Moorhead Police Department hires MSUM professor as in-house mental health counselor
Dr. Aaron Soumala Folkerds is a new hire to the Moorhead Police Department (MPD), in an attempt to recognize and support the mental health of their officers. Suomala Folkerds is an assistant professor in the School of Teaching & Learning at MSUM, and now the Wellness Coordinator with the MPD.
He had volunteered to counsel the officers before, but was recently added to the team. The counseling he offers is to aid in the trauma officers face working in the field. In an article from The Forum, Suomala Folkerds explained the importance of the officer’s mental health due to the type of work they may face. He said they want to make sure the officers are equipped “psychologically, emotionally, spiritually.”
In that same article, it was reported that there are only about a dozen departments throughout the country with a mental health counselor position, and Suomala Folkerds is now one of those counselors.
Congrats to Dr. Suomala Folkerds on this new role with the MPD!
If you are subscribed to The Forum, you can read the full article on inforum.com.