(River Valley Resilience Retreat/Facebook)

By Rob Mahon

PTSD Awareness Month

‘Make a casserole’: River Valley Resilience Retreat offers advice for PTSD awareness month

Jun 16, 2023 | 5:00 PM

For Michelle McKeaveney, co-founder of the River Valley Resilience Retreat, the way people need to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in others is simple: try to react to it the way you would to a physical injury.

That’s one thing she would like people to keep in mind as June continues as it’s PTSD Awareness Month in Canada. Trauma and injuries to the brain can be as common in some jobs as physical injuries are, but they still aren’t treated the same way.

“In the old days, people delivered casseroles and pies and filled freezers when someone had the misfortune of having an injury or tragic death in their family,” McKeaveney said. “No one gives casseroles for mental health, especially for PTSD. People aren’t understanding the entire aspect of it.”

The desire to help those suffering from PTSD was the driving motivation behind the River Valley Resilience Retreat, where first responders, veterans, and others who have suffered occupational trauma can come and heal and receive support from their peers.

“If we can support people before that traumatic injury that may be career-ending, career-stopping… family life has abruptly changed, maybe we can address things before it becomes a pervasive, out-of-control issue,” added McKeaveney.

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Curtis Goota, a police officer for 25 years in Prince Albert, understands what PTSD can do to people if left untreated. He has been working with the retreat and is working toward certification to help his peers as well.

“For most people, physicians, psychiatrists, doctors, support groups, are sometimes not enough,” Goota said. “Counseling, most people can only get one session for an hour every two weeks, so we kind of fill that gap.”

For those who know someone struggling, McKeaveney has a simple request.

“Make a casserole,” she said. “If you know someone struggling at work, they’re absent, they’re drinking more, their children aren’t so lively, they’re isolating, you haven’t heard from there… be the person to reach out and reach in. Maybe we can stop the chitter chatter about what people aren’t doing for mental health and start doing what we think we should and that’s having a conversation.”

McKeaveney added she doesn’t expect people to take on all the problems of friends and family members or to solve them singlehandedly, but just being there for them can make a world of difference.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP