Randy Cribbs - Forged Under Fire Counseling & Consulting
Randall (Randy) W. Cribbs, M.S., LPC, NCC, EMDR Certified, CTTS-I, CISM, Forged Under Fire founder and CEO (Retired US Army EOD Company First Sergeant)
Randy Cribbs, retired as a US Army EOD Company First Sergeant, after being an EOD Operator for over 18 years. Served from Nov 1983 through 31 Oct 2004. Entering the Army as an Private (E-1) and ETS'ing as a First Sergeant (E-8). He served on multipule deployments to Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq prior to retiring. During these deployments the missions were fast paced with situations where ones moral and ethical judgement was challenged, awith all being both stressful and impactful. While serving his last tour in Iraq Sep 2003 – Apr 2004, he was hit with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Dec 2003. This resulted in a moderate Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The confusion brought on by the TBI and working through this with little to no help, led him into counseling. With a lack of information or knowledgable exchange as to how a TBI affects one, he found this unacceptable. So, his journey began to help others better understand and work through the many issues that one may encounter daily, after returning from a deployment or leavng active duty.
Dr. Marianne Dumond, EdD, LPC-S, EMDR Certified, CFRC, CCTP- CISM
So Nice to meet you! Not only will I be your counselor, but your advocate as well. I have alphabet soup after my last name, and I love throwing the soup around on behalf of my clients. With more than 20 years working with Veterans, First Responders and their family members, we work to find Re-, rebuild, renew, reinvent, and recreate. Painting, drawing, sculpting and more have certainly helped me over the years after a motorcycle wreck sidelined me with a severe head injury. Little did I know the self-medication I was doing afterwards was a form of acquired brain injury making things even harder on healing, I mean who would have thought? I use a holistic approach for mental wellness. Good natured harassment comes gratis it is part of the menu you do not get to order it. This means when you see a chance to pick on me bring it on, because it is a sure thing I will. I specialize in post-traumatic stress injury, anxiety, depression, self-medication, EMDR, Mindfulness, and Solution Focused Brief Therapy. We work to uncover, rediscover, rebuild assets, and strengths to help you on your journey. We use all tools available to stock your red roll around Snap On toolbox filling it with Craftsman quality tools, the kind that when they get old and break, you automatically get a replacement. I am just a visitor in your life and I look forward to you firing me.
Understanding the Why and Reasoning Behind the Name
“Forged Under Fire”
The name “Forged Under Fire” comes from the combination of how military and first responders may look at their work/careers, and at what point they feel they are seasoned or have earned the title. For example, many military personnel tend to not consider themselves a veteran, or the same as others that deployed because they did not, this is not true. When a military member deploys and experience what comes with this, this is their fire. Then after returning home and after the deployment they feel they have earned this right under the fire created by deployment. With firefighters, they go to the academy, they train and learn the necessary skills of firefighting and then to a fire station. It is not until the individual fights their first fire and earns their shield that they now embrace that they are a firefighter. For Law Enforcement it is similar but until the first arrest, involvement in a very tense situation, such as a stand-off or an individual that is trying to commit suicide using the “Death by Cop” scenario. Officers go through this or some other scenario that is not the typical daily event, that they have had their fire. With EMS, they spend countless hours responding to calls, some are critical, others not as bad, some scenes involve family members and a very confusing situation. When an EMS provider has the one call that really challenges them, and are not sure how it will end, this is their fire. After this the self-worth and the belief that they can do this job, that they want to do this job is more impactfully real.