{"podcast":{"title":"Sit Around the Fire","slug":"sit-around-the-fire-7092992","podcast_index_feed_id":7092992,"rss_url":"https://api.riverside.fm/hosting/p7CgHNTy.rss","website_url":"http://www.sitaroundthefire.org","image_url":"https://hosting-media.riverside.com/media/podcasts/a1a89402-3cb2-4d0e-8271-1dc3f9195458/logos/1ca2cda6-5777-4806-9283-839da608aef6.png","author":"Ashlea Dillard","episode_count":62,"summary":"Welcome to Sit Around the Fire — the space where stories ignite transformation. Hosted by a former first responder turned licensed professional counselor and certified hypnotherapist , this podcast blends real-life experiences , powerful teachings, and practical tools for mental and physical health . Each episode invites you to slow down, reflect, and find your spark again. Together, we explore mindfulness, stress management, trauma recovery, and PTSD healing — all through the lens of someone who’s lived it. You’ll hear raw conversations with first responders, veterans, and mental health experts as well as other incredible human beings with amazing stories and missions who share their wisdom on how to move from burnout to balance, from survival mode to thriving. If you’re ready to break free from old patterns and beliefs , reclaim your peace, and live your most abundant, limitless life , this is your community. ✨ What you’ll learn: How to manage stress and trauma while building emotional resilience. Practical mindfulness and mental well-being techniques that fit your lifestyle. Real stories of healing from first responders and military families . Tools to strengthen both mental an…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-28T08:19:32.620717+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sit-around-the-fire-7092992"},"episode":{"title":"#056: Breaking the Silence: Trauma and Healing in First Responders — with Keven McNeill","slug":"056-breaking-the-silence-trauma-and-healing-in-first-responders-with-keven-mcneill","published_at":"2026-06-16T18:10:13+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sit-around-the-fire-7092992/056-breaking-the-silence-trauma-and-healing-in-first-responders-with-keven-mcneill","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sit-around-the-fire-7092992","url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/818de1ac148fa0870a18a68199d4c9374fac0e8e01c479b74762e1a45eac51e2/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiJjZDM0OWNjMi0yNGQxLTQxMTctODJjZS1mNGI5YWUxNzVhMzUiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiJhMWE4OTQwMi0zY2IyLTRkMGUtODI3MS0xZGMzZjkxOTU0NTgiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTFiODUwMTcyODQxMTU2YjI2M2VmY2QiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNmEzMTg5ZmNhODFhZTFlYWMxOGI0YjhkL2FzaGxlYS1kaWxsYXJkcy1zdHVkaW8tY29tcG9zZXItMjAyNi02LTE2X18xOS0zOC00Lm1wMyJ9.mp3","audio_url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/818de1ac148fa0870a18a68199d4c9374fac0e8e01c479b74762e1a45eac51e2/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiJjZDM0OWNjMi0yNGQxLTQxMTctODJjZS1mNGI5YWUxNzVhMzUiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiJhMWE4OTQwMi0zY2IyLTRkMGUtODI3MS0xZGMzZjkxOTU0NTgiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTFiODUwMTcyODQxMTU2YjI2M2VmY2QiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNmEzMTg5ZmNhODFhZTFlYWMxOGI0YjhkL2FzaGxlYS1kaWxsYXJkcy1zdHVkaW8tY29tcG9zZXItMjAyNi02LTE2X18xOS0zOC00Lm1wMyJ9.mp3","summary":"Most of us think the clock on trauma starts the first day on the job. Keven McNeill is here to tell you it started a long time before that. In this episode, Keven shares his journey through law enforcement, a defining 2016 incident, and the depression and PTSD that followed — and the long road back. What makes his story land isn't just the hard parts. It's the honesty about how trauma accumulates quietly, how it follows you home, and how the same hypervigilance that keeps you alive on shift can quietly take apart your life off the clock. As a former firefighter and paramedic, I've sat in a version of this. The culture, the pride, the unspoken rule that you handle it. Keven and I get into all of it — and where that culture has to change. We talk about what proactive mental health actually looks like (not the version you reach for after everything's already on fire), why leadership has to be part of the solution, and how the bravest thing a responder can do is find their voice and ask for help. In this conversation: Why trauma doesn't start with the uniform — and how childhood shapes who's drawn to this work Keven's 2016 incident and the aftermath that pulled him into a deep depression The toll 2020 took on first responders, and the weight of deadly-force decisions Hypervigilance — how it shows up at the dinner table, not just on duty, and why it's so hard to switch off Where leadership fails responders, and what it looks like when leaders \"act like humans\" Rebuilding identity and purpose after the career, and the journey to acceptance and giving back Resources mentioned: EMDR Therapy — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMDR Acute Stress Adaptive Protocol (ASAP) — https://www.firstrespondercenter.com/ Connect with Keven McNeil: LinkedIn — https://linkedin.com/in/kevinmcneil…","meta_description":"Most of us think the clock on trauma starts the first day on the job. Keven McNeill is here to tell you it started a long time before that. In this episod…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3529,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sit-around-the-fire-7092992/episodes/056-breaking-the-silence-trauma-and-healing-in-first-responders-with-keven-mcneill/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/sit-around-the-fire-7092992/056-breaking-the-silence-trauma-and-healing-in-first-responders-with-keven-mcneill.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}