Kelli Nicholson

Owner/Operator

MSW, RSW

I started my career as a youth worker working with transitional youth in 2002. By 2004 I had accepted a position with the Children’s Aid Society as a child protection worker and worked in that capacity until 2009 when I was hired as a police officer for the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS). In 2018 I graduated with a Master’s in Social Work where I found my deep passion for learning and understanding the traumas faced by first responders who experience horrific realities each day they go to work. This passion was cultivated by not only experiencing devastating and disturbing incidents myself but also being married to someone who is exposed to these similar situations.

Importantly along this journey I realized that many of the stressors we experienced were not necessarily related to critical incidents but rather repeated exposure to non-life-threatening events. Dealing with repeat offenders, seeing the saddest parts of the human experience including those who so desperately need help we can’t provide them with. Additionally, knowing the private underbelly of your own community can create a general mistrust for others. These were all factors that impacted how I coped with everyday life both personally and professionally. Its why there is so much importance placed on having a therapist who is first responder informed because as we know…these things can’t be articulated to those who have no idea these things take place in their own backyard. Coupled with night shifts, overtime, poor diet and little restful sleep we feel the brunt of the world we exist in on our shoulders. Before long our loved ones are telling us we are angry, distant, isolated and it’s so difficult for us to see for ourselves. You know you’re not “right” but you push on because if you can just “get through the shift” you will be fine. What a way to live.

After I graduated I joined the peer support team and the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) with NRPS. Research suggests that currently the best, most thoroughly studied and effective therapies for treating trauma are CBT, EMDR and PE. Consequently, in 2018 and 2019 I became formally trained in EMDR and PE.

In December of 2019 I resigned from the Niagara Regional Police to fully invest in what I love and what I know will help others. I found as first responders we hesitate to reach out for help for a number of reasons including fear of judgement by our peers, family and community but also because often we don’t even realize there is a problem significant enough to seek therapy. Lifeline for the Frontline is not only dedicated to treating trauma through individual and group therapy but also providing information about mental health in a first hand, relatable way. Its about bringing together a community of people who see some of the worst things life can hand out and, if anything, making them aware of the impact their profession can have on them. Importantly, its also a way to help our families understand how our profession impacts our relationships.

My hope is the information and support found here will encourage first responders and their families to become more aware of the impact frontline occupations can have on our mental health, relationships and overall happiness. The intent is to create hope that you can feel better and have the connected loving relationships with your partner and children that you want. Lastly, that you can feel prepared and engaged in remaining or returning to a job you may have once loved.