Calgary mall clinic helps soldiers with post-traumatic stress

A clinic helping soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder has opened in a Calgary mall, a location officials hope will be a safe place for sufferers to admit they need help.

The federal minister of veterans affairs, Greg Thompson, was in Calgary on Monday to officially open Carewest Operational Stress Injury Clinic, which is on the second floor of Market Mall.

The location may seem odd for a military facility, but it's not on a base because there is still a stigma attached to asking for help with mental illnesses in the military, said Thompson.

Most soldiers won't admit they have post-traumatic stress disorder and need help, unless they are guaranteed total privacy, he added.

"We often say in mental-health issues whether it's in the military or in civilian life that people suffer in silence simply because there's still a stigma attached to seeking help for mental illness issues."

Jean-Yves St. Denis, a former Canadian soldier who served in Rwanda, said althoughhis life is in order today, he suffered months of nightmares, flashbacks and destructive behaviour before he got help.

Many soldiers returning from Afghanistan will have similar experiences, he said.

"Definitely we are fighting a war there there is no peace in any part of that mission, so we need to get those centres up and running and get 100 per cent military support on this."

Calgary's Carewest clinic will treat about 60 patients every year.

Similar clinics operate in Winnipeg, London, Montreal and Sainte-Foy, Que.