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DSW Showcase Student Presentation

Rixie Albright

LCSW, CFRC, DSW Candidate

What is the Impact of Being Raised in a Law Enforcement Family?

Concentration -

  • Tuesday, April 29, 2025 -
  • 4:00 pm
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Abstract

Law enforcement (LE) is a career that impacts not only the officer but also the entire family unit. It has its own unique set of challenges that often disrupt the family system. Officers throughout the academy are trained to return home to their families physically; however, few are taught the skills and resources needed to return home emotionally. Over the last decade, research has emerged on the effects of hypervigilance and the impact of regular exposure to trauma on officers. Still, very little research has been conducted on the family unit, but it shows that family relationships are impacted, and family members experience secondary trauma. Starting at the beginning of the career, educating officers and families on managing stressors, hypervigilance, and trauma is imperative to building healthy LE families. This capstone focuses on implementing wellness training and education from the onset of the career and incorporating officer and family education opportunities throughout the career.

Biography

Rixie Albright is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Certified First Responder Counselor (CFRC) in Louisiana, where she has practiced for twenty-four years. She is a Doctor of Social Work Candidate at the University of Kentucky with a concentration in Military Behavioral Health and anticipates graduating in May 2025. Mrs. Albright has a Bachelor of Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Louisiana College (2000) and a Master of Social Work, with a concentration in healthcare, from Baylor University (2001).
Mrs. Albright is the Director of First Responder Wellness and Resiliency at Premier Psychiatric Services in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she specializes in seeing First Responders, service members, Veterans, and their families. Additionally, she is a contract support service member for Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), working several hands-on programs and National Police Week. Mrs. Albright volunteers with Louisiana State Police TEAP (Troopers and Employees Assistance Program), the peer support team, including the Louisiana Post Critical Incident Seminar (PCIS), since its inception in 2022, serving as Clinical Director in the fall of 2024.
Mrs. Albright’s research focuses on the biopsychosocial impact of law enforcement careers on officers and their families. Her Doctoral Capstone Project specifically focuses on the career's effects on children raised in a law enforcement home. Mrs. Albright believes that by providing law enforcement families with the education, tools, and resources on the biopsychosocial impact of the career, families can thrive, and children can develop secure parental attachments and a positive sense of self-worth.