How Distressing Material Shapes Investigator Well-Being

Dr. Fazeelat Duran, Assistant Professor in Psychology at the University of Birmingham, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about the psychological impact of working with distressing material in law enforcement roles. Drawing on her recent longitudinal study — the first of its kind to follow newly recruited secondary investigators and analysts from day one through 18 months in role — Dr. Duran explains how repeated, indirect exposure to traumatic material shapes mental health over time. She walks through the trajectory her team observed at six, 12, and 18 months, the concept of "dosage of exposure," and why early warning signs often go hidden in the first six months when the novelty effect masks the emotional toll to come.

The conversation then turns to coping strategies, the difference between adaptive and maladaptive responses (including the trap of thought suppression), and the idea of a psychological contract between staff and the organisation — and what happens when that contract is breached through unmanageable workloads, limited staffing, and a lack of allocated time for well-being resources. Dr. Duran and host Paul also discuss what organisations should be doing differently, why a one-size-fits-all approach to support fails this group, and the next phase of Dr. Duran's work, including brain imaging findings and a new study on neurodivergence in this workforce.

#SecondaryTraumaticStress #MentalHealth #LawEnforcement #Wellbeing #PsychologicalContract #DigitalForensics #DFIR

00:00 Introducing Dr Fazeelat Duran

02:09 Secondary Trauma Explained

03:42 Research Gap and Longitudinal Study Design

11:17 Early Warning Signs

12:51 Proactive Tailored Support

18:02 Mixed Methods Evidence

19:49 Dosage of Exposure

22:59 Daily Volume and Attrition

25:16 Coping Shifts Over Time

26:45 Maladaptive Coping Patterns

29:05 Isolation and Social Strain

30:34 Workload and AI Pressure

33:08 Psychological Contract Breach

35:23 Building a Caring Culture

37:25 Early Support and Preparation

40:27 Signs, Symptoms and Self Care

42:30 Neurodivergence Research

44:51 Closing Reflections

👉 Visit Forensic Focus: https://www.forensicfocus.com

🎧 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/how-distressing-material-shapes-investigator-well-being/

📝 Show Notes

Ongoing Exposure to Distressing Material is Associated with Worsening Mental Health in UK Law Enforcement Staff: a Longitudinal Interview Study – https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11896-026-09809-2

Dr Fazeelat Duran, University of Birmingham – https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/psychology/duran-fazeelat

National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) Academic Centres of Excellence – https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/npcc-creating-nine-policing-academic-centres-of-excellence-p-aces

👉 Follow Forensic Focus

RSS | https://www.forensicfocus.com/feed

YouTube | https://youtube.com/@ForensicFocus

Podcast | https://forensicfocus.com/podcast

LinkedIn Page | https://linkedin.com/company/forensicfocus

LinkedIn Group | https://linkedin.com/groups/693917

X (Twitter) | https://x.com/ForensicFocus

Facebook | https://facebook.com/forensicfocus

Bluesky | https://bsky.app/profile/forensicfocus.bsky.social

Instagram | https://instagram.com/forensicfocus

TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@forensicfocus

Mastodon | https://dfir.social/@forensicfocus