A mental health service for armed forces personnel and veterans has expanded.
A mental health service for armed forces personnel and veterans across East Anglia is being expanded.
Over the last five years, Op Courage has helped more than 22,500 veterans and personnel across England who are approaching discharge from the armed forces.
During that time, our Trust has provided initial assessments and referred people for therapy or other services, and worked with our partners to deliver the Op Courage service.
From next April, Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) will be leading a collaborative approach in partnership with Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, St Andrew's Healthcare, Mental Health Matters and military charities The Warrior Programme and Walking with the Wounded.
We will be increasing and improving support available for military veterans and those in transition from the armed forces with mental health needs. We will also increase support for their loved ones.
The expanded team will include experts working in psychiatry, psychology, occupational therapy, and employment, as well as support workers and mental health nurses.
All will either have a military background or experience of working with people in the armed forces.
The service will be working closely with military charity partners to ensure that EPUT continues to be a leader in the health and wellbeing provision of mental health and community care.
Craig Lucas joined the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment at 22 and served for five years.
He suffered some hearing loss as a result of a large explosion during a tour of Afghanistan and was medically discharged from the Army within a month.
“I went straight into employment as a personal trainer and continued like normal,” he said.
“But then it crept up on me really slowly. I started suffering from anxiety and really bad depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Stressful situations would trigger me and I would be very sensitive to stress.
“That’s when I knew that something needed to be done.”
Craig, from Felixstowe, had some counselling sessions and when they ended, he tried to cope alone.
He said: “From that point I fell into smoking marijuana and trying to block out the stress and cope on my own. There were a couple of years where I went at it on my own and really lost myself."
His mum helped him find support, which eventually led him to finding out about Op Courage.
Craig, now 33, has been receiving support from counsellor Spencer Orchard for the last year.
He said: “I trust him because he was a serviceman - he thinks the same way, he speaks the same way, as me. I had that level of trust straight away and I knew whatever stories I told him, nothing would shock him.
“I really wanted to change, I really wanted the help. The progress I made from our counselling sessions was really quick.
“Now I feel I’m in a place where I can really manage my levels of stress. Depression is a thing of the past, anxiety is pretty much a thing of the past.
“I stopped taking drugs and have learned much healthier, long term coping mechanisms. Substance misuse to fill the emotional void I felt does not work. The real way to fill that emotional void is through therapy and mindfulness.
“Everything is so much better because of the work I did with Spencer.”
Craig, who now works in property, said services such as Op Courage are important because it can be difficult for veterans to find support to readjust to civilian life.
“What a lot of us suffer with is our identity gets completely lost and that is the battle Spencer helped me with and I think for a lot of veterans that’s where help needs to be targeted,” he said.
“Going back into the civilian world is like a sensory overload because you get used to the military life where everyone is the same and you have got the same connection, and you come out and everyone’s not the same.”
David Powell, our Armed Forces Champion and Regional Lead for Military and Veterans, said: “Op Courage is an NHS service that supports our military and veteran community in transitioning from the military and for the long term support for the injuries that they received whilst in service.
“We are rightly proud of our commitment to the armed forces community.
“As a Veteran Aware Trust and also the holder of gold accreditation from the Ministry of Defence Employment Recognition Scheme, our services are highlighted as an exemplar of good practice.”
Op Courage provides treatment and support for mental health problems including complex post-traumatic stress disorder and substance and alcohol misuse.
For more information on the current services we provide through Op Courage, visit our Military and Veterans Transition Intervention and Liaison Service webpage https://eput.nhs.uk/our-services/military-and-veterans-transition-intervention-and-liaison-service-op-courage/