Dr. Michael Asken

Mental Toughness for Law Enforcement

Dr. Michael Asken is the psychologist for the Pennsylvania State Police where he is involved with selection and training of Troopers. He functions as the psychologist for the PSP Special Emergency Response Team where he consults with both tactical operators and crisis negotiators. He teaches and is involved with cadet performance issues at the Pennsylvania State Police Academy.

Dr. Asken is the PSP Department Psychologist and author of MindSighting: Mental Toughness Skills for Police Officers in High Stress Situations. He has written articles for Police1, SWAT Digest, The Crisis Negotiator, The Tactical Edge, Law Officer, The Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police, and the Firearms Instructor. He is an instructor for Top Gun undercover narcotics agent training. He has consulted with and/or provided training for the National Tactical Officers’ Association, Eastern States Vice Investigators Association, the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors, the New England Crisis Negotiator’s Association, the FBI, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Agents, the Naval ROTC Battalion at Villanova University, Naval Special Warfare Group, The United States Postal Inspectors and the U.S. Army War College.

Mike holds a B.A. degree in Social & Behavioral Sciences from the Johns Hopkins University. He completed his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology with a minor in Medical Psychology at West Virginia University and served his internship at the East Orange (New Jersey) Veterans’ Administration Hospital. He is a Fellow of the Division of Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Mike earned credentials as a Fellow and Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Psychotherapists and Diplomate of the American Board of Disability Analysts.

In relation to human performance, Mike is a Fellow of the Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology of the American Psychological Association. He taught the sport psychology course at Lebanon Valley College where he was awarded the Nevelyn Knisely Award for Inspired Teaching. He has been involved in training physicians, intensive care nurses, neonatal intensive care nurses and nurse anesthetists for twenty-five years.

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Full list of Dr. Michael Asken results

How cops can maximize performance by integrating mental and physical training
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Functional conditioning is training that not only maximizes physical performance, but does so with skills that mimic and can be applied in actual tactical situations
Why are cops so mentally tough? It's genetic
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The COMT gene — also known as the warrior/worrier gene — and its variations are involved with managing the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain, which influences resistance to stress and pain
Being simultaneously tactful and tactical
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TACT is the root of both the words TACTful and TACTical, and as an acronym, TACT stands for Think, Aware, Courteous, and Tactical
Instant pre-play: 8 tips for making tactical performance imagery effective
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Though common and relatively simple to learn and use, Tactical Performance Imagery can become most effective when certain approaches are utilized
Officer safety for the 21st Century: Training ESP
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Keys to developing an Elite Skills Performance Center for integrating mental, physical, and tactical training for law enforcers
The adrenaline dump: It's more than just breathing
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An increasing emphasis is being placed on awareness and management of the potential negative effects of the “adrenaline dump” on police performance. For example, it has been said that the “holy gra...