A Community of Healing for those who have served.
You Put Yourself in Harm’s Way for the Benefit of Others. Now We’re Here for You.
Every day, and in many varied circumstances, first responders and military personnel face situations most people cannot comprehend. You knew you signed a blank check that could be cashed in at any time and could cost you your life. No one ever told you that your mental health was also on the line. Gradually over time, or sometimes with one fateful call, the unseen injuries of service can take hold. Post traumatic stress, moral injury, burnout, disillusionment: all can lead to questioning your identity, your purpose, and your future.
At Project Trauma Support (PTS), we believe that you cannot heal from some injuries alone. Our experienced clinicians and lived-experienced mentors provide a safe landing place, with validation, compassion and wisdom.
About Us – Who We Support
Providing specialized support for:
- First Responders: firefighters, police, paramedics, dispatchers, corrections and communications personnel
- Military Members: serving, reserve, and veterans
- Families & Loved Ones: those who care about someone living with an operational stress injury
You do not need a formal diagnosis or
a referral. If you are someone who served on the front lines and your service has left a mark on you, we invite you to reach out.
The Project
We started Project Trauma Support in 2016 because we realized that there was a need for a novel program in Canada that treats not only Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but also Moral Injury.
Across Canada, military members, veterans, first responders, and frontline healthcare workers are exposed to events that fundamentally change how they view the world—and how they see themselves fitting into it. We have learned that it doesn’t matter how well trained, well experienced or courageous you are, when the calls become too many and too severe, being on the job can leave a mark on you. You may think that no one could possibly understand what you are going through, but we understand how front-line service hits the humanity of a person. We also know that even though the nature of the calls may be different, they have a similar way of hitting the human psyche.
Project Trauma Support was founded with the understanding that healing of injuries that affect the brain, heart and soul of a person takes education, compassion and connection. Our programs bring together expert clinical care and skilled mentorship and make optimum use of the group-based approach.
Our goal is to:
-
Break the stigma surrounding mental injury in front line professionals: these jobs are hard
-
Develop targeted programs that address the unique needs of those on the front lines
-
Work to support healthy relationships and engage family members when needed
-
Build a unique community that provides ongoing support and education
When we send a person to the front lines to serve and protect, we incur an infinite debt for what we do to their minds and their souls.
Shift work with the ever-present risk of being thrust into life-and-death situations with little warning affects the mind, body, and spirit. The cumulative stress of the job which involves physical danger, exposure to human suffering and organizational pressures can lead to
- Post-traumatic stress symptoms
- Sleep disturbance, hypervigilance, anxiety, or depression
- Emotional numbing, withdrawal, avoidance or isolation
- Moral Injury: regret, second-guessing, wrestling with situations that feel very wrong
- Strain on relationships, questioning identity and self-worth
- Substance misuse or maladaptive coping, making unfortunate decisions
- Feeling disconnected from work, family, others or even yourself
We aim to remove the barriers that prevent people from reaching out for help.
Project Trauma Support aims to break the stigma and remove the barriers to help
Our Philosophy: Healing the Whole Person
Operational Stress Injuries affect every part of a person’s life. Our work has made us learn that it is time to challenge some myths:
- Post traumatic stress is not a disorder; it is an injury
Your hypervigilant, avoiding, numbing brain is not malfunctioning; it is doing exactly what it is programmed to do to keep you safe. You can learn to override some of its instincts - Healing requires connection, not isolation
You cannot heal from moral injury alone. - Medication is not always helpful Medication does not touch the pain of moral injury
- You can heal from traumatic injury Operational Stress Injuries can make you feel like you may never recover, but you can come back stronger than you ever were when you do the work. You can learn techniques to make your brain and body less reactive. You may need to re-examine your beliefs, values, and sense of who you are. You will learn to bring a new lens to your whole life story and reprocess the difficult moments so you can move forward, in peace.
- You can break the spell that the past seems to have over you It is not always helpful to go over and over the painful stories of the past. We present our best concepts, perspectives and philosophies that can help you develop an attitude about the past that you can live with in peace. We then shift the focus to helping you find your path to a new fulfilling life of purpose You did not go through all this for nothing and…. your story is not over yet
Our Team
Our programs are Physician/Clinician led, but very much peer mentor driven. [Meet our team]
We offer expert knowledge and experience, confidentiality, understanding, compassion, emotional safety, and non-judgement.