Army veteran overcomes PTSD and qualifies as a counsellor

Dorset Army veteran Dean Score, who was treated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, has received his diploma in Therapeutic Counseling, and has begun supporting fellow veterans struggling with their own mental health.

Dean served in the Army for seven years, including two tours to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, before a specific incident left him with PTSD. Following successful treatment from veterans’ mental health charity Combat Stress, Dean spent five years studying at Redlands to secure the necessary qualifications to set up his own practice.

Dean said: “It’s incredible to me that eight years after trying to take my own life, I’m a qualified therapist helping others. I feel so lucky and humbled to have been given the support to do this. Without Combat Stress, I would just be another veteran suicide statistic, and I certainly wouldn’t have achieved what I have. My wife sacrificed so much to support me, and I am so thankful to have her, as well as SSAFA, the Army Benevolent Fund and the Rifle Association for funding me through this process. Without them, I would never have been able to afford to do this and would have fallen at the first hurdle.

“It was an incredibly challenging process, and a long road to get to where I am, but now I can say ‘I am Dean Score, therapeutic counsellor, member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, I have my own private practice and I support veterans who are struggling just like I once was’.”

Flashbacks and nightmares

Dean left the Army in 2008, after beginning to struggle with his mental health. In denial, and worried he would appear ‘weak’, Dean ignored his symptoms for years. Despite eventually being diagnosed with PTSD by his GP in 2012, his life continued to spiral.

He was drinking heavily at night and refusing to sleep as he knew flashbacks and nightmares would invariably follow. He also wasn’t eating well, and ended up in a coma for two days due to malnutrition and dehydration. But it wasn’t until after Dean’s first marriage broke up in 2014 and the several attempts on his own life, that he realised he needed help and made the call to Combat Stress, a call that saved his life.

At the end of his treatment from Combat Stress, Dean was asked by a therapist what he wanted to do next with his life. Twenty-four hours later, he had his answer: ”I want to do what you do”. Five years, a Level 2 in Counselling Skills, a Level 3 in Counselling Studies, a Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling and a new marriage later, Dean is fulfilling his dream of helping others.

Redlands

We asked Dean about his training journey and why he chose Redlands.

“Why did I choose Redlands? After a quick Google search Redlands was one of the top training facilities outside of a university setting for the course I wanted to do. Some more research and googling found that quite a few therapists started their counselling journey with Redlands, my personal therapist included.

The courses (L4 in particular) were rated as some of the most informative and interactive courses available, being a person that learns better at being shown rather than reading from a textbook, I decided to choose Redlands for the entire retraining element of becoming a therapist.

I can't thank the tutors enough, from Glenn Sadler on my L2 and L3 courses to Hayley and Elsa for my L4 Diploma course. Elsa taught me to be more aware of myself when going through the course, something I am still aware of today with my own clients. Hayley pushed me harder than I would have pushed myself, discovering the potential to be a trauma therapist and in turn guiding me towards the type of therapist I want to be, without Hayley for guidance and support, especially when working through my own stuff in personal therapy, I'm not sure I would have completed the course."

We at Redlands would like to add – Congratulations Dean!

You can read more about Dean’s story here : https://inews.co.uk/news/british-army-veteran-afghanistan-mental-health-suffered-government-combat-stress-1154021

Thank you to Conor Walsh at Combat Stress for sharing their content for publication. Combat Stress says they support more than 14,000 veterans a year and many more still are in need of counselling.

If you are inspired by this story and would like to find out more about Redlands and our training methods, sign up to a Free Taster or email us on training@redlandscounselling.co.uk