Combat Stress is committed to providing the best quality mental health care for veterans with complex mental health problems across the UK. To enable us to do this, we continually review our services to ensure that they are effective, meet the needs of veterans and are accessible to all the veterans we help, regardless of where they live.
In July 2021, we announced that we were expanding our service provision by offering treatment and support online and in-person, improving convenience and ease of access so that we could offer our highly specialist intensive treatment to a larger number of veterans with complex health needs.
To make our service more flexible and accessible we provide treatment in four different ways:
- Online
- Outpatient
- Community
- Residential
Delivering our services
We currently have six hubs from which our specialist teams provide our services to veterans:
- Scotland West (Glasgow
- Scotland East (Edinburgh)
- England North (Manchester)
- England Central (Newport)
- England South (Leatherhead)
- Northern Ireland (Belfast)
Dependent on funding, we hope to increase our number of hubs across the UK to make our in-person services even easier to access. We plan our locations based on where the majority of veterans live and also our ability to work more closely with other veteran service providers. This process takes time and can involve working with veterans, regulators, landlords and local councils.
We will update you on significant developments in due course.
VICTOR – Veteran Intensive Complex Trauma Organised Recovery
Our new intensive programme for complex PTSD, known as VICTOR, involves over a year’s treatment and support, including Occupational Therapy, Art Therapy, Individual and Group Psychotherapy. VICTOR’s cutting-edge support has been developed to enable the best possible outcomes for veterans and their families.
For those who need it, there will also be a three-week residential component. Leading international research in PTSD and Complex PTSD shows that it can be highly effective to deliver intensive evidence-based psychological therapy over this length of stay. We have welcomed our first veterans to participate in the residential part of the programme this summer and are looking towards expanding this provision based on levels of need.
VICTOR will be made available to all veterans who qualify for this intensive support as we develop our capacity to deliver it over the coming months.
Supporting all veterans with complex mental health needs
Throughout the pandemic, the Charity’s clinicians and peer and family support service provided veterans across the UK with treatment and support online. This will continue as a permanent part of the charity’s services with in-person treatment also available, on a community, outpatient and residential basis. Combat Stress is looking towards expanding its residential provision based on levels of need.
Opening these new locations in Scotland and Manchester is an important milestone in over 100 years of Combat Stress supporting veterans’ mental health. With our new locations veterans with complex mental health needs can more easily access our life-changing specialist help.
Please feel free to contact either Alan Friggieri (Director Marketing, Communication, Information, Company Secretary) (alan.friggieri@combatstress.org.uk) or Jeff Harrison (CEO) (jeff.harrison@combatstress.org.uk), if you have any questions or would like further information.
