Media, Public Interest & Mental Health Advocacy

Dr. Michael “Mike” Dadson, PhD, RCC, CCC

Why Dr. Michael Dadson Is Notable

Sequential Trauma Narrative

The Sequential Trauma Narrative emerged in part from Dr. Dadson’s long-term clinical, public policy, public advocacy, media, supervision, and program-development activity with trauma-affected individuals, families, veterans, first responders, couples, and communities.

The framework explores how traumatic experiences are encoded, stored, remembered, narrated, and transformed through therapeutic relationship, emotional safety, attachment repair, nervous-system regulation, family connection, group process, and meaning-making.

The Sequential Trauma Narrative also serves as a public education framework, helping clinicians, clients, families, and public audiences understand how trauma disrupts memory, identity, attachment, nervous-system regulation, and meaning — and how recovery often involves rebuilding a coherent story of self, relationship, loss, survival, and future possibility.

The framework reflects Dr. Dadson’s broader mental health activity across PTSD, operational stress injuries, veteran transition, first responder trauma, men’s mental health, father-son relational injuries, dissociation, couples counselling, group therapy, family recovery, clinical supervision, public education, and trauma-informed program development.

Dr. Michael “Mike” Dadson, PhD, RCC, CCC, is notable within Canadian trauma counselling and public mental health for the way his career combines clinical practice, national program leadership, therapist supervision, public policy participation, professional education, and trauma-informed advocacy.

This page documents public-facing media, policy, education, advocacy, clinical leadership, supervision, and professional activity involving Dr. Michael “Mike” Dadson, PhD, RCC, CCC.

It includes selected public records related to parliamentary testimony, national mental health initiatives, trauma-informed program development, professional commentary, public education, clinical supervision as professional leadership, therapist training, and advocacy related to PTSD, operational stress injuries, veterans, first responders, families, men’s mental health, neurofeedback, dissociation, group counselling, and trauma-informed care.

Dr. Dadson’s public-facing professional profile brings together clinical trauma expertise, national mental health leadership, clinical supervision as professional leadership, public education, professional writing, and trauma-informed program development.

Leadership & Public Impact Highlights

  • Former National Executive Director & Clinical Director — Veterans Transition Network

  • Developer — Sequential Trauma Narrative (STN)

  • House of Commons Witness — PTSD & Operational Stress Injuries

  • PhD, Counselling Psychology — University of British Columbia

  • Past Fellow — International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation

  • 20+ Years Training, Supervising & Developing Therapists

  • 30+ Years Working in Mental Health

His professional significance is not based on a single role. It comes from the intersection of several major areas of work:

  • National clinical leadership: Dr. Dadson served as National Executive Director and Clinical Director of the Veterans Transition Network from 2014 to 2018, helping lead trauma-informed programming for Canadian veterans and families.

  • Public policy participation: In March 2016, he appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security during its study of operational stress injuries and PTSD among public safety officers and first responders.

  • Clinical supervision as professional leadership: For more than two decades, Dr. Dadson has trained, supervised, and mentored therapists in trauma-informed clinical practice, PTSD treatment, dissociation, operational stress injuries, group counselling, and relational recovery. This supervision work has contributed to professional development, clinical standards, program quality, and trauma-informed mental health capacity across Canada.

  • Academic and professional involvement: His work has been connected to the University of British Columbia, the Centre for Group Counselling and Trauma, and the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation.

  • Media and public education: Dr. Dadson has contributed to public-facing mental health education through media interviews, professional commentary, public advocacy, international awareness initiatives, and publications addressing trauma, PTSD, operational stress injuries, men’s mental health, neurofeedback, and psychological resilience.

  • Distinctive trauma framework: Dr. Dadson is associated with the Sequential Trauma Narrative, a framework emerging from his long-term clinical, supervisory, public policy, advocacy, media, and program-development activity with trauma-affected individuals, families, veterans, first responders, couples, and communities.

Together, these areas position Dr. Dadson as a Canadian trauma therapist, clinical supervisor, educator, author, national clinical leader, and public mental health advocate whose work has helped bring trauma-informed care into clinical practice, therapist training, public policy, media education, and national mental health programming.

Overview of Public-Facing Mental Health Activity

Dr. Michael Dadson’s media and public-interest mental health profile includes:

  • Federal parliamentary testimony before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.

  • National Executive Director and Clinical Director leadership with the Veterans Transition Network from 2014 to 2018.

  • Public policy discussion related to operational stress injuries and PTSD among public safety officers and first responders.

  • International public-awareness activity connected to Contact! Unload, Research-Based Theatre, Canada House in London, HRH Prince Harry, King’s College London, the Canadian High Commission in the United Kingdom, and Brookwood Military Cemetery.

  • Media interviews and public commentary on PTSD, operational stress injuries, trauma recovery, veteran transition, isolation, identity disruption, family strain, and meaning-making after trauma.

  • Public-interest program activity connected to veterans, women veterans, Francophone veterans, couples, families, first responders, and service-related trauma.

  • Institutional work connected to the Veterans Transition Network, True Patriot Love Foundation, Wounded Warriors Canada, the Royal Canadian Legion, the Quebec Veterans Foundation, the University of British Columbia, and other mental health and veteran-support partners.

  • Academic, advisory, and professional activity connected to group counselling, trauma treatment, public education, clinical supervision, and therapist development.

  • Professional and public education on PTSD, trauma neurobiology, dissociation, neurofeedback, men’s mental health, father-son relational trauma, couples counselling, media stress, crisis response, and psychological resilience.

  • Development and articulation of the Sequential Trauma Narrative, a framework emerging in part from Dr. Dadson’s clinical, public policy, public advocacy, media, supervision, and program-development activity.

Federal Parliamentary Testimony

House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security

Date: March 22, 2016
Institution: Parliament of Canada
Committee: House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security
Topic: Operational Stress Injuries and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Public Safety Officers and First Responders
Role: Witness, appearing as Executive and Clinical Director of the Veterans Transition Network
Location: Videoconference from Langley, British Columbia

On March 22, 2016, Dr. Michael “Mike” Dadson appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security during its study of operational stress injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder among public safety officers and first responders.

Appearing as Executive and Clinical Director of the Veterans Transition Network, Dr. Dadson brought clinical, program-development, and trauma-treatment experience into a national public policy discussion. His testimony addressed PTSD, operational stress injuries, first responder trauma, veteran transition, public safety personnel, access to care, masculine norms, family impact, group-based recovery, suicide risk, and trauma-informed systems of support.

In his opening statement, Dr. Dadson identified himself as a clinician, Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, Clinical Director and National Director of the Veterans Transition Program, a board member of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, an ordained chaplain, and the operator of a trauma treatment and training centre (Gentle Currents Therapy) in Langley, British Columbia.

Public Record

  • Appeared before a federal parliamentary committee.

  • Testified during a national study on PTSD and operational stress injuries.

  • Spoke as Executive and Clinical Director of the Veterans Transition Network.

  • Addressed trauma care for public safety officers and first responders.

  • Discussed barriers to care for people affected by PTSD and occupational trauma.

  • Connected clinical trauma treatment with national policy discussion.

  • Answered questions from Members of Parliament.

  • Brought clinical trauma expertise into a public policy forum involving first responders, veterans, public safety personnel, families, and institutional care systems.

International Public Mental Health Advocacy

Contact! Unload — Canada House, London, United Kingdom

Date: November 2016
Location: London, United Kingdom
Public Setting: Canada House, Trafalgar Square
Project: Contact! Unload
Fields: Research-Based Theatre, veterans’ mental health, operational stress injuries, military transition, public mental health advocacy, trauma-informed public education
Public Audiences and Settings: Canada House, HRH Prince Harry, Canadian High Commission, King’s College London, Brookwood Military Cemetery, international scholars, military leaders, public officials, and dignitaries

Dr. Dadson’s public mental health advocacy intersected with Contact! Unload, a Canadian Research-Based Theatre initiative bringing the lived experiences of military veterans, operational stress injuries, trauma recovery, and military-to-civilian transition into public performance and dialogue.

Contact! Unload translated trauma narratives into public performance, helping bridge the gap between clinical trauma knowledge and public understanding. The project connected veterans, scholars, clinicians, artists, academic institutions, public officials, and community members in a public mental health initiative focused on the emotional, cognitive, physical, relational, and social effects of service-related trauma.

During the London delegation, Dr. Dadson participated in public, diplomatic, academic, and ceremonial events connected to veterans’ mental health and Remembrance Week. These included presentations at Canada House in Trafalgar Square, a performance attended by HRH Prince Harry, meetings and dialogue at the Canadian High Commission, and professional engagement with academic and trauma specialists in London.

As part of the Canadian delegation, Dr. Dadson also met with the Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and participated in Remembrance ceremonies at Brookwood Military Cemetery, a significant Commonwealth military cemetery and site of war remembrance.

This international public-awareness activity connected Dr. Dadson’s clinical expertise in PTSD, operational stress injuries, group-based trauma recovery, and veteran transition with diplomatic engagement, public education, remembrance, arts-based research, and global mental health advocacy.

Public Settings and Institutions

  • Contact! Unload

  • Research-Based Theatre

  • Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London

  • Canadian High Commission in the United Kingdom

  • Meeting with the Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom

  • HRH Prince Harry

  • King’s College London

  • Brookwood Military Cemetery

  • Remembrance Week

  • University of British Columbia

  • Veterans Transition Network

  • Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies

  • Veterans’ mental health

  • Operational stress injuries

  • PTSD and military transition

  • Trauma-informed public education

Media Interviews and Public Commentary

Dr. Dadson has participated in media interviews, public commentary, promotional appearances, professional articles, and public-facing education related to PTSD, operational stress injuries, trauma recovery, military-to-civilian transition, first responder trauma, isolation, identity disruption, moral injury, family strain, men’s mental health, couples counselling, neurofeedback, and psychological resilience.

As a clinical leader with the Veterans Transition Network, Dr. Dadson helped explain trauma-informed group programming and the Veterans Transition Program model to public audiences, media outlets, funders, veterans, families, clinicians, and institutional partners.

Public Media Record

  • Conducted media interviews as a clinical leader and public representative.

  • Participated in public promotion of trauma-informed programs.

  • Appeared in media spotlight coverage related to the Veterans Transition Program model.

  • Participated in True Patriot Love-related public settings and veteran-support events.

  • Helped communicate the psychological realities of PTSD, transition stress, and service-related trauma.

  • Helped explain how trauma affects identity, relationships, family life, and meaning after service.

  • Contributed public commentary on trauma recovery, family strain, anxiety, depression, media stress, and psychological resilience.

National Media Advocacy for Specialized Trauma Recovery

Rehab Magazine / Veterans Transition Network Feature

Date: Winter 2018/2019
Publication: Rehab Magazine
Public Archive: Veterans Transition Network
Topic: Veterans’ mental health, PTSD, military-to-civilian transition, identity disruption, isolation, reintegration, and group-based trauma recovery
Featured Clinical Voices: Dr. Mike Dadson and Laura Bull, VTN clinical colleague and local counselling colleague

Dr. Mike Dadson was featured as a clinical voice in a national media article addressing how Canada supports veterans during the transition from military to civilian life.

The Rehab Magazine feature, archived by the Veterans Transition Network, included commentary from Laura Bull, a VTN clinician and local counselling colleague, and Dr. Mike Dadson, then Clinical Director of the Veterans Transition Network. Together, their public commentary helped explain the psychological and social challenges faced by veterans after service, including loss of meaning, isolation, PTSD symptoms, difficulty reconnecting with family and community, and limited access to specialized care in smaller or rural communities.

In the feature, Dr. Dadson explained the Veterans Transition Program as a structured pathway helping veterans return to civilian life, pursue their potential, and build meaningful lives after service.

This national media feature helped draw public attention to the need for specialized, group-based trauma recovery programs for veterans, women veterans, first responders, couples, families, and people affected by operational stress injuries.

Media and Program Context

  • Rehab Magazine

  • Veterans Transition Network media archive

  • Dr. Mike Dadson, Clinical Director

  • Laura Bull, VTN clinical colleague and local counselling colleague

  • Veterans Transition Program

  • PTSD and operational stress injuries

  • Military-to-civilian transition

  • Group-based trauma recovery

  • Women veterans and first responders

  • Rural and underserved communities

  • Reintegration, identity, isolation, and family reconnection

Public Advocacy for Women’s Trauma Programming

Dr. Dadson’s public-interest mental health advocacy included activity connected to specialized trauma programming for women veterans and women affected by service-related trauma.

Through his leadership with the Veterans Transition Network, Dr. Dadson helped bring public attention to the need for gender-aware trauma care. This work recognized that women veterans and women first responders may face distinctive forms of trauma exposure, institutional injury, isolation, family disruption, identity strain, and barriers to care.

Specialized women’s trauma programming helped create safer group environments where participants could process complex experiences, reduce isolation, rebuild trust, reconnect with community, and pursue meaningful civilian lives after service.

Program and Access Highlights

  • Women veterans programming

  • Specialized women’s transition programming

  • Eastern Canada program launch

  • Ontario program development

  • Gender-aware trauma care

  • Female veterans and first responders

  • Operational stress injuries

  • PTSD and complex trauma

  • Group-based therapeutic programming

  • Veterans Transition Network

  • National media feature

  • Laura Bull and Dr. Mike Dadson media interview

National Program Development and Public-Interest Mental Health Initiatives

From 2014 to 2018, Dr. Dadson served as National Executive Director and Clinical Director of the Veterans Transition Network.

In this role, his public-facing professional activity included national clinical leadership, program development, clinician training, public promotion, media representation, institutional communication, supervision, and the launch and expansion of specialized trauma-informed programming.

Dr. Dadson’s role connected clinical trauma knowledge with national service delivery, public education, funder communication, institutional advocacy, media engagement, program launches, and public-interest mental health care.

Program Record

  • Served as National Executive Director of the Veterans Transition Network.

  • Served as Clinical Director of the Veterans Transition Network.

  • Led national clinical development for trauma-informed veteran programming.

  • Helped launch original programs serving Canadian veterans and families.

  • Helped develop and promote specialized programming for women veterans.

  • Helped support French-language and bilingual veteran programming.

  • Helped expand access to trauma-informed care across geography, gender, and language.

  • Travelled coast to coast to deliver programs and mentor clinical teams.

  • Trained and supervised clinicians working with PTSD, operational stress injuries, and transition stress.

  • Communicated program goals and public impact to institutional partners, funders, media, clinicians, veterans, and families.

Women Veterans, Francophone Veterans and Access to Care

A significant part of Dr. Dadson’s public-interest program activity involved improving access to trauma-informed care for underserved veteran populations.

This included work connected to specialized programming for women veterans and French-language programming for Francophone veterans and families. These initiatives addressed barriers related to gender, geography, language, military culture, stigma, trauma history, and family impact.

Access-to-Care Highlights

  • Specialized programming for women veterans.

  • Gender-aware trauma care.

  • French-language and bilingual veteran programming.

  • Access for Francophone veterans and families.

  • Quebec-based veteran programming.

  • National trauma care access across language and region.

  • Public education related to PTSD, operational stress injuries, transition stress, and reintegration.

Institutional Partnerships and Public Advocacy Networks

Dr. Dadson’s public-facing activity intersected with a national network of veteran-support organizations, funders, clinicians, public advocates, academic partners, and institutional leaders.

During his Veterans Transition Network leadership, VTN’s program environment included support from major Canadian veteran and military-family organizations such as True Patriot Love Foundation, Wounded Warriors Canada, the Royal Canadian Legion, the Quebec Veterans Foundation, and other supporters.

Institutional and Public Advocacy Record

  • Worked within national mental health initiatives supported by major Canadian veteran-support organizations.

  • Communicated trauma-informed programming to public and institutional audiences.

  • Connected clinical expertise with funder-supported public-interest programs.

  • Promoted awareness of PTSD, operational stress injuries, transition stress, and family impact.

  • Represented trauma-informed mental health programming in public and media settings.

  • Participated in public-interest events connected to veteran support and military-family wellbeing.

  • Connected clinical care, public advocacy, media education, and institutional partnership work.

COPE: Couples Overcoming PTSD Every Day

Dr. Dadson’s public-interest mental health activity also intersected with COPE, Couples Overcoming PTSD Every Day, a group-based program focused on veterans, first responders, spouses, partners, PTSD, operational stress injuries, and the relational effects of trauma.

COPE recognizes that trauma does not affect only the individual. PTSD and operational stress injuries also affect spouses, families, attachment systems, emotional safety, communication patterns, and the process of rebuilding civilian life.

A 2015 Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research abstract identified Dr. Mike Dadson among the psychologists and counsellors involved in the development of COPE.

Public-Interest Record

  • Contributed to professional development connected to COPE.

  • Advanced understanding of PTSD as a family and relationship issue.

  • Connected trauma care with couples counselling and family recovery.

  • Highlighted the role of spouses, partners, and families in recovery.

  • Brought relational trauma concepts into public mental health programming.

Academic Leadership and Public Mental Health Training

UBC Centre for Group Counselling and Trauma

Institutional Context: University of British Columbia
Role: Advisory board / advisory committee involvement connected to group counselling and trauma
Associated Leaders: Dr. Marla Buchanan and Dr. Marvin Westwood
Fields: Group counselling, trauma treatment, operational stress injuries, clinician training, public education, and community mental health capacity

Dr. Dadson’s public-facing mental health activity has also included academic and training involvement connected to group counselling, trauma treatment, operational stress injuries, and community-based clinical education.

Through UBC-related trauma and group counselling initiatives, Dr. Dadson’s work connected clinical practice with academic research, clinician training, public education, and applied trauma care. This involvement helped translate complex trauma research into practical frameworks for counsellors, clinicians, and community mental health providers.

Dr. Dadson’s academic and advisory involvement also connected with the broader public mission of trauma-informed group work: helping communities, clinicians, veterans, first responders, and families better understand and respond to operational stress injuries, PTSD, and the relational effects of trauma.

Academic and Training Highlights

  • University of British Columbia

  • Centre for Group Counselling and Trauma

  • Advisory board / advisory committee involvement

  • Dr. Marla Buchanan

  • Royal Canadian Legion Professorship in Group Counselling and Trauma

  • Dr. Marvin Westwood

  • Group counselling

  • Operational stress injuries

  • Trauma-informed public education

  • Community counsellor training

  • Clinical supervision and professional development

  • Translation of academic trauma research into applied care

Clinical Supervision as Professional Leadership

Clinical supervision and therapist development are central to Dr. Dadson’s public-facing professional profile and national mental health leadership.

Across academic, community, private-practice, and national program settings, Dr. Dadson has trained, supervised, and mentored therapists for more than two decades. This work has not only supported individual clinicians; it has contributed to the development of trauma-informed clinical capacity across Canada.

Dr. Dadson’s supervision has connected clinical practice with leadership, program quality, ethical care, professional development, and access to skilled trauma treatment. Through supervision and training, he has helped clinicians develop stronger capacity in PTSD treatment, dissociation, operational stress injuries, group counselling, trauma recovery, attachment wounds, relational repair, men’s mental health, family systems, and complex stress-related conditions.

This supervisory leadership is closely connected to his national and institutional roles, including his work with the Veterans Transition Network, the University of British Columbia, the Centre for Group Counselling and Trauma, and professional communities focused on trauma and dissociation.

Supervision and Leadership Themes

  • Clinical supervision as professional leadership

  • Therapist training and mentoring

  • Development of trauma-informed clinical capacity

  • PTSD treatment and operational stress injury care

  • Dissociation-informed practice

  • Group counselling and trauma recovery

  • Couples and family recovery

  • Ethical and relationally grounded clinical practice

  • Program quality and clinical standards

  • Professional development for trauma-informed clinicians

  • Public mental health capacity-building

Professional Publications and Public Education

Dr. Dadson has contributed to public and professional education through articles, interviews, commentary, clinical publications, professional writing, and media-distributed mental health resources.

His public education activity has addressed PTSD, trauma recovery, operational stress injuries, trauma neurobiology, dissociation, neurofeedback, men’s mental health, father-son relational trauma, couples counselling, media stress, crisis response, and psychological resilience.

Public Education Record

  • Authored professional articles on PTSD, trauma, and treatment implications.

  • Published or contributed public education on operational stress injuries and veteran transition.

  • Published or contributed commentary on neurofeedback and nervous-system regulation.

  • Published or contributed commentary on men’s mental health and father-son relational trauma.

  • Published or contributed commentary on media stress, crisis, and psychological resilience.

  • Helped translate clinical trauma concepts into accessible public language.

  • Connected professional writing with public mental health education.

Selected Topic Areas

  • PTSD and the neurological pathways of trauma.

  • Veteran transition and military-to-civilian reintegration.

  • Operational stress injuries and family impact.

  • Men’s mental health and father-son relational trauma.

  • Neurofeedback and trauma recovery.

  • Dissociation and trauma treatment.

  • Media stress and psychological resilience.

  • Trauma-informed couples counselling and family recovery.

Closing Summary

Dr. Michael “Mike” Dadson’s public-facing professional profile includes parliamentary testimony, international mental health advocacy, media interviews, public commentary, national program leadership, institutional partnerships, academic training, clinical supervision as professional leadership, professional publications, public education, and the Sequential Trauma Narrative.

Across these activities, Dr. Dadson has helped bring trauma-informed clinical knowledge into public policy discussions, national mental health initiatives, media education, institutional partnerships, international public-awareness settings, professional training, and accessible resources for individuals, couples, families, veterans, first responders, clinicians, and communities affected by trauma.

This archive reflects Dr. Dadson’s broader role as a Canadian trauma therapist, clinical supervisor, educator, author, public mental health advocate, and national clinical leader whose work connects trauma recovery, professional development, public education, and mental health systems of care.