WHAT’S NEW

Understanding how trauma impacts sleep, with Dr. Craig Stewart

In a new podcast episode, hosts Laryssa Lamrock and Brian McKenna explore the prevalence of sleep issues in the Veteran and Family population and discuss how posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSIs) can impact sleep. They are joined by Dr. Craig Stewart, a psychiatrist and certified sleep specialist at St. Joseph’s Health Care London’s Operational Stress Injury (OSI) Clinic, who unpacks common challenges Veteran Families face when sleep is disrupted by PTSIs, shares practical advice for managing sleep issues and highlights new research around sleep health and trauma.

Some topics they explore:

• The long-term physical and mental health consequences of chronic insomnia
• Nightmares, dream enactment and practical Family strategies to manage sleep disruptions and behaviours
• How electronic device use and “doom scrolling” affect sleep routines and conditioned arousal
• Realistic expectations and recovery models for improving sleep after trauma

From service to ceremony: A First Nation Veteran’s journey

“Leaving the Forces wasn’t easy. I struggled with culture shock and with the question of who I was without the uniform… Returning to the land and embracing First Nations teachings gave me strength and helped me rebuild a sense of self after service.”

In a new Perspectives blog post, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veteran and social worker Justin Woodcock reflects on his experiences serving in both the Army and Navy as a First Nation soldier.

He discusses the challenges he faced during his transition out of the military and highlights the healing he found in reconnecting with his Indigenous culture and in ceremony.

Webinar series: The psychiatric management of PTSD

If you missed our webinar series on the psychiatric management of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the webinar recordings are now available. Designed to provide participants with an understanding of the role medication and other forms of treatment play in treating PTSD, the webinar series emphasizes the significance of a personalized approach that addresses the distinct needs of the Veteran population.

The three-part series was hosted by Dr. J Don Richardson, Medical Advisor at the Atlas Institute. Each webinar was tailored to specific audiences (prescribing professionals, non-prescribing professionals, Veterans and their Families).

COMMUNITY CORNER

CIMVHR Forum 2025: Lived experience and research connect in Ottawa, ON

Atlas was proud to once again be at this year’s CIMVHR Forum, which took place in Ottawa, ON from October 20 to 22, 2025. Our team presented on a variety of topics, including neurofeedback, women Veterans’ well-being, peer support guidelines, minority stress and more.

For the fourth consecutive year, we had the pleasure of offering travel grants to Veterans and Veteran Family members to facilitate their attendance at CIMVHR Forum 2025, allowing them to bring their lived experience to research conversations. Engaging the community in conversations that are applicable to them is key to understanding their mental health needs, which leads to better applicability and update of research. This year, we invited six Veterans and Family members who have been involved with Atlas work over the last year and who had not previously received a CIMVHR Forum travel grant, along with two others who presented alongside our researchers. Travel grant recipients were selected from across a range of experiences and backgrounds. Atlas intends to continue to offer opportunities to ensure that Veterans and Family members are a part of the conversations that pertain to them.

Additionally, the community’s presence in Ottawa provided a great opportunity for Atlas to host a panel discussion and reception highlighting the value and critical importance of Veteran and Family lived expertise. Taking place on October 20, the event gathered people with lived experience, researchers, policy makers and stakeholders, fostering rich discussions. The event opened with a performance by Ryan Carey, a Canadian Armed Forces Veteran, songwriter, storyteller and former Canadian Football League player. During the discussion portion of the evening, our panellists shared their valuable perspectives on authentic engagement and their experiences of working with Atlas throughout various projects such as podcasts, digital stories, photography projects and resource development, as well as offering their insights on how other organizations can involve lived expertise in their work. Thank you to everyone who made this evening such a success, with a special thank you to Ryan Carey and our panellists.

EVENTS AND TRAINING

January 22 – 23, 2026 — Registration is now open for next year’s Veteran Family Summit!

Just as Veterans can be affected by their time in service, Veteran Families can often face challenges that impact their mental health as they support and serve alongside their loved ones. The Veteran Family Summit was created to provide Families with access to knowledge, resources and supports specific to their unique needs — right from the comfort of their own home. This year, join us to explore topics including:

• Overcoming grief and the act of self-love
• Mental health and brain fog
• Substance use
• Discovering hope and healing within a community that truly understands — because they’ve lived it too.

December 1 and 3, 2025 — RCMP Veterans: Mental health dialogue virtual sessions (Families and women Veterans)

Are you a Family member of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Veteran (former member) or a woman Veteran of the RCMP?

Atlas is hosting two upcoming virtual dialogue sessions to explore RCMP Veteran and Family needs and perspectives relating to mental health. To ensure our future work is reflective of the needs of the community, we need to hear directly from its members.

Through facilitated discussion questions, developed with RCMP Veteran input, these dialogue sessions will explore experiences and perspectives relating to mental health to identify research priorities, knowledge needs and areas of public policy action.

These dialogue sessions continue a series of conversations that took us to Moncton, NB and Edmonton, AB earlier this year. Over the next few months, Atlas will host several virtual RCMP Veteran dialogue sessions. Future sessions will include discussions on the experiences of all RCMP Veterans and of Francophone RCMP Veterans.

Once the dialogue series is completed, we will summarize what we heard into a public report so all organizations working in the area of RCMP Veterans and Family mental health can better understand the needs of the community and potential focus areas for future efforts.

Our next two dialogue sessions will be held in December via Zoom and will focus on the needs and experiences of RCMP Veteran Families and of women RCMP Veterans.

Please note that spaces are limited. Registration will close when all spaces have been filled.

SELF-PACED TRAINING

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Research training course for Veterans and Veteran Family members: Apply and build research skills

Building on the success of last year’s Veteran and Veteran Family research training course, we are pleased to once again offer this free training opportunity to the community. Starting on January 26, 2026, CAF and RCMP Veterans and their Families can join us to learn more about research and how you can incorporate your lived experience into research projects. This nine-week online course will equip participants with a strong understanding of key research concepts, build capacity for engaging with academic or peer-reviewed literature, empower participants to formulate meaningful research questions, explore effective strategies for knowledge sharing, and increase confidence to navigate roles within peer and community research contexts. Course participants will also be invited to optionally participate in a study about its impact.

PARTNERSHIP AND STAKEHOLDER SPOTLIGHT

Strength in Service: Advancing Wellness in Public Safety symposium

Atlas had the opportunity to connect with members of the public safety personnel (PSP) community as they came together in North Bay, ON on October 23, 2025 to learn, connect and recharge at the first-ever Strength in Service: Advancing Wellness in Public Safety symposium. This one-day event centred on critical themes of resilience, collaboration and lived experience, with the goal of fostering a supportive network amongst peers.

Events like this are vital reminders that caring for the people who protect and serve our communities begins with supporting their well-being, and Atlas was pleased to play a small part in this inaugural event and to be able to meet with PSP and share relevant resources at our booth, especially as many Veterans are often members of the PSP community and share many experiences and needs.

COMMEMORATIONS CALENDAR

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