importance of and peer-care, and the importance of seeking professional help when needed. A parallel program is run for military families. Serving members, veterans, and families affected by service-related mental health problems are able to access peer support through the Operational Stress Injury Social (Peer) Support program, with peer supporters also providing guidance on local Veterans Affairs Canada and Department of National Defence services. The Department of National Defence and Veterans Affairs Canada are reported to be working together to engage both serving members (whether injured or not) and their families at an earlier stage of the discharge process, in the hopes of facilitating earlier identification of needs and providing better support during the transition. This move comes off the back of a recent evaluation of the New Veterans Charter, which found that the intended focus on military families had not translated into practice []. A systematic review of the care and treatment of military families was announced in early 2012. Discussion with the Canadian representatives suggested that engagement in formal treatment is an ongoing issue in Canada. Veterans are happy for others to seek care but are reluctant to seek treatment for themselves. Self-care and peer support are seen as the preferred options. As in other countries, Canada continues to struggle with the problem of early treatment dropout in a reasonable proportion of veterans. Although this has not yet been a target area for reform, it is becoming an increasing priority. Some work has been done in educating veterans about the realities of treatment, including the need to seek out another provider if they do not feel comfortable with the provider they first engage with, understanding what good treatment looks like, and educating veterans that it is not necessary for the clinician to have had the same experiences as them (e.g., combat) in order to be helpful. The Canadian experts report that there has been much work done over recent years to address to initiatives include: ‘barriers care’. Relevant Strengthening medical confidentiality protections, by disclosing medical employment limitations only to the chain of command. Information on diagnosis or treatment is only disclosed with consent.
importance of and peer-care, and the importance of seeking professional help when needed. A parallel program is run for military families. Serving members, veterans, and families affected by service-related mental health problems are able to access peer support through the Operational Stress Injury Social (Peer) Support program, with peer supporters also providing guidance on local Veterans Affairs Canada and Department of National Defence services. The Department of National Defence and Veterans Affairs Canada are reported to be working together to engage both serving members (whether injured or not) and their families at an earlier stage of the discharge process, in the hopes of facilitating earlier identification of needs and providing better support during the transition. This move comes off the back of a recent evaluation of the New Veterans Charter, which found that the intended focus on military families had not translated into practice []. A systematic review of the care and treatment of military families was announced in early 2012. Discussion with the Canadian representatives suggested that engagement in formal treatment is an ongoing issue in Canada. Veterans are happy for others to seek care but are reluctant to seek treatment for themselves. Self-care and peer support are seen as the preferred options. As in other countries, Canada continues to struggle with the problem of early treatment dropout in a reasonable proportion of veterans. Although this has not yet been a target area for reform, it is becoming an increasing priority. Some work has been done in educating veterans about the realities of treatment, including the need to seek out another provider if they do not feel comfortable with the provider they first engage with, understanding what good treatment looks like, and educating veterans that it is not necessary for the clinician to have had the same experiences as them (e.g., combat) in order to be helpful. The Canadian experts report that there has been much work done over recent years to address ‘barriers to care’. Relevant initiatives include: Strengthening medical confidentiality protections, by disclosing medical employment limitations only to the chain of command. Information on diagnosis or treatment is only disclosed with consent.