Military, Veteran & First Responders Program

Military, Veterans & First Responders Programs

Powerful. Empowering. Life-saving.​

Those who put their lives at risk to keep us safe often need some help themselves. EHN Canada is proud to have programs designed to specifically address the addiction and mental health concerns of the most heroic members of our communities: military service members, veterans, and first responders.

By voluntarily putting themselves in harm’s way, they are vulnerable to post-traumatic stress injuries and maladaptive coping strategies that can lead to the development of mood, anxiety, or substance-use disorders. Our inpatient programs can help. For treatment of trauma and psychological injury, we offer a seven-week program. For treatment of concurrent trauma with substance use disorder, our standard program duration is extended to nine weeks.

Statistics show that

10% of war zone Veterans will go on to experience PTSD. –Veterans Affairs Canada

22% of paramedics experience PSTD.
–Centre for Suicide Prevention

44% of first responders show signs of mental health disorders. 
–Canadian Journal of Psychiatry

Our programs might be right for those active military service members, veterans, or first responders who are experiencing:

  • Substance Use Disorder (SUD)
  • Behavioural Addiction
  • Mood & Anxiety Disorders
  • Operational stress injuries including Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), with or without concurrent Substance Use or Mood & Anxiety Disorders
For the treatment of either substance use disorder or trauma and psychological injury, we offer a seven-week program. For the treatment of concurrent trauma and substance use disorder, our standard program duration is extended to nine weeks.

Think you might be suffering from PTSD or severe trauma? Take our screening questionnaire and one of our counsellors will contact you to discuss the results.

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Taking into account the challenging experiences of military, veterans and first responders, our programs offer

  • A personalized approach including individual and group therapy, with primary counsellors who have extensive trauma training
  • 24/7 medical support in residential treatment
  • Regulated mental health professionals, including psychologists and psychiatrists, and doctors certified to prescribe addiction medications, on-site
  • Access to Occupational Therapists
  • Integrated care including yoga, meditation, fitness, nutrition, sleep hygiene, and art therapy
  • Our Family Program to help those closest to you heal
  • Comprehensive discharge and relapse prevention planning
  • Aftercare to transition out of intensive treatment
  • Online recovery tools via the Wagon app

Our research-based program elements include:

  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  • Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Motivational Interviewing (MI) – for addiction
  • Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
  • Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PET)
  • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
  • Virtual Reality
  • Peer support groups (12-step meetings including AA, NA and SMART Recovery)

Patients in this program have the opportunity to learn valuable skills, including

  • Mindfulness
  • Emotion regulation
  • Interpersonal effectiveness
  • Distress tolerance
  • Communication
  • Conflict resolution

Support from those who understand

Shared experience is powerful. All our facilities foster a therapeutic community of peer support and interaction to augment the effects of clinical programming. Group sessions and individual counselling are also led by masters-level therapists who have specialized training to help patients process their unique trauma related to occupational stress injury.
At Edgewood in Nanaimo, BC, we can accommodate patients in trauma-focused programs separately in the Ferguson Building. This is an exclusive residential setting that encourages trust and safety with those who possess a shared understanding.

Comprehensive Care from EHN Canada

Graduation from a residential treatment program can be both a hopeful and daunting time as patients shift back to homelife. Research shows that longer treatment durations, including effective aftercare, leads to more long-lasting recovery and lower risk of relapse. That’s why we designed an Intensive Aftercare Plan (IAP) to help people maintain the skills they’ve learned during inpatient treatment while putting them into practice in the “real world”.

What does an Intensive Aftercare Plan (IAP) include?

8 weeks of intensive treatment
9 hours of therapy per week
Up to 24 months of aftercare groups

IAP is available in-person (where safety precautions permit) or virtually through EHN Online, and is an option for any active service member, veteran, or first responder completing a full residential program for addiction or mood and anxiety, with or without concurrent trauma/PTSD.

These programs are available at

Edgewood | Nanaimo, BC

Bellwood | Toronto, ON

Gateway | Peterborough, ON

Clinique Nouveau Départ | Montreal, QC

Ledgehill Men’s and Women’s | Lawrencetown, Annapolis County, NS