A new path to veteran healing from PTSD
Largest-ever review reveals combined treatment approach may significantly improve PTSD outcomes for veterans
The largest ever review of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in military veterans has revealed insights that could transform treatment protocols across Canada.
Led by the MacDonald-Franklin OSI Research Centre at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, the groundbreaking review of more than 400 studies from around the world shows that a combination of psychotherapy (talk therapy) and medication can have a much greater impact than other treatment option alone.
The study 'Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military Populations: A Meta-Analysis, published on March 24, 2025, in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry highlight a gap in current clinical guidelines, updated in 2023, which recommend either treatment but not both.
“The findings surprised us in terms that it departed from the clinical guidelines,” explains Jenny Liu, PhD and research lead. “The experience of our clinician researchers was that the guidelines were often insufficient.”
One in four veterans are diagnosed with PTSD – much higher than the general population – and veterans often experience complex symptoms which are harder to treat. With current treatment options of psychotherapy or medication, up to 25 per cent of veterans don’t respond well to these treatments.
This study provides a third option – combining both treatments.
Liu says for some veterans, medication can help manage symptoms, making it easier to engage in psychotherapy.
Dr. Don Richardson, former Medical Director of the OSI Clinic and Scientific Director of the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre initiated the extensive study to explore ways to improve PTSD treatment given the complexity of their cases. The OSI Research Centre a national and international leader in research on military and veteran mental health.
The extensive review began in 2021 led by Liu who is also the head of Scientific Development & Knowledge Mobilization at the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre. Liu along with a team of researchers, psychologists and clnicians from the OSI Clinics across Canada, pored through 414 studies – the largest ever study.
“We’re not saying medication over psychotherapy or psychotherapy over medication,” explains Liu. “They’re similarly effective and they both work. But when you combine them, medication can address certain things that allows veterans to participate in psychotherapy more meaningfully.”
Because veterans often experience multiple traumas over time, their treatment needs are unique.
Liu hopes the findings in this study will result in updated clinical guidelines that will lead to an improvement in the standard of treatment.
At the OSI clinic, some veterans have been dealing with PTSD on average for three to five years and they have exhausted their treatment options. The study concludes it is important to tailor PTSD treatment plans to the individual and having more options will result in better outcomes.
“The more treatment options there are, the more well-informed we can be about those options, the better it is for symptom management and recovery,” concludes Liu.