The Next Evolution of CFRC

We’re excited to share the next evolution of the Certified First Responder Counselor (CFRC) program and to more clearly define what it means to hold the CFRC designation.

CFRC was created as a cultural competency development tool for licensed clinicians working with first responders. It was designed to help clinicians better understand the culture, realities, and expectations of working alongside public safety professionals.

Over the years, Lighthouse has worked with agencies across the country, supporting hundreds of deployments and has had thousands of conversations with public safety leaders and frontline responders about what actually works and what doesn’t. As that work has grown, so has our responsibility to think beyond individual programs and toward building a durable, national public safety wellness infrastructure. CFRC is an important part of that effort, and this next phase reflects a shift from simple orientation toward a clearer expectation of ongoing engagement and commitment.

Expanding the Clinical Depth of CFRC

We’re especially excited to be working with Dr. George Everly Jr, Clinical and Educational Director for Lighthouse Health & Wellness, as CFRC enters its next phase.

Dr. Everly is a public health scholar and clinical psychologist who brings decades of experience as an instructor, clinician, and researcher. For 25 years, he has been the world’s top-ranked author in the field of psychological first aid, according to PubMed PubReminer. He has a Google Scholar profile showing over 10,000 citations. A Fellow of the Academy of Consultation and Liaison Psychiatry and the American Psychological Association, Dr. Everly has held faculty appointments at Loyola University Maryland, Harvard University, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. 

In 1989, with Dr Jeffrey Mitchell, he co-founded the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. He has received the Director’s Award from the Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Honor Award from the Baltimore Police Department, and the Leadership Award from the American Red Cross.

His involvement allows us to deepen CFRC through expanded continuing education and more clinically grounded content, while remaining closely aligned with the realities of first-responder culture and practice.

What CFRC Represents Going Forward

Formal education and licensure are foundational. At the same time, effectiveness in this work shows up over time.

Going forward, the CFRC program will increasingly expand in focus to include the following aspirational core principles:

• Continuous education
  
• Being present in good times, difficult moments, and everyday interactions
  
• Advocating for this work outside of familiar professional circles
  
• Encouraging and supporting others who feel called to serve this population
  
• Supporting shared research efforts that help the field learn and improve
• Supporting one another 

These principles will guide how CFRC is earned, maintained, and represented.

Recognizing the Broader Landscape

We recognize that the field of first responder mental health has continued to mature since CFRC was first introduced. Clinicians now enter this work with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and professional development pathways, all of which contribute to their ability to serve responder populations effectively.

As CFRC continues to evolve, we are working to expand eligibility paths to include clinicians who can demonstrate relevant proficiency in working with first responder populations. This proficiency may be reflected through formal education, professional experience, lived experience, or a combination of these. In such cases, clinicians may be considered for CFRC without requiring redundant introductory training, while still engaging in the ongoing learning and participation that define the designation.

Over time, we are also exploring optional advancement pathways for clinicians who wish to deepen their engagement. These pathways are intended to recognize sustained involvement, continued learning, and contribution to the field, without creating additional barriers or duplicating existing training.

Expanding Opportunities for CFRC Holders

Through deeper integration across Lighthouse’s platforms and initiatives, we’ll work to increase visibility, collaboration, and public awareness for CFRC holders. This includes clearer pathways to connect with agencies, statewide efforts, and broader education and training initiatives.

The goal is to help agencies more easily identify clinicians who are invested, credible, and grounded in the realities of first responder work, while also creating additional developmental opportunities for both agencies and clinicians.

CFRC Within the Lighthouse Ecosystem

This evolution is taking place within the broader Lighthouse Health & Wellness ecosystem, which already supports hundreds of thousands of first responders through hundreds of agency deployments nationwide.

In 2025, we expanded that ecosystem in meaningful ways. We launched Lighthouse Blueprint and Peer Plus to help agencies build structure, improve consistency, and better track engagement and effectiveness across their wellness and peer support efforts. We also launched the Responder Assistance Project to help address persistent funding gaps and improve access to care, particularly for agencies and individuals with limited resources.

As part of a broader shift toward more coordinated statewide and regional efforts, next year, Lighthouse will offer a scholarship to every public safety agency in the United States, allowing one member of each agency access to our PeerPath peer training program. This is especially important for small, midsize, and rural agencies that are too often left out of larger initiatives.

As our reach has grown, so has our responsibility to ensure the programs we steward are thoughtful, credible, and built for the long term. The next phase of CFRC reflects that responsibility, ensuring the designation remains meaningful and well-integrated into the systems agencies rely on every day.

Looking Ahead to 2026

In 2026, we’ll continue expanding CFRC in several important ways. This includes pursuing deeper partnerships with educational institutions and professional associations, launching an optional advancement pathway, incorporating applied research, and expanding eligibility for professional continuing education credits.

We’ll also work to more directly integrate CFRC into our PeerPath initiative, aligning clinician development with efforts to standardize peer support training and progression nationwide. The goal is greater consistency, collaboration, and shared understanding across those supporting first responders.

The updates outlined here will roll out thoughtfully over the coming year, with care and intention, as we work to ensure the designation continues to represent meaningful alignment with the work, not just completion of a course.

As we wrap up the year, I want to thank you for the work you do every day in support of first responders and for being part of the CFRC community. Your presence, commitment, and willingness to engage thoughtfully in this space matter far more than any designation.

We’re grateful for your continued trust and partnership as CFRC enters its next chapter.

Joe Ramirez

CEO, Lighthouse Health & Wellness

On behalf of the Lighthouse team