What First Responder Wellness does

First Responder Wellness (FRW) operates as part of FR Health, a privately held, Newport Beach-based behavioral healthcare organization delivering trauma-informed mental health and substance abuse treatment to U.S. public-safety personnel. The company runs three distinct programs: The Counseling Team International (TCTI), an agency-services platform founded in 1985 that provides pre-employment psychological testing, 24/7 crisis response, critical incident stress debriefings, peer support training, and department-wide wellness programming for hundreds of municipal and federal agencies; First Responder Wellness, the clinical treatment arm founded in 2018 that operates DHCS-licensed, Joint Commission-accredited residential and intensive outpatient programs (IOP) in California and Washington, plus online outpatient services; and Shift Wellness, a retreats and multi-day workshops line targeting leaders, peer support teams, and families. Reporting a 94% return-to-work rate and a 70% average reduction in PCL-5/PTSD trauma scores across more than 1,600 treated professionals since 2018, the company has been vetted and approved by the Fraternal Order of Police, PORAC, and the California State Firefighters Association, and holds a federal Employee Assistance Program contract with the DEA.

The business model combines three revenue streams: insurance and workers' compensation billings for FRW residential/IOP treatment, enterprise agency contracts for TCTI services, and direct-to-consumer paid bookings for Shift Wellness retreats and FRW self-referrals. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is hybrid: enterprise field sales targeting public-safety departments, complemented by event-driven community engagement (e.g., Ragnar Road SoCal relay) and content marketing via blog, newsletter, and organic social channels. Customer concentration is broad across hundreds of agencies and individual first responders, though entirely within the public-safety vertical. The technology stack is operationally standard — telehealth delivery for online outpatient, HIPAA-compliant records handling — with no proprietary software platforms or disclosed AI/ML capabilities; competitive defensibility rests instead on regulatory licensure, association endorsements, clinical outcomes data, and culturally embedded talent rather than on technology differentiation.

Name

First Responder Wellness

Legal name

FR Health

Website

https://firstresponder-wellness.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First Responder Wellness, part of FR Health, provides trauma-based mental health and substance abuse treatment — including residential, intensive outpatient, and wellness retreats — exclusively for U.S. first responders (police, fire, EMS, corrections, dispatch) in California and Washington.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

First Responder Mental Health Services

NAICS

Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities (62322), Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Nursing and Residential Care Facilities (623)

SIC

Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services (HLAFACAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Substance Use Recovery & Harm Reduction Support Services (BPAGAEAO)

Keywords

• First responder mental health
• Trauma and PTSD treatment
• Public safety wellness programs
• Behavioral health services
• Substance abuse treatment

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Insurance and Workers' Compensation: First Responder Wellness accepts insurance and workers' compensation payments for residential and intensive outpatient treatment programs.
2. Agency Contracts: The Counseling Team International (TCTI) services are typically provided based on agency contracts or requests from public safety departments, including 24/7 crisis response, peer support training, and pre-employment psychological testing.
3. Direct-to-Consumer Wellness Services: Shift Wellness retreats and multi-day workshops offered directly to agencies, leadership teams, peer support teams, and families of public safety professionals. Individuals can also self-refer for First Responder Wellness services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

First Responder Wellness, operating under the FR Health umbrella, provides trauma-based substance abuse and mental health treatment tailored exclusively to first responders. The organization delivers evidence-based residential and intensive outpatient programs, crisis intervention, peer support training, pre-employment psychological testing, and strategic wellness retreats through three distinct programs: The Counseling Team International (TCTI), First Responder Wellness, and Shift Wellness. Services are DHCS-licensed, Joint Commission-accredited, and designed to address operational stress, PTSD, burnout, and substance abuse among police, fire, EMS, corrections, and dispatch professionals.

Product overview

First Responder Wellness operates as part of FR Health, a unified platform providing nationwide resilience and wellness solutions for police, fire, EMS, and public safety agencies. The organization delivers services through three distinct programs: The Counseling Team International (TCTI) for pre-employment testing, crisis response, and peer support training; First Responder Wellness for residential and intensive outpatient treatment programs; and Shift Wellness for strategic retreats and multi-day workshops. Together, these programs offer both proactive and reactive solutions including counseling, trauma treatment, PTSD interventions, resilience workshops, wellness retreats, and department-wide wellness programming. The platform is built for the operational realities of public safety professionals and serves municipal police and fire departments, federal agencies, corrections officers, dispatchers, and families of public safety professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FR Health: Nationwide Resilience & Wellness Solutions for Police, Fire, EMS, and Public Safety Agencies - parent brand encompassing three distinct programs: The Counseling Team International, First Responder Wellness, and Shift Wellness.

Products and services

• The Counseling Team International (TCTI) Culturally competent pre-employment psychological testing, short-term counseling, critical incident debriefings, peer support training, and 24/7 crisis response services designed to support public safety agencies.
• First Responder Wellness Specialized residential and intensive outpatient treatment programs for first responders experiencing operational stress, burnout, substance use, and post-traumatic stress injury, with a 94% return-to-work rate and 70% average reduction in trauma scores.
• Shift Wellness Strategic wellness retreats and multi-day workshops for public safety leaders, teams, and families, offering practical tools for wellness and resilience.
• Residential Treatment Program DHCS-licensed and Joint Commission-accredited residential treatment program offering evidence-based treatment in a first responder-only environment.
• Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP) Virtual and in-person intensive outpatient programs available in California and Washington for first responders seeking flexible treatment options.
• Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) 24/7 crisis response and critical incident stress debriefings for public safety agencies during mass casualty events, line-of-duty deaths, natural disasters, and officer-involved shootings.
• Peer Support Training and Certification Training and certification programs for peer support teams within public safety agencies.
• Pre-Employment Psychological Testing POST-compliant pre-employment psychological evaluations for public safety hiring.
• Departmental Wellness and Mental Performance Training Department-wide wellness programming and mental performance training for public safety agencies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% return-to-work rate for First Responder Wellness programs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• First Responder Health FoundationminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 7 April 2026The First Responder Health Foundation is participating in the Ragnar Road SoCal relay to raise awareness and funding for mental and behavioral health services. FR Health collaborates with the foundation on community awareness initiatives.
• Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFOP vetted and approved First Responder Wellness residential programs. The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest organization of sworn police officers in the United States, providing endorsement and trust for FRW's treatment programs.
• Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPORAC vetted and approved First Responder Wellness residential programs. PORAC is the largest law enforcement organization in California, providing credibility and member referral trust.
• California State Firefighters Association (CSFA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSFA vetted and approved First Responder Wellness residential programs. As the largest fire service organization in California, CSFA endorsement provides credibility for fire department referrals.
• Polyvagal Equine InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing Polyvagal-informed equine therapy services as part of the holistic treatment approach for first responders.
• Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Employee Assistance ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFR Health provides employee assistance program services for DEA personnel, offering counseling and wellness support for federal law enforcement employees.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Banyan Treatment Centers: Banyan Treatment Centers is a multi-state residential and outpatient substance abuse and behavioral health provider — a broad incumbent sharing the multi-state residential SUD footprint that FRW is building toward.
• Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is one of the largest U.S. addiction treatment operators, providing residential and outpatient SUD care — a broader, generalist incumbent that FRW's specialized first-responder programs compete against on outcomes and culture.
• Caron Treatment Centers: Caron is a long-established, non-profit addiction treatment provider with residential, outpatient and family programming across multiple states — a broad incumbent competing for high-acuity SUD cases that FRW also serves.

Direct peers

• Tava Health: Tava Health is a mental-health platform built for first responders and high-stress employer populations, offering teletherapy, peer support and wellness programs — directly comparable to FR Health's online outpatient and agency-contracted services.
• First Responder Support Network (FRSN): FRSN provides 24/7 crisis support, peer support training, therapy and multi-day wellness retreats specifically for first responders and their families — closely aligned with FR Health's TCTI and Shift Wellness programs.
• Cordico: Cordico (formerly Lexipol Wellness) provides confidential wellness apps, peer support resources and behavioral health content specifically designed for law enforcement, fire, EMS and corrections agencies — directly comparable to FR Health's TCTI in mission and target customer.

Emerging players

• Lionrock Recovery: Lionrock Recovery delivers online intensive outpatient, group therapy and recovery coaching for substance use disorder via telehealth — comparable to FRW's virtual IOP offering but without the first-responder cultural specialization.
• Eleanor Health: Eleanor Health operates outpatient substance use and mental health clinics with a tech-enabled, value-based care model; comparable to FRW's intensive outpatient and residential SUD offerings, with broader demographic reach.
• Boulder Care: Boulder Care is a telehealth-first provider of opioid and substance use disorder treatment with integrated behavioral health — overlaps with FRW's IOP/specialty SUD programs but uses a tech-enabled, lower-overhead model.
• PursueCare: PursueCare is a telehealth platform delivering medication-assisted treatment and behavioral health for substance use disorders — an emerging peer of FRW's clinical outpatient model that may erode share with a more convenient delivery format.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FirstResponderWellness
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first-responder-wellness

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Responder Wellness