Testimonials

The statements below are a selection of feedback and evaluations provided by various organizations and work environments, reflecting their experiences and perspectives following the receipt of crisis intervention services and participation in previous courses. 

  • "Gary, I simply cannot thank you enough for all the support you have provided me during the COVID pandemic. As an ICU nurse, this is a very scary time for many of us. After speaking with you, I am sleeping much better and feeling less anxious. Thank You!"

    - Intensive Care Unit Nurse

  • "Dear Dr. Brown, thank you so much for for giving and sharing of your time and expertise in the wake of the shootings we just had here. Thanks to you, as a result of this training you gave us, I feel confident that I now have the skills to help others who have faced trauma. It's people like you who are helping our community to begin healing. Please come back as a visiting professor!"

    - Mental health professionals from UNLV School of Medicine

  • “Immediately after the attacks of September 11th, we were able to recruit Dr. Brown to become part of our relief efforts at Ground Zero. Because of his extensive work on mass casualty incidents, he was the first CISM disaster mental health specialist allowed to work on the pile. Numerous rescue workers made it a point to thank him for normalizing their responses, thus allowing them to continue to function in their critical roles. We at the Salvation Army want to offer our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Brown for being a friend to those in need at a very stressful time and for putting himself personally at risk in a dynamic and dangerous environment. His efforts at Ground Zero continue to remain an inspiration for many who were there with him and those that followed in his footsteps.”

    - Major Neil Timpson, Salvation Army

  • “After the particularly upsetting death of a small child due to extreme blunt force trauma, I was ready to hang it up. I thought that I simply could no longer function in the ER. All of that changed after just talking with you for 45 minutes! Thank you for saving my career!”

    - Emergency Room Nurse

  • “This training is a must for anyone in a position of leadership and management at any level. Dr. Brown’s presentation of the material is a shining example of both how to teach a subject and the vital importance of having a program like this in particular. Our organization is better prepared for worst case scenarios as a result.”

    - Manufacturing Executive

  • “In the wake of the Metrolink crash, many of our staff and volunteers were significantly impacted by this incident. Being on scene of this truly horrific incident was a first for most of them and you were able to help them successfully navigate through the understandably intense emotions they were experiencing with a kind, thoughtful, compassionate, and well-timed set of debriefings. As a result, all of them were able to return to their normal level of functioning within a very short period of time. On behalf of our staff and the community that we serve, I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks for your significant efforts in serving them and us.”

    - Jeffrey Zimerman, Director, Los Angeles Mayor’s Office, Department of Homeland Security, Crisis Response Team

  • “Gary, I want to personally thank you for taking such good care of all of our firefighters who were involved in Glenwood Springs. Your presence in the wake of the Storm King Fire made a tremendous difference. Immediately after the deaths of our fourteen firefighters, it was feared that many of the crews would not be able to function on-scene. It appears that after their debriefings from you that each crew was able to return to duty within less than three hours! This is amazing given our past experience with loss of personnel after wildland fires. Words cannot express the gratitude we feel for the personal sacrifices that you made to make sure that the most amount of good could be provided for the most amount of our people. Many thanks for a job well done. God bless you and your family.”

    - Russel Hayes, Chief, Branch of Firefighting, BLM

  • “Gary has served long and difficult hours in Red Cross Shelters, Service Centers, Disaster Action Teams, Home Visits, and debriefings for ARC staff and volunteers. He has been considered a peer leader among his colleagues…and is truly one of the ‘points of light in the darkness’ here in Los Angeles.”

    - James Lawson, R.N., MS, JD, Supervisor, Disaster Health Services, American Red Cross, Greater Los Angeles

  • “Dr. Brown’s services have been used by hundreds of our Department members on numerous and often complex multi-casualty incidents. His consistent ability to readily identify with first responders and their personal experiences of trauma is well-documented within the emergency services community both locally, regionally, and nationally. His natural personal ability to empathize with our members and their families in times of psychological crisis marks him as a true humanitarian. I take great pleasure in high recommending that others also avail themselves of his services.”

    - John Callahan, Deputy Chief, Los Angeles Fire Department

  • “Dr. Brown is simply one of the most dynamic trainers I have ever seen!”

    - Jim Keany, MD, Emergency Department, Mission and Children's Hospital of Orange County

  • “Our crewmembers told us that you offered them strong, confident and knowledgeable advice. You listened to their concerns or just held them in your arms. Several flight attendants found it extremely difficult to get on a plane again but having someone like you to talk to helped them conquer those fears. Thank you so much for being there for us.”

    - Jeff Butler, Managing Director, Inflight, Alaska Airlines

  • "Dr. Brown actually exceeded my expectations and that is no easy feat! This instructor did an incredible job of explaining the background theory and then blending it with the practical applications of this model in ways that were very easy to understand in everyday language. He talked to us, not at us – thank you!”

    - Flora Haus, RN, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

  • “I want to take this opportunity to offer my sincere thanks and appreciation for the extraordinary services you rendered to NASA Dryden Flight Research Center after the loss of the Shuttle Columbia and her crew. Your dedication and efforts in leading the debriefing proved to be highly successful. Many of the attendees reported a sharp reduction in feelings of stress, grief, and anxiety as a result of this timely intervention. On behalf of the entire NASA Drydren family, I want to express our profound gratitude for helping us begin the process of healing.”

    - Kevin Peterson, Center Director, NASA Dryden Research Center

  • “I knew most of the flight crew members who died in the crash. I really thought that I would never be able to get on another plane after this. Thank you for so patiently helping me to recover from this and, yes, I am back in the air! Thank you!”

    - Flight Attendant

  • “Shortly after attending your training at the annual Combat Stress Conference, our unit was deployed to a forward combat area in Iraq. The very practical and common sense knowledge that you imparted in that training has proven itself extremely effective in the field. On behalf of the men and women we served, thank you so very much for a job well done... Vietnam is not the only war you have served in!”

    - Members of a Combat Stress Unit

  • Gary did a remarkable job for our group during this two-day training. Everyone was riveted to their seats as he successfully blended theory and practice based upon his extensive real-life, real world experiences in the field. The mock defusings and debriefings were so incredibly realistic and gave me/us more confidence as a team. Our staff are in a much better position to provide crisis intervention services. Thank you!”

    - Nurse Manager - Medical Center

  • “This training is a valuable tool needed in the Urban Search and Rescue mission and, as with other trainings you have provided over the years, the material presented in this course was both exciting and very informative. This was demonstrated by our own personnel who responded admirably to the Oklahoma City bombing. Your instruction was rated ‘excellent” and was very well received among the students. Many thanks!”

    - Theresa Mendoza, Chief, Readiness Support Center, Department of the Army

  • “My employees have been singularly positive in their feedback about your debriefing sessions. They felt that the sessions were very worthwhile and they were especially complimentary of Dr. Gary Brown. He was understanding, kind and insightful. We truly appreciate the care and concern that he gave us during this very difficult time.”

    - Gary Hatley, District Manager, Department of Health and Human Services (post-earthquake)

  • "On behalf of the LVMPD, I want to thank you again for volunteering your time, crisis interventions, and the obvious kindness and caring that you provided our police officers in the aftermath of the shooting massacre.. Our officers were understandably impacted by this tragedy, and are very grateful for the debriefings and consultations you gave them."

    - Lisa Hanks, Director PEAP, Las Vegas Metro Police Department