Trauma Therapy For Veterans & Military Members
Specialized trauma therapy for veterans and military members available in-person in Saint John and Woodstock and virtually across New Brunswick.
When The Past Still Feels Present
Military service can involve experiences that are difficult to leave behind when the deployment, posting or career ends.
For some veterans, the effects of trauma are immediate. For others, symptoms emerge gradually, sometimes months or even years later. You may notice changes in sleep, irritability, anxiety, relationships, concentration, substance use, or the way your body reacts to situations that seem safe now but do not necessarily feel safe.
At Rising Tides Counselling, we provide trauma-focused therapy for veterans using evidence-based approaches including EMDR and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). Our therapists understand that effective trauma treatment is about more than asking you to talk through difficult experiences over and over again.
We focus on helping your brain and nervous system process what happened so the past does not have to keep showing up in the present.
Thoughts
✓ Intrusive memories or images
✓ Difficulty concentrating
✓ Replaying events or decisions
✓ Guilt or questioning what you could have done differently
✓ Feeling disconnected from who you were before
Feelings
✓ Irritability or anger
✓ Anxiety or feeling constantly on alert
✓ Emotional numbness
✓ Guilt, shame or grief
✓ Feeling detached from others
Body
✓ Trouble sleeping or nightmares
✓ Feeling tense or unable to relax
✓ Strong reactions to sounds, crowds or unexpected situations
✓ Fatigue or feeling worn down
✓ Physical reactions when reminded of an experience
Everyday Life
✓ Avoiding people, places or situations
✓ Difficulty reconnecting with family or friends
✓ Using alcohol or other substances to cope
✓ Feeling uncomfortable in crowds or public spaces
✓ Struggling with purpose, identity or the transition to civilian life
Trauma can affect more than your memories. It can change how you think, feel, react, and move through everyday life.
What Trauma & Operational Stress Can Look Like
Experiences during military service can affect people in different ways. Sometimes the impact is obvious. Other times, it shows up gradually, or even years after the experience itself.
- Intrusive memories, flashbacks or nightmares
- Feeling constantly alert or on guard
- Irritability, anger or a shorter fuse
- Avoiding people, places or reminders
- Feeling emotionally numb or disconnected
- Guilt, shame or moral injury related to experiences during service
- Difficulty sleeping or relaxing
- Grief and loss
- Difficulty reconnecting with family or relationships
- Using alcohol or other substances to cope
- Struggling with identity or purpose after leaving the military
- Finding the transition to civilian life more difficult than expected
The impact of service doesn’t always end when the experience is over.
When Service Becomes Who You Are
Leaving the military doesn’t always mean leaving military life behind.
Military service can shape much more than a career. It can become part of how you understand yourself, where you belong, what you value and how you relate to the people around you.
The structure, shared purpose and connection of military life can be difficult to replace. Leaving service, whether by choice, retirement, injury or circumstances you didn’t expect, can bring changes that go well beyond starting a new chapter.
You may find yourself missing the camaraderie and sense of purpose you once had, struggling to relate to people who haven’t shared similar experiences, or wondering where you fit now. And sometimes there are experiences from service that are difficult to reconcile with the person you are today.
Therapy can provide space to work through both: what happened during your service, and what it means to build a life and sense of self beyond it.
How Therapy Can Help Veterans & Military Members
You don’t have to forget what happened to change how it affects you.
Trauma therapy isn’t about erasing your experiences or asking you to simply “move on.” It’s about helping your brain and nervous system process experiences that may still be unfinished.
Therapy can help reduce the intensity of traumatic memories, triggers and physical reactions, while also making space for grief, moral injury, changes in relationships, and questions about identity or purpose after service.
At Rising Tides, our approach is practical and trauma-focused. Depending on your needs, therapy may include EMDR, Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), strategies for regulating the nervous system, and other evidence-based approaches.
The goal is not to change the story of your service. It’s to help you carry it differently.
What Specialized Trauma Therapy Looks Like
Trauma therapy doesn’t have to mean telling your story over and over again.
1. Building safety & stability resources
Learn practical ways and develop strategies to manage triggers, sleep difficulties, strong emotions and nervous-system responses in a way that feels manageable.
2. Processing traumatic memories
Explore what is happening now, why symptoms appeared and how experiences such as chronic exposure, critical incidents, grief, moral injury and prolonged stress may be connected.
3. Working with moral injury and loss
Making space for guilt, grief, anger or experiences that may conflict with your values or beliefs about yourself and the world.
4. Reconnect with life beyond service
Exploring relationships, identity, purpose and what moving forward looks like for you — without minimizing or erasing what came before.
Trauma therapy can be practical, focused, and tailored to what you need, without requiring you to relive every detail of what happened.
Therapy That Understands Military Experience
Military Culture Matters
Military life has its own language, expectations, relationships and culture. Understanding that context matters when making sense of experiences during service and the transition that can follow.
Trauma Expertise Matters
Our team has advanced training and experience in trauma-focused approaches, including EMDR and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), with specialized training related to military members, veterans and other high-exposure professions.
Your Experience Is Your Own
There is no single “veteran experience.” Therapy should make room for your individual service history, identity, relationships, losses and goals, without assumptions about what your service meant to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You do not need to have a PTSD diagnosis to benefit from trauma therapy. Military and operational experiences can contribute to anxiety, depression, grief, sleep difficulties, anger, relationship challenges, or other changes that affect everyday life.
Trauma therapy can help you understand what you are experiencing and determine what kind of support may be useful.
Not necessarily. Trauma therapy does not always require you to describe every detail of a difficult experience.
Approaches such as EMDR and ART can help you process traumatic experiences without repeatedly retelling the entire story. Your therapist will work with you at a pace that feels manageable and explain your options so that you remain an active part of the process.
Moral injury can occur when something you did, witnessed, were unable to prevent, or experienced conflicts deeply with your values or beliefs. It may involve feelings of guilt, shame, anger, betrayal, grief, or difficulty making sense of what happened.
Therapy can provide a place to explore these experiences without judgment and work toward understanding, self-compassion, and a way of carrying the experience that feels less overwhelming.
It can. Nightmares, difficulty falling or staying asleep, waking frequently, and feeling unable to fully relax can all occur following traumatic experiences. When sleep difficulties are connected to trauma, therapy can help address the memories, triggers and nervous-system responses that may be contributing to them. Persistent sleep problems can have other causes as well, so your therapist may also recommend speaking with your physician or another health professional when appropriate.
Yes. Rising Tides works with Veterans Affairs Canada and can direct bill eligible VAC mental health benefits through Medavie Blue Cross. Coverage and authorization requirements vary, and some services may require pre-authorization. Our team can help you determine what information is needed before you begin.
Yes. Rising Tides works with Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans, and we receive referrals through CAF, Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), and PCVRS. How services are authorized and covered can vary depending on your individual circumstances and referral pathway. If you’re unsure how your coverage works, contact our office and we can help you determine the next steps.
Meet Some of Our Therapists Who Support Veterans & Military Members
Rachel Milne, MSW
Registered Social Worker
Rachel has experience supporting veterans living with PTSD and providing trauma-focused care through PCVRS. She also works with individuals experiencing chronic pain, substance use, anxiety and trauma. Her client-centred approach focuses on meeting people where they are and working collaboratively toward meaningful, lasting change.
Alex Hitchcock, LCT-C
Counselling Therapist
Alex works with adults navigating trauma and PTSD, grief, life transitions, and questions of identity and purpose. He is EMDR-trained and brings a grounded, collaborative approach to therapy, with particular interests in men’s mental health and helping clients reconnect with their strengths and values during periods of change.
Ashley Saab, MSW
Registered Social Worker
Ashley brings direct experience working with veterans through her work in a veterans care setting, along with training in EMDR and Trauma-Focused CBT. She supports adults experiencing PTSD and trauma using a gentle, collaborative approach, creating a calm and grounded space where clients can work at their own pace.
Ready To Take The Next Step?
Whether you’re dealing with experiences from years ago or changes that have surfaced more recently, you don’t have to figure out the next step on your own. Our trauma therapists provide evidence-based, compassionate care for veterans and CAF members across New Brunswick.