June 5, 2026 · By Dan Zamfir, RP
Ask almost any first responder where they'd turn first if they were struggling, and the answer usually isn't a clinician. It's a peer, someone who's been there, who gets it without needing it explained. That instinct is powerful, and it's exactly why peer support is one of the most important investments a first responder organization can make.
But here's the part that often gets missed: peer support works best when it's properly structured and clinically supervised. That's the gap OSRC, the Occupational Stress Response Collective, was built to fill.
Peers can reach people that clinicians can't. They build trust quickly, they normalize hard experiences, and they catch people early. When someone is reluctant to "see a therapist," a conversation with a trusted peer can be the bridge.
The risk is that peer supporters are often asked to carry heavy material with little training and no clinical safety net. Without structure and supervision, well-meaning peer teams can burn out, take on more than they should, or unintentionally do harm. The people holding others up end up unsupported themselves.
OSRC was co-founded by myself and Kelli Nicholson, two registered clinicians who have spent our careers working with first responders and their families. We partner with police services, fire departments, paramedic services, and community organizations to:
The goal isn't to replace peers with clinicians. It's to stand behind the peers, so the program is safe, credible, and built to last.
Plenty of organizations launch a peer team with good intentions, then watch it fade as volunteers burn out and momentum stalls. Building a program is the easy part. Sustaining it, with training, supervision, and ongoing support, is where most programs struggle, and where the clinical partnership makes the biggest difference.
If your service or organization wants to build or strengthen its peer support, OSRC can help. Learn more at osrc.ca, or reach out through Henley Psychotherapy and we'll connect you.
And if you're an individual first responder looking for one-on-one support, see therapy for first responders.