The Foundations of Peer Support

Five Fundamental Beliefs About Life – Foundation for Peer Support:

● Everyone has the ability to learn and grow.

● People’s beliefs determine their behavior.

● People think their way through life.

● Whatever people focus on, they give power to.

● Life’s experiences are the best teacher.

Beliefs re-stated within the context of Mental Health and Recovery:

• Being diagnosed with a mental health injury does not take away the ability to learn and grow; people can recover and often gain new wisdom they take with them in their new experiences.

• When you start to understand what beliefs or actions (if any) brought you to a place in life where you developed an OSI, it gives you a chance to look at those beliefs with fresh eyes. Were there any beliefs you would choose not to bring forward with you in life? Is there any advice you would give someone at the start of their profession that you wish you had known? What do you believe is true about yourself?

• Being diagnosed with a psychological injury does not permanently take away your ability to be strategic and creative. Often people with an OSI develop new skills as part of their recovery.

• Life's experiences are still the best teacher. With your new insight and experience, where will this take you? What will you gain from this experience? In recovery, we start to see the gifts we have received from this injury and view it with a new perspective.

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

To access peer support please visit:

Our mission is to inspire hope and contribute to the continuous well-being and recovery process of Veterans and Front Line Protectors across Canada.

We seek to empower and encourage them to strive for recovery through peer and professional support while creating greater public awareness.​

We at OSI-CAN do not see PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a Disorder, we see it as an Injury you can recover from. If you are suffering from the symptoms of an Occupational or Operational Stress Injury, then a PTSD or PTSI diagnosis is not required to get our help

The target demographic of OSI-CAN is, but not limited to:

Former and serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Allied Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Frontline Protectors --- which include Municipal Police Services, CN Police Services, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Protection Services, Wildland Firefighters, Hospital Trauma personnel, Nurses, healthcare Workers, Social Workers, Animal Control Officers, Medical Examiners/Coroners, Indigenous Emergency Management, Victim Services Personnel, Emergency Communications Specialist/COMMS Personnel, Correctional Officers, “Volunteer” First Responders, Conservation Officers, Aboriginal Emergency Services personnel, Tow Truck drivers who clean up accident scenes and their spouses/partners. This demographic was chosen due to the commonality of experiences they share through the service they provide to the country and community.

We have a special interest and support volunteer first responders as they are not eligible for programs such as Workers' Compensation.

The Filing Cabinet

While researching Post Traumatic Growth we came across an article explaining how our brain is a filing cabinet. Over the years some of us been able to file experiences in an appropriate place. Not a simple process but worthwhile if a person can accomplish it.

In the metaphor, the mind is a filing cabinet, incidents of trauma are unorganized and float around and surface at the most inopportune times. It has been suggested a person can use a process of Dealing, Feeling, Healing, and Sealing. The goal is to move towards Post Traumatic Growth and not become overpowered by our emotions. That is why it is so important to understand we are not alone, and help is available. The help comes in many forms; Clinical without question, and Peer Support as an additional extension in the form of support.

“It’s not what we have in life, but who we have in our life that matters”

(Author Unknown)

Our mission is to inspire hope and contribute to the continued well-being and recovery process of Veterans and Front Line Protectors across Canada.

We seek to empower and encourage them to strive for recovery through peer and professional support while creating greater public awareness.

We at OSI-CAN do not see PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a Disorder, we see it as an Injury you can recover from. If you are suffering from the symptoms of an Occupational or Operational Stress Injury, then a PTSD or PTSI diagnosis is not required to get our help.

The target demographic of OSI-CAN are but are not limited to:

Former and serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Allied Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Frontline Protectors --- which include Municipal Police Services, CN Police Services, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Protection Services, Wildland Firefighters, Hospital Trauma personnel, Nurses, Healthcare Workers, Social Workers, Animal Control Officers, Coroners, Indigenous Emergency Management, Victim Services Personnel, Emergency Communications Specialist, Corrections Officers, “Volunteer” First Responders, Conservation Officers, Aboriginal Emergency Services personnel, Tow Truck drivers who clean up accident scenes and their spouses/partners. This demographic was chosen due to the commonality of experiences they share through the service they provide to the country and community. We have a special interest and support volunteer first responders as they are not eligible for programs such as Workers' Compensation.

What is "Trauma Informed"

Adopting trauma-informed practices can potentially improve patient engagement, treatment adherence, and health outcomes, as well as provider and staff wellness. The term ‘Trauma-Informed’ has become an important term in care and healing practices. There is some belief that treatment is enough if it treats the injury in front of them but as our knowledge of trauma deepens we become more aware of its impact. We now know that sometimes care must be taken in helping those who have suffered a traumatic experience. Trauma-informed care shifts the focus from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” A trauma-informed approach to care acknowledges that health care organizations and care teams need to have a complete picture of a patient’s life situation — past and present — in order to provide effective health care services with a healing orientation.

Clinicians are in a helping profession because they recognize that people are important, their stories are important and want to maximize the difference they can make in that person’s life for the better. Trauma-Informed Care as a principle indicates that it is more than the clinicians that need to be aware of their effects on patient care. It is just as important for every staff member, from clinicians to maintenance and administrative personnel to be aware of the impact their words and behaviors may have on patients.

Trauma-informed care seeks to:

• Realize the widespread impact of trauma and understand paths for recovery;

• Recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma in patients, families, and staff;

• Integrate

knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices; and

• Actively avoid re-traumatization with the help of a patient being in the center of their recovery

Trauma is a difficult topic for discussion in most cases but during the treatment process it becomes even more difficult as people have to process the event out loud with another person not of their profession. These experiences come from exposure to an incident or series of events that are emotionally disturbing or life-threatening with lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, and/or spiritual well-being.

Experiences that may be traumatic include:

• Exposure to tragedy and trauma or perceived threats to life in the course of your operational duties

• Chronic exposure to potentially traumatic events in your profession

• Loss of the feeling of having the support of colleagues or management in dealing with trauma within your profession

• Feeling that your own personal morals are at odds with the duties you have to perform in your profession

Personal exposure to:

• Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse

• Childhood neglect

• Living

with a family member with mental health or substance use disorders

• Sudden, unexplained separation from a loved one

• Poverty

• Racism, discrimination, and oppression

• Violence in the community, war, or terrorism

We at OSI-CAN do not see PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a Disorder, we see it as an Injury you can recover from. If you are suffering from the symptoms of an Operational Stress Injury, then a PTSD or PTSI diagnosis is not required to get our help!

OSI-CAN Target Demographic The target demographic of OSI-CAN are but are not limited to: former and serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Allied Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Frontline Protectors --- which include Municipal Police Services, CN Police Services, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Protection Services, Wildland Firefighters, Hospital Trauma personnel, Nurses, healthcare Workers, Social Workers, Animal Control Officers, Coroners, Indigenous Emergency Management, Victim Services Personnel, Emergency Communications Specialist, Corrections Officers, “Volunteer” First Responders, Conservation Officers, Aboriginal Emergency Services personnel, Tow Truck drivers who clean up accident scenes, Persons who in the performance of their jobs are exposed to criminal acts of Trauma like Prosecutors as one example, and their spouses/partners. This demographic was chosen due to the commonality of experiences they share through the service they provide to the country and community. We have a special interest and support volunteer first responders as they are not eligible for programs such as Workers' Compensation.