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This Armed Forces Week, veterans across London are being urged to access specialist mental health support through Op COURAGE: Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service. 

Delivered by North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT) and based at St Pancras Hospital, the service supports anyone who has served in the UK Armed Forces for even a single day. Both self-referrals and professional referrals are welcomed.

Professor Alexandra pitman, Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist in the Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing service and Professor of Psychiatry in the University College London (UCL) Division of Psychiatry, highlights the service’s veteran-sensitive approach which recognises the unique experiences of military service and adapts care to meet veterans’ specific needs.

Specialist support for anyone who has served

Op COURAGE London is a free service available to any veteran living in London or registered with a London GP.
The service works with veterans experiencing a wide range of mental health difficulties, offering assessment, treatment and coordinated care.

Many veterans present with challenges that are not immediately visible, including trauma, depressed mood, anxiety symptoms and chronic pain. There is often an assumption that mental health support for veterans is only designed for those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but veterans access the service for a much broader range of mental health needs. These misconceptions can act as a barrier to seeking help.

A multidisciplinary team including lived experience expertise

Op COURAGE provides multidisciplinary, holistic clinical care, with a team that includes psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers and occupational therapists. Importantly, the team also includes veteran peer support workers who have lived experience of military service and veteran liaison support officers seconded from Armed Forces charities. For some veterans, speaking to someone who understands military life firsthand can make it easier to engage with support.

Understanding the full veteran experience

The service takes a veteran-sensitive, trauma-informed approach, recognising the specific ways in which care needs adapting to individual needs. For example, some veterans experience hypervigilance linked to military training, which can make travelling on public transport at busy times challenging. The service works around this by offering flexible appointment times, online consultations or home visits where appropriate.

The team also recognises that some veterans may have had negative experiences of therapy in the past, particularly where trauma-focused work was introduced too early.

Prof Pitman emphasised that it is never too late to seek support.

“Many veterans under our care reflect back on the negative way in which they had viewed helpseeking for mental health in the past, particularly when embedded in a culture of stoicism. What is really rewarding about this work is how far they come in their recovery, addressing a wide range of their own mental, physical and social health goals”. 

Tailored support at the right pace

Op COURAGE works collaboratively with veterans to provide support in a way that feels manageable and appropriate, including addressing practical issues such as housing or unemployment, or clinical issues like substance use, before starting therapy where needed.

The service offers a range of evidence-based therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and compassion-focused therapy. Support is tailored to the individual, with preparatory work such as stabilisation, grounding techniques and emotional regulation where needed.

Alongside one-to-one care, the service runs evening drop-in sessions on the last Thursday of the month at St Pancras Hospital, offering a space for veterans to socialise with each other and access support from a range of organisations such as the Royal British Legion, SSAFA, the DWP Armed Forces Champions, The Poppy Factory and The Fighting Chance.

How to refer

Op COURAGE accepts referrals from healthcare professionals, social care professionals, or voluntary sector organisations, as well as from veterans or their carers. 

The service supports people of all ages, as well as reservists and those recruited from across the UK and from Commonwealth countries such as South Africa, Barbados and Fiji.  Referrals are also welcomed for Afghan people resettled in the UK following the conflict.

We are particularly keen to receive referrals from under-represented groups, including female veterans, LGBTQ+ veterans and the Gurkha community in London.

• Make a referral 
• Learn more about our monthly Armed Forces community drop-ins on the Op COURAGE website or watch this video 
• Visit the London Op COURAGE website