Personalized PTSD care
Optimizing recovery.
For many Veterans, finding the right treatment for PTSD can be a long and exhausting process. One medication brings difficult side effects. A therapy that helps at one stage of recovery stops working at another. Too often, care still depends on guesswork, challenging clinicians, and discouraging Veterans on their road to recovery.
Our work in personalized medicine is working to change that by informing the shift from one-size-fits-all care, toward treatment that is precise, practical, and responsive to the individual.
From exploring genetics to determine the most appropriate medication to exploring emerging and innovative treatments, such as ketamine, we are actively leading the improvement of current treatment options. Furthermore, through conducting the largest meta-analysis on PTSD treatments in military and Veteran populations, we are laying the groundwork for co-developing clearer, practice-oriented treatment guidance for PTSD care.
All these efforts support the future of OSI recovery: understanding not simply whether a treatment can work, but for whom it is most likely to work, under what circumstances, and at what point in recovery.
For Veterans, it means reaching effective care sooner. For clinicians, it means making difficult decisions with greater confidence. For families, it means less time watching a loved one struggle through ineffective treatments and more reason to believe that recovery is possible.
Active projects.
Understanding Canadian Veterans' Attitudes Towards Personalized Medicine
Personalized medicine uses information about each person, such as genetics, lifestyle, and how their body processes medications, to guide individualized treatment and healthcare decisions. This study explores Veterans' knowledge and understanding of personalized medicine, including their concerns or barriers to use.
Understanding these perspectives may guide future mental healthcare by ensuring approaches are acceptable, accessible, and better aligned with Veterans' needs and preferences.
More about this study →Exploring Prescription Practices for PTSD Treatment Amongst Canadian Clinicians
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be treated with different medications, however what guides the choice of one medication over another may vary between healthcare provider. This study examines how clinicians in Operational Stress Injury (OSI) clinics across Canada prescribe medications for PTSD, supporting more consistent, evidence-informed PTSD treatment for Veterans others living with OSIs.
Looking at current prescription practices may help improve the quality and consistency of PTSD care, supporting better treatment outcomes for Veterans and others living with OSIs.
Helping Veterans Find a Mental Health Medication that Works for Them Sooner
Everyone responds differently to medications, and a person’s genes can affect how well a medication works and whether they experience side effects. Pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing looks at a person’s genes to help understand how they may respond to certain medications. This information could help healthcare providers choose medications that are more likely to work and cause fewer side effects. This study explores Veterans’ views on PGx testing and how it could help improve mental health treatment. By better understanding Veterans’ experiences and preferences, this research could help Veterans find the right medication sooner.
Exploring Veterans attitudes and the effectiveness of PGx may help health care providers choose safer, more effective medications faster, and improve the overall treatment experience.
Examining How PTSD Coexists With Other Health Conditions In Canadian Veterans
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often occurs alongside other mental health conditions, such as depression or alcohol use concerns. Examining how these conditions coexist rather than treating them as separate problems can support improving care. In this study, we look at how PTSD and other mental health conditions occur together, how symptoms affect quality of life, and what factors are linked to develop better treatment outcomes for Canadian Veterans.
Understanding how PTSD and related mental health conditions affect Veterans may help improve treatment, support recovery, and enhance overall quality of life.
Treating PTSD In Military Populations: Looking Across The Literature
While there are many exisiting treatment options for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) more research is needed to understand which work best for military and Veteran populations. To support this mission, our team brought together findings from hundreds of research studies on PTSD treatments. We compared different treatment options, looking at which were the most effective in supporting recovery. Such findings may help healthcare providers make informed treatment decisions, while providing more personalized care for Canadian Armed Forces members and Veterans living with PTSD.
Understanding which treatments are most effective for PTSD may help healthcare providers deliver more personalized care and improve recovery for military members and Veterans.
More about this study →Potential of Improving Attention Management through a Mobile Training Tool
Military training teaches service members to quickly recognize potential threats. For some Veterans, this heightened attention continues after leaving the military and can contribute to stress or PTSD symptoms. To support attention management, mobile training tools, such as the Attention Control Training app (ACT-app), can be used. In partnership with Phoenix Australia, this study will explore Veterans’ experiences using the ACT-app, and its potential to support mental health and wellbeing during the transition to civilian life.
Considering the effectivenesses and acceptance of a mobile attention training tool may help improve access to tools that support mental health and the transition to civilian life.
Investigating Potential Experiences and Outcomes of Ketamine Treatment
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects many Canadian Armed Forces members and Veterans. While many treatments exist, there is a call to understand the role of ketamine as a possible innovative treatment option. To understand how Veteran populations may respond to Ketamine, this study examines Veterans treatment experiences at the Operational Stress Injury (OSI) Clinic in London, Ontario. Findings may help improve the understanding of ketamine as a PTSD treatment and support more personalized care for Veterans.
Understanding how Veterans respond to ketamine treatment may help improve PTSD care and guide more personalized treatment approaches.
Exploring Problematic Anger in Canadian Veterans
While anger is a normal emotion, for some Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and Veterans, it can become frequent, intense, or difficult to manage. Such problematic anger can affect relationships, daily life, and wellbeing, while often occurring alongside other mental health conditions. Therefore, it is important to understand how problematic anger effects CAF members and Veterans seeking care, and what contributes to its severity. Findings from our study may help improve identification and treatment for Veterans experiencing problematic anger and related conditions.
Recognizing problematic anger may help improve the treatment, and overall mental health care of Canadian Armed Forces members and Veterans.
More about this study →PTSD MIND Collaborative
A national collaborative building shared protocols and shared data infrastructure across PTSD treatment sites.
Means clinicians across the country can learn from each other's patients, not just their own.
What we've published on this work.
- O'Donnell, ML., Arjmand, HA., Lumley, MA., Seal, K., Mani, R., Sterling, M., Reed, DE. II, Sbisa, A., Bair, MJ., Bown, S., Dupuis, G., Forbes, D., Maher, P., McFarlane, AC., Moseley, GL., Otis, J., Pedlar, D., Richardson, JD., Fredrickson, J., Maunder, L., Dick, D., Wilkinson, E., Bennett, L., Blank, J., & Varker, T. · 2026Systematic review and meta-analyses of nonpharmacological interventions for co-occurring chronic pain and posttraumatic stress disorderPAIN
- Roth, ML. · 2026Effectiveness and tolerability of massed prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD in a CAF Veteran: A case reportJournal of Military, Veteran and Family Health
- Bengizi, A., Qureshi AR., Incze, T., Ashur A., Abdul-Rahman, Z., Ali, Y., Dhillon, S., Ali, M., Elmoursi, O., Couban, R., Sadeghirad, B., Mackillop, J., Richardson, JD., Mckinnon, MC., & Busse, JW. · 2026Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among current and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studiesBMJ Military Health
- Collins, E., Liu, JJW., Bilodeau, M., Burhan, AM., Enns, MW., Lavoie, V., Ein, N., Nazarov, A., Auger, E., Balderson, K., Mota, N., Wanklyn, S., & Richardson, JD. · 2026Benzodiazepine prescribing in chronic military-related PTSD: real-world patterns and correlates in specialized careFrontiers in Psychiatry
- Gaudette, EV., Green, DGJ., Watling, SE., Dheda, SS., Lora, SJ., Zilberman, M., Hill, MN., Tyndale, RF., Richardson, JD., McCluskey, T., Narciso, L., Rusjan, PM., Kloiber, S., Houle, S., Warsh, JJ., & Boileau, I. · 2026In Vivo Characterization of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A [11C]CURB Positron Emission Tomography StudyBiological Psychiatry