About Us
Dr. Matt Stiehm is a dynamic and highly engaging public speaker known for delivering presentations that effectively bridge the worlds of mental health, law enforcement, leadership, trauma, and operational performance. Drawing from decades of experience as a retired police officer, licensed therapist, educator, and nationally recognized trainer, Dr. Stiehm brings a rare level of authenticity, credibility, and practical insight to every audience he addresses. His presentations focus on anxiety management training, de-escalation strategies, and the impact of PTSD in law enforcement, ensuring they are direct, evidence-informed, and operationally grounded. By combining clinical expertise with real-world experience in policing, corrections, crisis response, and organizational leadership, he resonates with professionals in high-stress environments. Audiences consistently describe his speaking style as compelling, tactical, relatable, intellectually rigorous, and immediately applicable to real-world practice, making him a sought-after speaker at various events.
Speaking Engagements 2026
AELE - Jail and Corrections Conference
AELE - Use of Force Seminar
Wisconsin Corrections Association
Justice Clearing House
November MN Corrections Association Monthly Seminar
Speaking Engagements 2025
Invisible Wounds Project – Wellness Summit – Topic Anxiety
2025 Minnesota Law Enforcement Wellness Summit – Suicide
Justice Clearing House Supporting Officers with Anxiety: A Guide for Supervisors, Managers and Trainers
MNCA Submitted (3) Proposals to Yearly Conference. (1) Anxiety (2) Understanding LE and (3) Per. Safety
MN Emergency Managers Conference – 4hrs understanding Anxiety
Justice Clearing House Understanding Anxiety for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Professionals
MnCA: Webinar: Personal Safety – Minnesota Counseling Association
National FOP Wellness Conference – Topic: Law Enforcement and Anxiety
AELE Jail and Corrections Seminar January 2026
Presentation 1 Understanding Anxiety
• This 90-minute presentation offers corrections professionals an in-depth exploration of anxiety—how it develops, how it manifests in corrections environments, and how it impacts both individual performance and organizational culture. Through clinical insights, interactive discussion, and real-world case examples, participants will examine the physiological, cognitive, and behavioral patterns of anxiety within high-stress occupations, including anxiety management training to better equip them for these challenges.
• Attendees will learn to recognize potential early warning signs in themselves and others, understand how anxiety influences judgment and tactical decision-making, and explore evidence-based strategies, including effective de-escalation strategies, to manage and mitigate its effects. The session highlights leadership’s role in fostering psychological safety, reducing stigma, and creating systems that promote resilience and peak performance. By the end of the session, participants will leave with actionable tools to strengthen officer and organizational wellness, improve team functioning, and build a culture where acknowledging and addressing anxiety is seen as a strength—not a weakness.
Presentation 2 - Clinical Tools and Law Enforcement Mental Health.
• Using clinical tools to help first line supervisors, command staff, and executives address mental health, particularly in relation to PTSD in law enforcement.
• Corrections professionals face unique psychological stressors that can impact their mental health, job performance, and overall well-being. The application of psychological clinical assessment tools can help identify early warning signs of mental health issues, support officers during training and ongoing field work, and enhance officer resilience. This 90-minute lecture provides an introduction to key clinical assessment tools used in law enforcement mental health, offering insights into their purpose, administration, interpretation, and ethical considerations for law enforcement professionals. Expanded information includes diagnoses, treatments, and historical context concerning PTSD in law enforcement.
• Participants will learn how these tools can be integrated into proactive mental health strategies, improve officer wellness programs, and support officer-driven decision-making processes for individuals experiencing mental health challenges.
AELE Use of Force Seminar May 2026
Presentation 1 - Tactical, Practical De-Escalation
Tactical, Practical De-Escalation is an information-based course focused on real-world de-escalation strategies that are operationally realistic, legally sound, and immediately applicable in high-risk encounters. Street cops are expected to make clinical diagnoses at the scene of tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving situations, and are required to get it right. This course reframes de-escalation not as avoidance or hesitation, but as a deliberate tactical skill used to slow situations, enhance decision-making, and reduce unnecessary force while maintaining officer and staff safety. By utilizing principles rooted in a 4th Amendment Standard of use of force, participants gain essential skills in managing high-stress scenarios.
Participants will examine how various factors, including individual stress physiology, perception, communication, positioning, time, distance, and team dynamics influence both escalation and de-escalation during rapidly evolving encounters. The instruction integrates legal standards, officer safety principles, and behavioral science to demonstrate when de-escalation strategies are appropriate, when they are not, and how to transition effectively between de-escalation and control. It is important to note that this is not a CIT-related course. While CIT methods can be effective, they may oversimplify responses, create tactical disadvantages, and include protocols that could undermine the principles established in Graham.
Presentation 2: Understanding PTSD in Law Enforcement as it Relates to Force
This course offers law enforcement professionals a focused examination of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in law enforcement and its specific impact on officers and agency culture. Through a blend of clinical knowledge and occupational insight, participants will explore the causes, symptoms, and behavioral manifestations of PTSD in policing. The training emphasizes early identification, risk factors unique to law enforcement, comorbid conditions such as depression or substance use, and barriers to seeking help. Officers using force may or may not develop mental health conditions, which can significantly impact their return to duty, future calls for service, and their overall career trajectory.
Participants will learn how trauma can accumulate over time or arise from sudden events within the law enforcement profession, and how untreated PTSD can influence performance, personal life, use of force, and critical decision-making. The course also provides strategies for peer and supervisory support, evidence-based treatment pathways, and ways agencies can build trauma-informed systems of care, emphasizing the importance of anxiety management training in coping with the effects of PTSD.
Selected Courses:
Anxiety within your Agency/Officers
Understanding Anxiety Management in Your Agency and Among Officers
A comprehensive training designed to educate officers, supervisors, and wellness coordinators about the manifestation of anxiety within law enforcement settings, its impact on performance and agency culture, and effective de-escalation strategies for fostering a psychologically safe and resilient organization.
Course Description:
This course offers law enforcement professionals a thorough understanding of anxiety management and its effects within policing environments. Participants will delve into the physiological, psychological, and behavioral aspects of anxiety as they pertain to officers, staff, and organizational culture. Through real-world case studies, clinical insights, and peer discussions, the course focuses on how anxiety manifests in high-stress roles, the barriers to seeking help, and the often-unspoken stigma surrounding PTSD in law enforcement and mental health issues.
Participants will learn to identify early warning signs of anxiety, comprehend its connection to performance and decision-making, and develop strategies to enhance officer wellness and resilience. Leadership-level content will emphasize building agency-wide awareness, integrating wellness initiatives, and promoting a psychologically safe work environment.
Ideal for officers, supervisors, command staff, peer support team members, and agency wellness coordinators, this course empowers participants to transition from reactive to proactive mental health support.
PTSD and Force
Course Description:
This course critically examines the intersection of anxiety management training and the use of force within high-stakes environments such as law enforcement, corrections, and emergency response. Participants will explore how acute and chronic anxiety can influence decision-making, perception, and behavior during force encounters, as well as how the physiological stress response may impact both professionals and civilians.
Through real-world case studies, psychological research, and tactical analysis, this course investigates the consequences—legal, professional, and personal—that can arise when anxiety is left unrecognized or unmanaged in force-related situations. The curriculum also addresses de-escalation strategies to mitigate these risks and examines the long-term psychological aftermath for all parties involved, including issues of PTSD in law enforcement, post-incident trauma, organizational response, and the broader societal implications.
Investigation of Force - Corrections or Law Enforcement
Course Title: Understanding, Investigating, and Analysis of Use of Force – for corrections, police/probation
After a re-examination of the Constitutional standards, state standards, and civil rights laws, this training will focus on effective management of confrontations and de-escalation strategies. The content will also include analyzing video-based evidence events and writing comprehensive use of force reports. Attendees will review incidents from across the United States, including the most recently settled cases, ongoing filed cases, media-highlighted cases, and seminal cases. Additionally, this course will address anxiety management training to help law enforcement professionals effectively communicate with supervisors and managers regarding the handling of use of force incidents. Ensuring that incidents are thoroughly investigated, documented, and reviewed is crucial for the protection of those involved as well as the agency. Furthermore, attendees will be provided with strategies on how to modify policies and training to minimize potential civil litigation and address PTSD in law enforcement.
Tactical, Practical and Realistic - Mental Health for Cops
Tactical, Practical De-Escalation is an informational course centered on real-world de-escalation strategies that are operationally realistic, legally sound, and immediately applicable in high-risk encounters. Street cops must make clinical assessments at tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving scenes, where accuracy is critical. This course redefines de-escalation, viewing it not as avoidance or hesitation but as a deliberate tactical skill designed to slow situations down, improve decision-making, and reduce unnecessary use of force while ensuring officer and staff safety. It provides a strong foundation based on the 4th Amendment standard of use of force alongside anxiety management training principles.
Participants will explore how factors such as subject and individual stress physiology, perception, communication, positioning, time, distance, and team dynamics influence escalation and de-escalation in rapidly evolving scenarios. The instruction weaves together legal standards, officer safety principles, and behavioral science to clarify when de-escalation strategies are appropriate, when they are not, and how to transition between de-escalation and control effectively. Importantly, this is not a CIT-related course. While CIT can be effective, it may oversimplify responses, create tactical disadvantages, and involve protocols that could potentially overlook the complexities surrounding PTSD in law enforcement.
Using Clinical Tools to Help To Address Mental Health
Criminal Justice Professionals, including those in law enforcement, corrections, and probation and parole, face unique psychological stressors that can significantly affect their mental health, job performance, and overall well-being. The use of psychological clinical assessment tools is essential for identifying early warning signs of mental health issues, supporting officers during anxiety management training and ongoing fieldwork, and enhancing officer resilience. This 90-minute lecture introduces key clinical assessment tools relevant to mental health in law enforcement, providing insights into their purpose, administration, interpretation, and ethical considerations for professionals.
Participants will discover how these tools can be integrated into proactive mental health strategies, improving officer wellness programs while also addressing PTSD in law enforcement and supporting officer-driven decision-making processes for individuals experiencing mental health challenges, including effective de-escalation strategies.
MN POST Board Approved Peer Support Course
This 30-hour in-person Peer Support Training Program is designed specifically for law enforcement personnel. The curriculum integrates evidence-based practices, operational realities, and legal defensibility standards, with a particular focus on anxiety management training and de-escalation strategies to address the unique needs surrounding PTSD in law enforcement. The program emphasizes wellness, resilience, crisis response, and ethical peer support boundaries.
Curriculum Structure
The program consists of 11 modules totaling 30 instructional hours, including lecture, facilitated discussion, applied scenarios, and skills-based training.
Instructional Methods
• Lecture and guided discussion
• Scenario-based training
• Case study analysis
• Skills demonstration
• Peer role-play exercises
Evaluation Methods
• Scenario performance evaluation
• Instructor observation
• Participation tracking
• Knowledge checks
• Applied competency demonstrations/Knowledge Test
Legal and Compliance Statement
This training adheres to applicable legal standards governing confidentiality, duty to warn, and limitations of peer support roles. Peer supporters are trained to operate within clearly defined boundaries and refer to licensed professionals when appropriate.
Documentation and Record Keeping
Attendance, performance, and completion records will be maintained in accordance with agency policy and POST requirements. Documentation supports audit review and program defensibility.
Conclusion
This program is designed to meet and exceed POST-aligned expectations for peer support training. It integrates operational relevance, clinical insight, and legal defensibility into a comprehensive training model while addressing anxiety management training and developing effective de-escalation strategies for PTSD in law enforcement.