John Becker
Founder, Guardian Recovery Services
John Becker Jr. has experience as a police officer, clinician, outreach professional, program developer and director. John possesses a personal understanding of substance abuse among first responders, having overcome addiction in his own life. He is the founder of Guardian Recovery Services, a private practice that provides counseling to First Responders struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues. John holds a B.S. in Behavioral Health Counseling and a Master’s in Human Services. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and has obtained Certification as an Advanced Alcohol & Drug Counselor (CAADC). He is the Clinical Director of the Montgomery County (PA) Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team and is certified by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) in individual and group interventions. John is a Certified Trauma Responder (CTR) and is recognized as a Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP) and Substance Abuse Professional (SAP). John regularly provides training, education and consultation to local, state and federal organizations throughout the United States, on topics such as stress, trauma, wellness, mental health, suicide, and substance abuse, with a focus on members of the first responder community.
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Founder, Guardian Recovery Services
Mike Yaeger
Retired Battalion Chief, Philadelphia Fire Department
Mike Yaeger retired several years ago as a Battalion Chief with the Phila fire Dept. ( 41 years ). He spent most of his time as a firefighter in north Philly. After getting promoted to Lieut in 1989 Mike was sent to west Philly where he spent the next few years. Promoted to Captain in 1994 and spent the next 15 years in the rank. During that time Mike had the honor of being Captain at Resue 1, which he found to be a truly humbling experience. Mike was promoted to BC in Aug of 2008. After recognizing the increasing amount of suicides in the fire service he got involved with developing and delivering a suicide prevention initiative in the PFD. Mike began working with Local 22’s health and wellness program and assisted in developing a peer support program. He started working with first responders at the Livengrin Foundation’s FRAT program (drug and alcohol rehab). They developed a drug and alcohol prevention progam and delivered that program to over 20,000 first responders. From the peer program they have visited all station in the PFD to discuss trauma, PTSD and other related issues with first responders. They are also involved with presenting the peer program to all cadets in the PFD.
About Mike Yaeger
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Retired Battalion Chief, Philadelphia Fire Department
