EDMONTON - An addictions expert with the Canadian military said Monday that they're seeing an increased demand for addictions counselling at the country's military bases.

Narinder Dhillon, national practice leader for addictions at the Department of Defence, said he couldn't immediately estimate how many soldiers have asked for on-base addictions counselling this year.

But if the U.S. experience in Iraq is any predictor for what might happen with Canadian soldiers who've served in Afghanistan, demand for those services will likely rise.

A new Pentagon study suggests 42 per cent of National Guard and reserves, and 20 per cent of regular active-duty troops, were in need of mental health treatment after returning from Iraq.

Twelve per cent of active-duty soldiers and 15 per cent of National Guard and reserve soldiers reported drinking problems six months after they returned.

Dhillon said more work needs to be done on gathering information on how prevalent addictions to substances are in the Canadian Forces.

"We are seeing increases at some of our bases," said Dhillon in an interview with The Canadian Press while attending an national addictions conference in Edmonton.

When asked whether soldiers returning from Afghanistan might boost those numbers higher, Dhillon said, "we're preparing for the potential of an increase."

New data from the Canadian military suggests that 28 per cent of the 2,700 soldiers who were screened after serving in Afghanistan were found to have symptoms of one or more mental-health problems.

Of those, 17 per cent exhibited high-risk drinking, five per cent showed symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder and another five per cent had symptoms of major depression.

Dhillon said the military does recognize the importance of things like peer counselling programs to try and help Canadian soldiers cope with substance addictions.

"There's an understanding that this is very helpful for members," he said.

There are roughly 35 people in the country trained in a program that provides one year of counselling support following a 30-day intensive addictions treatment program, Dhillon said.

These volunteers, members of the Aftercare Coordinator program, are often military members, some of whom are themselves recovering addicts.

They can provide unique insights and support to soldiers looking for help, as well as to the on-base professionals trying to help them, he said.

"Peer support, combined with input from the base addictions counsellor, is important as a way to spot potential relapses," Dhillon said.

Signs of a relapse may get picked up by a peer support counsellor that may not be detected during the 30-day intensive treatment program, he suggested.

The Edmonton conference heard Monday that addictions counselling has come a long way from the 1950s, when the military's first addictions counsellor was a member of the Navy who was in an Alcoholics Anonymous program. He received permission to set up shop in a maintenance closet in the basement of the military base in Halifax.

Peer support training has also evolved, moving from a patchwork of regional programs run by base chaplains and military medical staff toward a more standardized model involving addictions professionals at military bases across the country.

Mary McGrath, a psychologist at CFB Halifax, told the conference that peer support counsellors are educated not only about drug or alcohol addiction, but also about addictions to sex or to Internet role-playing games.

The conference heard peer counsellors go through intensive two-week training sessions involving role-playing, lectures and group discussions.

They're closely supervised, either by the base addictions counsellor, professional counselling staff, or in the case of deployed personnel, by military medical staff.

McGrath noted peer counsellors have to make sure they don't get caught up in somebody else's addiction problems and perhaps relapse back into their own addiction.

"They need to be cognizant that helping others deal with their problems could increase their own vulnerability," said McGrath.

Information they hear at weekly support meetings is strictly confidential, McGrath said.

Jocelyn Malay, an addictions counsellor at CFB Halifax, told the conference that for those on Canadian ships, being deployed to foreign ports can be extremely stressful to people in recovery.

The base currently has about four on-base peer counsellors.

Some bases can have up to 40 people involved in the year-long support programs at one time, she said.

"I would like to see an increase in Aftercare Coordinators, especially during deployments," she said.

Michael Hobson, the base addiction counsellor at CFB Halifax, told the conference that a national working group is still in the process of trying to standardize long-term support programs at military bases across the country.