Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Drumm.
Matthew, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Way back in 1987, I joined the US Army Reserves and served for the next 13 years. During deployment, I caught a disease that killed 2/3 of my left lung. The Army must remain strong, and as a result, I was unable to continue serving our country. Early in 2010, I was a sergeant in patrol with the Irving Police Department.
Unfortunately, I began to experience depression, anxiety, nightmares and thoughts of suicide. The thing was, nothing was wrong in my life. My family was as blessed as a spouse, and parent could hope for, in my career I had served in many of the areas that I most wanted like Patrol, Gang Unit & Narcotics plus now I had been promoted and absolutely loved being a sergeant.
As time progressed in 2010, I began having thoughts and flashes of scenes early in my childhood that I had no memory of at all. At that time, I was not a big believer in repressed memories. Fortunately, I had another officer to talk to with similar experiences. He did a lot to educate me and prepare me for the flashbacks that may be coming. And, come they did. As things worsened, I became actively suicidal, felt trapped, believed I was becoming detached from reality.
One morning I had planned to complete suicide and sent a generic text to a close friend on duty. He came to my house and kept me safe until my wife could return home from work. I checked myself into a private mental facility. There I learned what was happening physically to my brain and some of the “whys.” I kept a positive attitude and began recovering from that moment on.
I was unable to return to duty as a police officer and was diagnosed with PTSD and Major Depression, but was able to retire with 20 years in service as a Peace Officer. It was a privilege. I felt strongly that God’s next mission for me was to help other police officers and veterans as a licensed counselor. In pursuit of that goal, I returned to school, finished my undergraduate degree and then completed graduate school earning an M.A. in Applied Counseling.
I have been seeing clients since 2014 and gradually narrowing in focus to the population I wanted to serve. Finally, in 2017 I was able to work for Stay The Course, a program of 22KILL for a year. My skills and knowledge in helping Veterans and First Responders was honed to a sharp edge. One of the things I noticed was that some clients were driving an hour or more to reach us. It was then I decided to open Resiliency Rising to serve Far South Dallas County as well as Ellis County.
In addition to Veteran, Police and Fire, Resiliency Rising will serve Medical Personnel such as EMT, Medical Professionals from hospitals and including all the family members of these professions.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to where I am now was challenging and remains difficult at times. I had not been a civilian since 1987, and in January of 2011, I suddenly became one again. It was a tough adjustment for me. As an officer you share a lot of life with the others you work with, you experience some thrilling moments, but also some terrifying events too. Being separated from them and not part of them anymore was extremely difficult for me.
I remember turning in my equipment for the last time. Not knowing any better, the Property Room personnel took my equipment and uniforms from me. Then, they proceeded to take it all apart and decide what was salvageable and threw the rest of it in the trash in front of me. This was the equipment that I had worn, maintained, depended on to help keep citizens and me safe. Now, it was only worth trash. That was a rough experience.
I also had to put all I had into my own recovery. Many hours of counseling sessions, related reading and exploring of self-were necessary but not pleasant at all. I am happy to tell everybody that I am not diagnosable with PTSD any longer. Yes, I still experience some post-traumatic stress but it does not rise to the level of disorder. My quality of life has greatly improved as well.
My current challenge is to learn the business side of non-profits. But I have passion for our protectors and will succeed in providing them the opportunity to put to rest their personal areas of challenge!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Resiliency Rising – what should we know?
So, the name of the company is Resiliency Rising. I am registered with the State of Texas as a non-profit and awaiting approval from the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization.
The goal of Resiliency Rising is to provide low cost to no cost counseling and therapies as appropriate. My primary focus is on healing from trauma. Trauma can originate from many different experiences and have a vast array of effects on a person’s life.
Some effects may seem totally unrelated, i.e. marital issues, avoiding public places, relationship issues with children, friends and other family members. I believe in meeting the client and discovering in which manner a client learns best. Then, the client’s learning style is matched with solid, effective counseling techniques. I’m proud of my family, particularly my wife Christy who all support me in this goal.
There are several key individuals in my life that have been with me through those very rough years and remained steadfast friends. Also, the top-notch counselors who have mentored me and invested in me as a professional to reach this point. It’s my heartfelt hope that others experiencing traumatic stress, depression, anxiety will see my recovery and be encouraged and answer that call to increased happiness.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Genuine concern and an understanding of the experiences that clients have been through is important to my success. Being able to connect to my clients as Veterans or First Responders or dealing with medical emergencies is additionally vital.
As far as characteristics; being laid back, calm, non-judgmental of mental health concerns or conditions and an attitude on being “on their side” will greatly increase my success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.resiliencyrisingtexas.com
- Phone: 817-266-5773
- Email: resiliencyrisingtexas@gmail.com
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