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Supporting mental health means recognizing the diverse experiences of those who serve—and what happens when service ends.
Military service brings distinct psychological demands, from separation and potentially traumatic experiences to the expectations of duty and mutual reliance. Yet mental health extends well beyond PTSD. Grief, moral injury, isolation, identity, belonging and resilience can all shape a person's experience, and no two journeys are alike.
The transition to civilian life presents additional challenges, including changes in routine, relationships, purpose and access to care. MHRC-funded research offers important insights into veterans’ experiences of isolation, reconnection and resilience, helping us better understand what supports mental health during and after military service.
In this special Remembrance Day edition of The Better Mental Health Briefing, we bring together research, expert perspectives and lived experience to examine where support may fall short, what builds trust and encourages people to seek help, and how evidence can inform better approaches to care.
The conversation also explores the roles of peers, families, leaders, clinicians and community organizations in strengthening connections and providing more timely, trusted and sustained support for military members, veterans and their families.
Beyond honouring service and sacrifice, Remembrance Day offers an opportunity to recognize the ongoing mental health needs of those who serve, those who have served and the families who stand alongside them.
Expert Voices
Michael Cooper
Mental Health Research Canada
Michael Cooper is Vice-President, Data & Partnerships at Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC). He brings more than 16 years of experience in charitable leadership, project management and government relations. He oversees MHRC’s large-scale national data initiative tracking mental health trends in Canada, with a focus on using evidence to inform policy, partnerships and improvements in mental health care.
Dr. Jenny J. W. Liu
MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre
Dr. Jenny J. W. Liu is a researcher with the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre and an adjunct research professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Western University. Her work advances research on psychological resilience and trauma-informed approaches for military members, veterans and other populations. She led the MHRC–Atlas-funded Stories that INSPIRE project, which explored veterans’ experiences of isolation, belonging and resilience during the transition to civilian life.
Chris Linford, LCol (ret’d)
Wounded Warriors Canada
Chris is a 33-year veteran of the CAF and was released for PTSD in 2014. Since then, Chris has worked for the Veterans Transition Program and currently with Wounded Warriors Canada, first as a “lived experience peer,” and more recently as a Trauma Therapist after achieving a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology in 2023. He started in the Reserve Infantry in Calgary in 1979 and transferred to the Regular Force in 1988 after finishing Nursing school. He deployed three times to The Gulf War 1991, Rwanda Africa 1994, and Afghanistan from 2009-2010 where he was part of the command team at the Role 3 Combat Surgical Hospital at Kandahar Airbase.
What is The Better Mental Health Briefing?
The Better Mental Health Briefing is MHRC’s webcast series that puts mental health research into context. Each edition brings together researchers, experts and other informed voices to examine what the evidence tells us, what it may mean and how it could support better decisions for people in Canada. From time to time, the series may also feature initiatives, such as MHRC’s studentships, that help support and expand mental health research.
