By Karine Langley, PhD in TheologyPublished: 2026-10-22Reading Time: 5 min readFirst Responders & MilitaryBilingual Practice
The right therapist for a first responder is a registered professional who understands shift work, cumulative exposure and confidentiality, works directly with trauma and sleep, and lets you control the pace. Choosing well matters, because many responders only reach out once, and a poor fit can feel like proof that therapy does not work for people like them.
Here is what to look for if you are a police officer, paramedic, firefighter, dispatcher or corrections officer in Ottawa, and the questions worth asking before you book.
Why the Choice Matters for First Responders
The job exposes you to things most people never see, over and over, often on broken sleep. A large Canadian survey of 5,813 public safety personnel, published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry in 2018, found that 44.5% "screened positive for clinically significant symptom clusters consistent with 1 or more mental disorders." A screening result is not a diagnosis, but the number shows how common the strain is.
A therapist who has never worked with responders may spend your first sessions learning the culture from you, or react to details of a call in a way that makes you shut down. You should not have to protect your therapist from your job.
Check Registration First
In Ontario, psychotherapy is a regulated profession. Look for a Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO), a psychologist, a social worker registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, or a physician. Registration means you can verify them on the college's public register, and it is usually what extended health plans require for reimbursement.
Look for Real Trauma and PTSD Experience
Ask directly how they work with trauma. Good answers describe pacing: building stability and grounding first, then gradual, planned work with the memories when you are ready. The PTSD counselling approach I use follows that order. Be cautious of anyone who promises a fixed timeline or pushes you to retell the worst call in the first session.
Ask How They Handle Sleep
After night shifts and hard calls, sleep is often the first thing therapy works on.
Rotating shifts, night calls and a nervous system that will not stand down add up to broken sleep for many responders, and lost sleep makes every other symptom harder. Ask whether sleep is part of the plan from the start. In my practice, the early work looks at the nights: what happens before bed, what wakes you, and what helps you settle again.
Confidentiality and Your Employer
Ask how records are kept and what, if anything, is ever shared.
Many responders worry about what gets back to the service. Ask how records are kept, what would ever be shared and with whom, and how the therapist handles requests from employers or insurers.
In private practice, your sessions are not shared with your employer without your consent, except in the narrow situations the law requires, such as an imminent risk of serious harm. A good therapist explains those limits clearly in the first session.
If your symptoms may be work-related, WSIB has its own rules for PTSD claims by first responders, including who can make the diagnosis. Check with WSIB or your union before you decide how to pay for therapy.
Practical Fit: Shifts, Format and Cost
Therapy has to fit around a rotating schedule to work.
Therapy only works if you can keep showing up. Ask whether sessions can work around a rotating schedule and whether secure video is available on days you cannot get across town. Sessions with me are in person at 854 Wingate Dr or by secure video where clinically appropriate, in English or French.
Sessions are $250 an hour. Most extended health benefits and employee assistance programs cover a Registered Psychotherapist. I do not bill insurers directly; you receive a receipt to submit for reimbursement. See the fees page for details.
Questions to Ask on the First Call
Have you worked with police, paramedics, firefighters or dispatchers before?
How do you pace trauma work, and can I stop or slow down?
How will we work on sleep?
What stays confidential, and what are the exceptions?
Can we meet by video when my shifts change?
My own background includes service as an officer in the Canadian Navy and more than 30 years of clinical practice, so shift work, chain of command and the reluctance to ask for help do not need to be explained from scratch.
If You Need Help Right Now
If you are having thoughts of suicide or feel unsafe, call or text 9-8-8, the Suicide Crisis Helpline, at any hour. In an emergency, call 9-1-1.
First Responder Counselling in Ottawa
I offer first responder counselling in Ottawa for active and retired police, paramedics, firefighters, dispatchers and corrections officers, and for their families.
