Hear from veterans we've helped

Op Courage and NHS veterans' mental health and wellbeing service logos

Op COURAGE: The Veterans' Mental Health and Wellbeing Service

Op COURAGE is an NHS mental health specialist service designed to help serving personnel due to leave the military, reservists, Armed Forces veterans and their families.

Find out more about the service.

Hear from some of the veterans we've supported

We're proud to have supported thousands of veterans, service leavers, reservists, and their families throughout the East and West Midlands.

Discover the voices behind the numbers - hear from a handful of those whose lives have been positively impacted by our services:

Phil Credland

Veteran Phil Credland stood outdoors looking directly at the camera

"I can categorically say they pieced me back together and I want to say ‘thank you for bringing me back to life’.

"In all my years’ service and after retiring I had never known what was wrong with me. I thought what I was going through was what everybody was experiencing. It was only when I met the team that I started to realise that I was struggling quite considerably with my mental health.

"They talked to me, understood what it was that I needed. They stabilised me, developed a care treatment plan for me and referred me to a psychologist so I could get the proper treatment.

“I’ve been given a second chance at life and for this I’m so, so grateful. I want to shout it from the rooftops how lucky I feel that I got the help I needed at such a low point in my life."

Nigel Unsworth

Veteran Nigel Unsworth stood in his back garden, smiling and looking directly at the camera

Nigel Unsworth, an RAF Firefighter and then contractor, admits the thought of using mental health services was never something that crossed his mind.

But as his 42-year career came to an end, the dad-of-two was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression.

Seeing that Nigel was struggling, a friend recommended Op COURAGE and 18 months later, he finally reached out for support after spending the festive period unable to leave his house.

He said: “That’s the worst I have ever been. It didn’t matter what I did, nothing would shake how I was feeling.

“Once New Year was over, I picked up the phone as I knew I needed help.”

Nigel has since been discharged and is hugely thankful for the positive effect the service has had on his day-to-day life.

He said: “It was great. I had regular check ins to let me know what was happening and where things were going.

“Op COURAGE is fantastic. It is definitely something I needed and it is a service all veterans need to be aware of.”