More first responders die from suicide because of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than physical injuries while on the line of duty, according to the Institutes of Health.
Dr. Tomer Anbar, founder and chief executive of the San Diego-based clinical group, described this trend as a “silent epidemic.”
“Most individuals with this level of brain injury go undiagnosed, which prevents them from healing,” Anbar told the Business Journal.
To help combat this issue, the Institutes of Health opened its first Orange County location in Anaheim, adding to its clinics in San Diego, Riverside and El Centro. The June 12 opening was planned to coincide with PTSD Awareness Month.
Institutes of Health said its medical centers are more collaborative than other centers as they have physicians from different disciplines – neurology, psychiatry and pain management, to name a few – work together to treat one individual.
The clinic will not only treat but also conduct research and train other clinicians on evidence-based treatments for chronic pain, PTSD, traumatic brain injury and related substance abuse disorders.
“Orange County has not had this level of medical clinic and research institute up until now,” Anbar claimed.
Institutes of Health is gearing up to open another medical center in Burbank by spring of 2026.
100% Covered by Workers’ Compensation
Anbar said that Institutes of Health has received a lot of interest over the years from insurance companies and other organizations to open a location in Orange County.
While the psychological injuries the clinic aims to treat are especially prevalent in frontline workers, Anbar said that it’s open to anyone who is injured on the job.
Its services are 100% covered by workers’ compensation, according to Anbar.
He said that they receive referrals from employers, doctors and insurance companies.
Historically, 80% to 90% of injury cases can be solved with some form of surgery, pharmaceuticals, or physical therapy, Anbar said. The issue is with the remaining 10% that don’t get better, he continued.
When left untreated, undiagnosed chronic pain can lead to new symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, anxiety and depression.
“The reality is that those treatments are only going to make the condition worse because you have to move from a biomedical model to a biopsychosocial model,” Anbar said.
Biopsychosocial refers to the treatment model used at Institutes of Health, which involves several specialists working side-by-side to treat one patient.
Anbar said that currently they’ll have somewhere between 40 to 60 clinicians at the Anaheim clinic discussing one patient at a time “so things don’t fall through the cracks.”
Successful Case Study
Institutes of Health put its treatment model to test in a case study done in partnership with San Diego’s fire-rescue and police departments.
Injured firefighters and police officers who didn’t respond to regular treatment underwent the biopsychosocial approach at Institutes of Health’s intensive outpatient program.
Results showed that 94% of 62 first responders returned to full duty upon completion of treatment within an average time of five and a half months, and they no longer met the criteria for PTSD.
Anbar has a background in psychoanalysis, group dynamics and rehabilitation. He received his master’s in psychology from United States International University and said that he has lived in various countries, including Mexico, where he was the former head of the clinical research psychobiology unit at the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery.
In 2002, Anbar led research that drew attention to chronic pain as one of the largest issues and cost drivers in the workers’ compensation system.
“There’s an impression that the work comp system is dysfunctional and destroys people’s lives,” Anbar said.
“Our position is that it’s brilliant. You have a no-fault insurance system that avoids lawsuits that’s designed to project the employer and the injured worker. The issue is how it’s implemented.”
Anbar also founded the Interdisciplinary Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program at Scripps Health, a nonprofit in San Diego, in 2008.
