Thank you.
Like my colleagues, I want to thank you so much for being here.
As I listened to Cyndi and Laryssa talk about their experiences, it just reconfirms for me the thinking.... Every time I hear of a soldier, male or female, and watch what is happening, it just boggles my mind as to how you deal with it. You have the experience of war and then you come back and deal with those experiences. My heart goes out to each and every soldier who goes to fight. I listened to Laryssa's story, and I feel for you, and for Cyndi. The fact that it would take so long--so long--to find help, the help you needed to move on with your lives....
I'm really interested in the whole idea of peer counselling. It's one thing, I guess, to have the experience and to turn to those who have gone through it, but I'm just wondering, what's the extent of the training that peer counsellors have? I'm reading some of the things it says here, like a focus on boundaries and self-care, conflict resolution, crisis intervention, suicide, and helping networks. Does every peer counsellor receive the same amount of training, or does it vary depending on the experience of the peer counsellor?