This episode features Watson’s own Leah Chase, Regional Sales Director for the West. Before joining Watson, Leah spent 14 years in dispatch, including time in hostage negotiations and as a dispatch supervisor. Her experience with the headset gives her a deep understanding of what 9-1-1 professionals go through, both during the shift and long after it ends.
We are proud to have Leah on the Watson team, not only for the experience she brings, but for the compassion, honesty, care, and visibility she brings to important conversations like this one.
In the episode, Leah joins Adam Timm and Kris Inman to talk about how the conversation around 9-1-1 mental health has changed, and where the industry still has work to do. Peer support, therapy, debriefing, and wellness culture are more visible now than they were even a decade ago, but stigma still keeps many dispatchers from saying the words that matter most: “I’m not okay.”
One of the most important points of the conversation is that trauma in dispatch is not always tied to one single call; it can accumulate over time. The hard calls. The staffing shortages. The shifts worked alone. The calls involving children after becoming a parent. The personal losses that still must be handled professionally. Over time, that weight adds up.
Leah shares the thought process that led her to seek help, along with the work that helped her begin to heal. The conversation touches on finding the right therapist, peer support, and trauma-focused approaches like EMDR.
The episode also offers practical reminders for dispatchers, supervisors, and agencies. End-of-shift rituals can help signal to the nervous system that the workday is over. Coworkers can check in after hard calls. Leaders can show up on the floor, not just when something goes wrong. And agencies can remember that staffing, access to support, and time to debrief are not separate from mental health. They are part of it.
Above all, this conversation is a reminder that it is OK to not be OK, and that no one in 9-1-1 should have to carry the weight alone. Taking care of each other matters, on the hard calls, after the shift, and in the everyday moments between.
Listen to the full episode of THD Talks: When the Headset Gets Heavy: Mental Wellness, Trauma, and Healing in 9-1-1, with special guest Leah Chase.
