When he was growing up, Herb Raasch always said he wanted to be a police officer. After some time in the military, he achieved that childhood dream of becoming a police officer, but as Raasch’s family grew, he saw the toll the law enforcement field can have.
“Not just on physical health, but mental health, too,” he noted.
Though he didn’t realize it at the time, this realization would eventually snowball into Raasch becoming a clinical assistant professor at UW-Milwaukee and opening his own mental health clinic to serve veterans and law enforcement.
Journey into nursing
While he was a police officer, someone noticed how well he connected with other people and suggested he look into nursing as a career pivot.
“Nursing gives you an opportunity to help people, and it can be exciting,” Raasch said. “But you’re not in harm’s way. And up to that point, a lot of my military and law enforcement career put me in harm’s way.”
He stepped into the medical field by becoming a paramedic. He’d taught tactical combat casualty treatment and CPR to other law enforcement, so it was a natural inroad. Raasch then used GI Bill credits to attend UWM’s School of Nursing, where he graduated with his bachelor’s in 2014 and a doctorate focusing on family practice in 2018.
Experience and education in mental health
Between his degrees, Raasch worked as an inpatient psychiatric nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Milwaukee. That’s where he became interested in mental health.
“When people hear ‘mental health,’ they may see the social stigma of Jack Nicholson in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’’’ Raasch said. But, he noted, that stereotype simply isn’t true.
He spent quality time with his patients — more than he could in other nursing jobs — and realized that people suffer from the same difficult feelings. “Everyone experiences anxiety, for example,” he said. “Some people perceive it as stress, and some perceive it as more.”
And when a respected professor asked him to consider joining a post-graduate psychiatric mental health certificate program at UWM, he jumped onboard.
“Learning more about mental health and how it’s so underserved and misunderstood, I thought this is an area that not only desperately needs providers but a revamp of understanding,” Raasch said.
Starting his own clinic
After working in private practice, Raasch opened his own clinic, Mindful Healing and Wellness, in 2023. While he serves a variety of patients, Raasch uses his previous experiences to provide specialized care for military, law enforcement and first responders.
“I can empathize with them. I’ve been in law enforcement, I’ve been a paramedic, I’ve been a combat veteran, I’ve traveled to different countries, I’ve dealt with toxic leadership, inner conflict between coworkers, I’ve dealt with loss,” Raasch said.
A study published in 2024 estimates that police officers and other public safety personnel are twice as likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression as the general population.
Raasch says there’s several factors that lead first responders to delay or forgo mental health care. The first is pragmatic: They may fear the possibility of losing their job or being put on administrative leave for seeking mental health care.
The other reasons are more personal. Police and others in uniform, “are the heroes; we are supposed to have it together. People depend on us,” Raasch said. Discussing mental health can be perceived as a weakness, but Raasch says nothing can be further from the truth.
Raasch noted that although it’s hard for someone in uniform to see a mental health specialist, he’s happy for them to start their journey. “One of the first things I say is, ‘I’m proud of you for the courage you had to come in here, I know it wasn’t easy,’” Raasch said.
If you or a loved one is suffering from mental health issues, help is available. You can contact Raasch at his clinic, Mindful Healing and Wellness, at 262-282-3253 or mindfulhealingandwellness@outlook.com. Resources for veterans and first responders are also available through Save a Warrior, Project Sanctuary and Warrior PATHH.
