Awareness and Education Day For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Starr currently serves on the Atlantic Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund Advisory Committee and the NS/PEI St. John Ambulance Board of Directors. She is a member of the International Women’s Forum – Atlantic Chapter, and was invested into the Order of St. John at Government House.

A best-selling children’s author and multiple journalism award winner, Starr is a strong voice and recognized personality across Nova Scotia and the Atlantic region.

Landry started writing books to honour her late father, Capt. Baz Landry, M.B., of the former Halifax Fire Department. Capt. Landry was the first Halifax firefighter in more than 250+ years to receive Canada’s Medal of Bravery (1980). Landry’s work is now also lovingly dedicated to her late mother, Theresa.

A former television reporter and anchor (CTV Atlantic), and long-time university instructor (MSVU), the veteran journalist has been a freelance content creator since 2001. Landry wears a variety of hats through her company, Groundhog Productions. She does strategic writing and communications, video production, event hosting, social media management, blog, magazine, newsletter and script writing.

Her team worked on the development of the Post Traumatic stress disorder legislation and the new bill to expand access to workplace injury insurance and cancer presumption to volunteer firefighters in the Worker’s Compensation Act. Karen has worked in the Safety Branch since 2014. Prior to that, she worked in the non profit sector as Director of Policy and in the Private Sector for a large Petroleum Company. Karen has a Masters in Business Administration from Henley Management College in the UK and a Bachelor of Business Administration from University of New Brunswick. Her family lives in Halifax and she keeps busy with her two young sons and teaching fitness classes.

Most recently, as VP, Prevention and Service Delivery, the teams in Shelley’s portfolio have supported lasting change in safety cultures in fishing, in health care, and in other industries. Having redefined the way we work with key partners in prevention under the Workpalce Safety Strategy, Shelley has more recently focused a great deal of effort in improving mental health outcomes, and supporting Nova Scotia’s first responder community.

Previous to the WCB, Shelley’s career spanned a number of roles in the federal and provincial public sector, from federal crown corporations to regional health authorities.

She is a past chair Board member with Threads of Life, a national organization dedicated to providing support for families impacted by workplace tragedy, and has served on the Council of Governors of the Canadian Centre of Occupational Health and Safety, and more locally, on the Board of Governors for Mount Saint Vincent University.

He also has been posted to an isolated Alberta posting and Nova Scotia within his career. He is currently the NCO i/c of Cole Harbour office and Community Policing for Halifax District.

The one thing training forgot to tell us is that some of us are going to Suffer in Silence with nightmares, images planted in my head that haunt us daily. Kids that I tried to help – the senseless sexual assaults against them, their innocence taken away and not being able to do a damn thing to help them, except comfort them with words while thinking about my own three young daughters and worrying about them as well. The trauma of a family of 7 dying in a single car accident and knowing them, the murders, the sudden deaths, the assault causing bodily harms, the motor vehicle accidents, the suicides, the fatal electrocutions, fire victims, plane crashes and I wonder why I started to self-destruct years ago.

Yes, that was Joe Taplin, suffering in silence for more than 25 years until I had a break down and finally had to seek help on my own. For over 25 years I have fooled myself, my family my co-workers by suffering in silence. It took me 25 years to realize that I had a work place injury called PTSD…wow me, the face of the RCMP (media spokesperson) for 7 years. I have been presented with National awards, IODE policemen of the Year, Two Jubilee medals for my community work, a great community person who volunteered a lot in my past, a good police office but suffering inside for years while working with the RCMP with no real help for us or me.

Sgt. Taplin has taken his Suffer in Silence ideal and has been featured on CBC NS, the Rick Howe Show and CTV Your Morning with Ben Mulroney. “I truly believe we have to get rid of the stigma of mental health and not suffer in silence but it takes a culture shift to make this happen”. “We have lost to many brother and sisters to suicide and it has to stop, we need to step up and talk and reach out for help”.

In 1995, Jason began his career in the public service as a Corrections Officer first at the Cumberland Correctional Facility in Amherst and then at the Cape Breton Correctional Facility in Sydney. Jason became a leader in his Union Local and soon was elected to the NSGEU Board of Directors, Provincial Executive, and became President in 2016.

As President, he strives to be a leader focused on solving problems and making the province a fairer, more equitable place to work and live.
Jason is also a leader within the larger labour community. He serves as the 1st Vice President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and the Executive Vice President of the National Executive Board for the National Union of Public & General Employees (NUPGE).

Jason was selected to attend the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference Program in 2015 and is a graduate of the distinguished Harvard Trade Union program.

When he is not advocating on behalf of NSGEU members and the working people of Nova Scotia, Jason enjoys spending quality time with his family: he is married and the father of three children: Tasia, Tyler, and Jalen.

Being the dedicated, empathetic, and caring professional that she is, Crystal pushed all of these events to the side feeling that she had dealt with them just fine and always tried to focus on the many happy and special moments that she was part of during her career. In 2013 she started noticing some slight changes in her personality, her mood, and how she handled different situations. This continued over the past number of years, then her sleeping patterns started being interrupted, her memory was declining, her concentration and decision making started being affected. While noticing these changes herself, she kept them from everyone else around her including her family in fear of being judged. She suffered in silence for about 5 years before she was finally able to accept that there was something medically wrong with her.

It wasn’t until a major event in 2018 that Crystal’s life took a major turn and her world came crippling down in front of her. In September of 2018 she was diagnosed with PTSD, major depression and anxiety. After losing hope on life, her family, her friends, and her career, Crystal confided in a coworker and with her guidance she sought out Professional help. With professional help, guidance and resources, Crystal continues to be on her recovery journey all while spreading the message that there truly is hope, take it one day at a time and to never give up. You are not alone!

She is an extraordinary mental health advocate for others especially for frontline workers and nurses in particular. She is always willing to share her story and to lend an ear to anyone in need while she maintains her own healthy boundaries.

Crystal is also one of the facilitators for the Antigonish Wings of Change Peer Support Group. She is very honoured to be part of Helping the Helpers and hopes that she is able to spread the message of hope and strength to others that may be suffering especially those suffering in silence.

Marybeth has worked in the public and private sector and more recently Marybeth has worked as a case manager with the WCB, on the Special Adjudication team focusing on those workers with a traumatic injury and / or a concussion. She is now the owner and operator of OT Health Inc.

Marybeth’s career has taken her to many workplaces, clinics, community settings where the goal of treatment was “Returning to Life’s Activities”. While supporting her clients to return to Life ‘s activities like hobbies, church, getting groceries and work for example, Marybeth has assisted first responders to navigate their return to Life’s activities successfully. Her experience with first responders has enabled her to participate as an integral team member along side psychologists and other health professionals supporting in vivo exposure experiences. Successfully supporting clients during their reintegration into productive and functional living, including safe and sustainable work following trauma, was and continues to be the most exceptionally rewarding time of her career. Not only has Marybeth experienced the work of trauma as a professional, she also has first had experienced with immediate family members, friends and colleagues.

Sandra Duke RN-NP

I have had a 40-year career in Nursing, 15 years as an RN working in the high acuity areas of ER and Critical Care. I became a Specialty Nurse Practitioner in 1997 until my retirement in 2018 working as an NP in Cardiology, Internal Medicine (End Stage Congestive Heart Failure Management in the Community) and Geriatric Medicine.

In August 2015, while caring for one of my community-based CHF patients, a horrible adverse event occurred, which I knew I could not, for the first time in my career, self manage. Given that it was a workplace incident, I was referred to Workers Compensation Board and assigned a knowledgeable caseworker, Tracey. Among other health care professionals, she referred me to Marybeth Fleming. I remember thinking “why are they sending me to an OT? My injury is not physical”. Although I did not realize it at the time, this referral was one of my saving graces.

Diagnosed with PTSD, I was able to access the proper care providers who assisted me in getting back to work and back to a functional life. I was determined to get back to work and can say that there surely were bumps along the way. I was able to retire as scheduled in 2018.

The guidance, counselling and direction afforded to me would not have been possible through trying to manage this trauma on my own as I had done so many times before. I, like many of my health care provider colleagues, expected to be able to manage seemingly benign invisible incidents that are deemed “occupational hazards”. Hopefully, my experience which I have shared with my colleagues, will make everyone more mindful to take care of oneself.

She wanted to capture some of her lived experience as a child of a First Responder through a video she developed along with Jon Brown. This short video is a reflection of her journey of how PTSD impacted her as an individual within our family. Maddie has been a long-time mental health advocate and speaks openly and effortlessly with anyone who wants to discuss mental health issues. She speaks authentically with the focus on breaking down stigma and ‘normalizing the conversation’.

Trained as an occupational therapist, Dr Cramm has worked in clinical and research roles that focus on families and mental health for 20 years. As an associate professor at Queen’s University, her research started with exploring mental health, resilience/y, trauma, and recovery in families of military personnel and veterans. Married to a fire fighter and seeing how much could be learned from the military, veteran, and family research, she saw the potential to extend that work into the world of public safety personnel. Dr Cramm and her team were recently funded by CIHR for a 3-year team grant that will provide critical knowledge to support policy and program development for the families of public safety personnel.

Dr. Deborah Norris, is a Professor in the Department of Family Studies and Gerontology at Mount Saint Vincent University. Informed through her background in family studies, critical theory, and qualitative methodology, she teaches courses in family relations, family violence, and research methods. Dr. Norris’ military family research program includes studies focusing on the everyday lives of female military partners. This includes the cycle of deployment, secondary trauma in military families, work-life balance in families where mothers are serving members in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), the impact of operational stress injuries on the mental health and well-being of families of veterans, resilience and post-traumatic growth in military families, and the military to civilian transition.

Paul has achieved the following certifications: Addictions Counselor, Suicide Intervention Master Trainer, MADD Canada Death Notification Trainer, Bereavement Facilitator, Trauma Responder, Trauma Field Traumalogist, Trauma Services Specialist, Compassion Fatigue Educator, Peer Support and ICISF Approved Instructor.

Over the past 36 years, Paul has developed and implemented policies and programs pertaining to the delivery of Employee and Family Assistance Programs, Referral Agent Programs, Critical Incident Stress Management to emergency service providers such as the RCMP, Emergency Medical Care (EMC) Paramedics, 911 Operators, Children’s Aid Society, Metropolitan Regional Housing Authority, Atlantic Support Services Association and the Canadian Coast Guard. As well as for community-based trauma response teams such as Strait Area Debriefing Association, Eastern Shore CISM Debriefing Team, Kanesatake Community Trauma Response Team (Quebec), Yarmouth County Community Response Team and the Chippewa’s of Georgina Island (Ontario).

Paul is of First Nation’s Mi’kmaq ancestry and has also worked with the Native Community in the Maritimes as the Liaison Officer between the Halifax Regional Police and the Native Community. He continues to work with the Native Community across Canada as well he has served on the Atlantic First Nations Task Force on HIV/AIDS, former healing consultant for Teachings of the Sweet Grass Braid Society (survivors of residential school), a facilitator of the Teachings of the Medicine Wheel and former associate counselor for the Eagles’ Nest Recovery House. Paul is the former Director of the Spirit of the Eagles’ Feather Society.

Jason served his country for 16 years, which included three combat missions to Afghanistan.

Upon his release from the military, Jason competed at the Toronto Invictus Games and, in 2018, won two gold medals in track events at the Warrior Games. Currently, Jason coaches for Soldier On and resides in Burton, NB with his wife, Amanda, and their three children, Jakob, Grace, and Kaleb.

In 2017 Brad was working an overtime shift in Eskasoni, Cape Breton when he was dispatched to a call of an accidental hanging of a 2 year old child. Brad was first on scene with Emergency Health Services and assisted in life saving efforts from Eskasoni, all the way to hospital in Sydney where she was pronounced dead.

Two days later, Brad was sent to Dartmouth by his Sergeant to attend the autopsy following which he was asked to stop at HQ and meet with a force Psychologist and his PTSD struggle truly took flight.  Brad and Sara Jane look forward to sharing their lived experience as a family and his journey to recovery.

This is an exciting initiative incorporated into our agenda this year based on feedback from previous years. This sharing of lived experiences as couples through their family’s journey through OSI and PTSD injuries will provide valuable information for other First Responders and allied Frontline Professionals and their families.

Throughout her career, she has provided interventions, skill development, and counseling around childhood stress, stressful life events, anxiety, depression, trauma and challenging behaviours. She has been with the NSHA’s Child/Youth team for more than 30 years and continues to provide diagnostic assessments in Pictou County. She provides private practice counseling in person in Antigonish and via telepsychology to those elsewhere in the province

She is delighted at being invited back to the team providing support to first responders and their families at the 7th Annual Helping the Helpers Awareness and Education Day.

Dean Perry, R.Psych. is a Clinical Psychologist in Antigonish. He is a staff psychologist at St. Martha’s Hospital, Nova Scotia Health Authority and has a private practice primarily devoted to front line professionals including paramedics, law enforcement, military and medical. He has served as a Canadian representative to the American Psychological Association’s Disaster Response Network and Public Education Campaigns. He is an honorary Fellow of the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia and he has been recently recognized by the American Psychological Association for his contributions to the field of Psychology.