path is, we are in tough times to say the least. We have to make sure we are looking after ourselves. It doesn’t have to be complicated and we don’t have to attempt to try and stick with unrealistic, positive mental health practices and resilience techniques.


I created the warr;or21 program to share a practical and neuroscience-backed program in order to help people further develop their resiliency and enhance their mental health.

Everyone deserves this.

It was originally created for first responders but now participants include people from all professions and students from across the world. This article is adapted from that program and for everyone to think about their mental health and importantly try the exercise at the end.


To start, let this sink in: Before you can take care of others, you must start with yourself. That’s not foolish, it’s smart.

Read more at PsychologyToday.com [HERE].

Police shot Surrey hostage by accident during standoff: IIO

B.C.’s civilian police watchdog has cleared the RCMP of wrongdoing in connection with the death of a man and woman during a hostage-taking and standoff in Surrey last March.


...The Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team (ERT) was called to the scene around 10 p.m. and a crisis negotiation tried to talk with the man and woman inside...

Around 3 a.m., Crosson was heard yelling “It’s a good day to die.”

In a recording of a 911 call, he can be heard saying, “You tell those pigs to get the f–k away from my house or I will start killing people.”

Video from the standoff [HERE]

Read more via Globalnew.ca [HERE]. 

After Long Standoff, Coral Springs Police Arrested Laborer Who Held Woman Hostage for Five Hours

Zettel pinned the woman down on a bed with his body for about 40 minutes, police said. When he let her use the bathroom, he threw her to the ground. Their fight continued in the kitchen where he grabbed a hammer and told her: “I’m a serial killer…I’m gonna kill you.” Zettel then grabbed her neck and tried to choke her.

...Zettel refused to come out, police said. Police surrounded the house and eventually came in to find Zettel hiding in an SUV in the garage. It took a police dog to get him out of the SUV.

Read more via TapInto.net [HERE]. 

ICYMI: 5-hour prison hostage standoff in Ireland ends after candy bar exchange

Irish authorities were able to resolve an inmate hostage hours-long standoff at a prison with a chocolate candy bar.

The ordeal at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise on Saturday began with one inmate being taken hostage by two other inmates who barricaded themselves in a cell. One of the inmates was armed with a weapon, the Irish Post reported. (Video Via Fox News)

The Prison Officers’ Association said that the prisoners' list was "unclear," although they did demand drugs and "no more sleeping on mattresses." They also asked for tobacco, Swiss rolls, and Mars bars.

...This isn't the first time that officers have reached the "F@ck it, let's try giving him a snack" stage of crisis negotiation. Last July, an Oklahoma man refused to stop for an officer who was trying to pull him over for making an illegal turn. Robert Scott instead fled to his trailer and barricaded himself inside.

Read the article at Vice News [HERE]. 

Kidnapping suspect charged after morning hostage situation in Tupelo

... According to Tupelo Police, Doss initially refused to come outside to talk with officers. The SWAT team and a negotiated were called to the scene.

Ninety minutes later, Doss released the two women unharmed and surrendered to police. The two hostages stepped out of the home into police custody, along with the suspect. No one was injured during the standoff.

Read the full story at WTVA.com [HERE]

Talk Less. Listen More. Here’s How.

Sharpen those listening skills and take some time to read about this perspective

Lessons in the art of listening, from a C.I.A. agent, a focus group moderator and more.

When was the last time you listened to someone? Really listened, without thinking about what you wanted to say next, glancing down at your phone or jumping in to offer your opinion? And when was the last time someone really listened to you? Was so attentive to what you were saying and whose response was so spot on that you felt truly understood?

... Research indicates that when people who don’t know each other well ask each other these types of questions, they feel more connected than if they spent time together accomplishing a task.

Read more from the NY Times [HERE]. 

Talking With A Terrorist

I recently attended the NTOA Hostage Negotiators Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Aside of listening to some great presentations, I also conducted a research study with +200 negotiators. 

The best way to prepare for a negotiation is practicing for it. In this particular study, negotiators were able to practice in a terrorist scenario where the communication took place via text messaging. If you're interested in this research I'm conducting as part of my role as a research scientist at Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute (and also part of Lipscomb University), let me know. 

To add realism to the scenario, the language used by the terrorist is taken from a real-life incident. 

Don't imagine how you would respond in this type of situation, challenge yourself and your team. I'm playing on expanding the study to other teams across the US this year. If you have any interest, email me: mediator.jeff [at] gmail.com. 

Talking With A Terrorist (Research Study) 

We hope to never be involved in a terrorist incident but if it happens, are you prepared to negotiate? Participate in this research study where you get to practice with dialogue from a real hostage incident during a terrorist attack.  

You'll have a chance to practice your active listening skills, figure out how rapport building works in this type of tense environment, and determine what is the best strategy to gain voluntary compliance. You'll be using your own mobile device to interact with actual statements the terrorist made during his attack. This research study is interactive so be ready!

Wife of British-Iranian engineer in Tehran prison fears Soleimani strike has destroyed all hope of release

The wife of a British-Iranian engineer held in prison in Tehran has said she fears he no longer stands a “hope in hell” of being released after the US strike on Iran’s top commander led the region to the brink of war.

Sherry Izadi, 56, told the Telegraph she was “terrified” that any chance of negotiation between the UK and Iran over Anoosheh Ashoori’s 10-year sentence was over.

Read more from the Telegraph [HERE]. 

Standoff at Illinois credit union ends peacefully when armed suspect surrenders after 6 hours

An armed robber held a woman hostage for more than six hours before surrendering to police at a credit union in the northern Illinois city of Rockford on Friday night, police said...

“The FBI negotiators worked seamlessly with the Rockford negotiators, and I could not give them enough credit," Rockford Police Chief Dan O’Shea said. "The FBI really stepped up to help us out.”

Read more from the NY Daily News [HERE] and the Daily Beast [HERE]. 

The Toll It Took

Bloomington police officers cradle the dying, rush toward gunfire and miss holidays with their kids. Over 18 months, they fought for better hours and pay.

...As he gets dressed, Paul sees a Bible quote from 2 Timothy 4:5 hanging above his gun cabinet: “Keep your head in all situations.”

A challenge coin, earned after completing hostage negotiation schooling, goes into Paul’s pants pockets, along with a handkerchief, leather gloves and two pocketknives.

...The conditions, negotiations and day-to-day police work create a stressed home life, Paul said. “The pressure from both sides wears you down.”

Read more from IDSnews.com [HERE]. 

Kidnap: Inside the Ransom Business

“The large majority of kidnap victims are successfully ransomed,” Anja Shortland writes in her new book Kidnap: Inside the Ransom Business, in which she claims that 81 percent of kidnap-for-ransom victims are returned, unharmed, in under seven days. “Clearly the hostage trade functions surprisingly well in the large majority of cases. How can such a difficult market operate so successfully?”

Read more from the SantaFeNewMexican.com [HERE]. 

The Real Deal Behind the U.S.–Iran Prisoner Swap

Donald Trump celebrated a surprise prisoner exchange with Iran in a tweet on Saturday (Dec. 8, 2019), just hours after a Princeton graduate student and an Iranian scientist were traded on the tarmac of Zurich’s international airport. 

“Thank you to Iran on a very fair negotiation. See, we can make a deal together!” he wrote. 

The swap was a rare moment of détente following months of escalating hostilities, which came within minutes of a military confrontation in June, after Iran shot down a sophisticated U.S. drone.

Read more from the NewYorker.com [HERE]. 

Best Practices if an Employee is Taken Hostage

What is my duty of care to employees who have been taken hostage? What are the latest kidnapping trends? How would I help my employee get back to work after being held captive? Get the answers to these questions and more at our seminar on May 30th in DC. We will review the latest hostage taking trends. We will use case studies and first-hand experience to review duty of care for your employees and their families should they be taken hostage. We will discuss post-captivity support and reintegration, including health and mental health, assistance with practical challenges, best practices regarding returning to work, and strategies to manage the long-term impacts of captivity. You will hear from: Kieran Ramsey, Director, Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell with Diane Ryan, Family Engagement Coordinator, Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell and Hugh Dugan, Principal Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs; Audrey and Percy Pika, sons of an illegal detainee in the Republic of Congo; Chris Costa, Former Special Assistant to President Trump and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the NSC alongside Mary McCord, Former Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Department of Justice; Michael Scott Moore, former hostage held in Somalia for 977 days; Michael A. Mason, Senior Vice President, Chief Security Officer, Verizon, and more. Details May 30, 2019 8:30 am - 4:30 pm K&L Gates, 1601 K St. NW, Washington, DC, 20006 Agenda and registration: https://hostageus.org/event/hostage-us-dc-seminar/ Please note, this seminar is not open to media.

Responding to a suicidal person, Fargo police find it's sometimes 'best to back off'

This article offers a reminder that despite our greatest efforts, it does not always go the way we want. That doesn't mean we did anything wrong either- it's the person (subject) who ultimately decides what to do next. This article also gives me a chance to remind everyone working crisis incidents- check in with yourself and each other to make sure you have a self-care plan in place. 

FARGO — Police here did something they don’t often do when dealing with an armed, suicidal man inside an apartment building on a recent Thursday evening.

After exhausting attempts to communicate with him and consulting with his family, officers decided to leave in order to not escalate the situation.

...“We feel that we had the right people out there. It’s just that there isn’t always a good ending to some of these calls — despite our efforts, despite family efforts,” Todd said.

Read more [HERE].