For RCMP Members, the expectation has always been the same – show up, stay focused, and push through.
Even when stress follows you home.
Even when coping starts to look like surviving.
Even when what’s building internally becomes harder to ignore.
For many people, the hardest part about seeking help isn’t admitting that they’re struggling – it’s believing that they’re “struggling enough” to deserve support.
To better understand the ins and outs of inpatient treatment, we sat down with NPF partner Homewood Health, a Canadian leader in mental health and addiction services that has supported individuals, families, and organizations for more than 140 years. As part of the Homewood Health network, Homewood Ravensview is a British Columbia-based inpatient treatment facility that provides specialized mental health and addiction treatment programs for public safety personnel, military members and first responders. Ontario also offers this Homewood Guardians treatment program in Guelph at the Homewood Health Centre.
Inpatient treatment is where an evidence-based mental health program is offered to clients who stay on site for a defined period of time, typically around nine weeks. This model is designed to provide a meaningful interruption from the stressors of daily life, including work demands, family responsibilities, and environmental triggers that can contribute to declining mental health. It is often misunderstood as extreme or only necessary in times of acute crisis. However, for some, inpatient treatment provides the time, structure and support intended for a full recovery.
Hesitation around getting help is often shaped by operational culture, stigma, and misconceptions about what inpatient treatment looks like. It can be more difficult for officers to recognize when structured support could benefit their well-being.
In policing culture, there is often an unspoken expectation to manage behind closed doors. To compartmentalize. To keep moving forward despite what is showing up internally or externally. Over time, exposure to violence, crisis, and work-related stress begins to build. Sometimes gradually. And sometimes, all at once.
The Challenge of Stepping into Treatment
One of the most difficult parts of inpatient care is not the treatment itself, but the decision to commit and make time for it.
Concerns about stigma within law enforcement, perceptions from peers, or questions about readiness and capability often come up. In some cases, hesitation may also stem from a strong personal and professional identity tied to being the one others rely on. Many Members are usually the ones responding to others in crisis, not the ones stepping into care themselves.
Shame becomes another limiting belief. Thoughts like “I can get through this” or “others have been through worse” are common.
Inpatient treatment is not a measure of strength or weakness. It reflects courage and acknowledges that a more structured support may be needed for what someone is experiencing.
“In reality, there’s a wide spectrum of care, and many people benefit from having structured time and support to focus on recovery,” says Dr. Jonathan Wan, MD, FRCP(C), Medical Director at Homewood Ravensview.
Inpatient treatment offers the added value of stepping away from the noise, the pressure, and the coping patterns that may have helped them survive but are no longer helping them truly heal.
“Giving people space and environment so that they can actually approach their treatment is incredibly important,” says Craig Extine, MA, RCC, Manager of Clinical Operations at Homewood Ravensview.
“For many people, healing becomes difficult when they return immediately to the same stressors and coping patterns every day.”
During the time spent in inpatient treatment, patients step out of operational expectations and into a setting designed specifically for stabilization, assessment, and recovery. Just as importantly, it provides consistency. Instead of brief moments of support between operations, treatment becomes the focus for a period of time. This consistency allows progress to be sustainable. For many Members, it may also be one of the first opportunities to step back and fully process the cumulative impact of years spent serving others. This is true healing outside of the uniform so Members can return as a better officer and individual outside the uniform as well.
During outpatient therapy, some may spend 45 minutes driving to the appointment, then try to open up for an hour, and then immediately return to the same environment and stressors that brought them there in the first place. That’s where inpatient treatment creates a difference. It gives patients the support they need to fully commit to recovery without immediately slipping back into survival mode.
Stigma and the RCMP Context
Stigma around inpatient treatment remains one of the biggest barriers for RCMP Members.
Much of it comes from fear of judgment and misunderstanding. Inpatient care is often associated with crisis-level intervention or involuntary hospitalization, while it represents a broad range of structured mental health support.
Within policing culture, stigma can be reinforced by exposure. Thoughts like “Should I even be here?” are more common than many realize. Members may associate mental health care with the most intense situations they encounter professionally, which does not reflect the full spectrum of treatment options available.
Many Members do seek support through outpatient therapy or peer conversations despite constantly being in an environment that may reinforce stress responses. Increasingly, Members are also speaking more openly about their recovery journeys, which contributes to the idea that seeking structured care is not uncommon within policing.
“There is a noticeable shift happening,” says Craig Extine. “More individuals are entering treatment and sharing their experiences with peers.”
Unlike outpatient care, inpatient treatment often involves stepping away from regular duties, which can make the experience feel more difficult to discuss openly or view as a normal part of seeking support.
Education also plays a key role in reducing stigma. When people better understand what inpatient care involves and how it fits within a broader range of mental health supports, they are more likely to view it as a practical and viable option.
A separation from work can especially be important for people in high-stress professions, where operational demands often leave little room to process traumatic experiences. Removing individuals from those ongoing stressors may also allow them to engage more openly in another important aspect of many inpatient programs: the group environment.
Hearing others speak candidly about trauma, operational stress injuries, or excessive workloads can help normalize emotions and experiences that many law enforcement officers carry silently over the course of their careers.
Inpatient treatment is not a permanent fix for all challenges. However, it recognizes the journey of recovery: a focused period of stabilization, therapy, and skill development to help others re-engage with their lives in a healthier way. And yet, one of the most consistent reflections from those who do commit to inpatient treatment is simple:
“I wish I did this sooner.”
Seeking help doesn’t minimize someone’s strength or professionalism. In many cases, it’s what allows people to reconnect with themselves. For many who take that step into treatment, the most common reflection isn’t regret about going, but wishing they had sought support sooner.
There is a growing need for accessible, stigma-free mental health support within policing communities. The National Police Federation’s Mental Health Report in 2024 also highlights the operational pressures, cumulative stress, and barriers to seeking care that many RCMP Members may to face throughout their careers.
If you know someone who is struggling with their mental health, support is available for Members, families, and other first responders experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges. In Canada, resources include the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline, Kids Help Phone, Wellness Together Canada, and local mental health services. International readers are encouraged to contact local crisis lines, emergency services, or community mental health organizations in their area for immediate support.
RCMP Members can access our Member-to-Member Health page for additional mental health resources and information designed specifically for the RCMP policing community.
About the Experts
Dr. Jonathan Wan MD, FRCP(C) is the Medical Director at Homewood Ravensview. He completed his psychiatry residency in 2016 and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. His areas of interest include addiction psychiatry, personality disorders, and medical education.
Craig Extine, MA, RCC is the Manager of Clinical Operations at Homewood Ravensview. He is an experienced inpatient treatment therapist specializing in trauma, addiction, depression, anxiety, and PTSD treatment for military personnel and first responders.