Army veteran qualifies as a therapist following treatment from Combat Stress

Dorset Army veteran Dean Score, who was treated by Combat Stress 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 us, Dean spent five years securing the necessary qualifications to set up his own practice. One day, he hopes to work for the charity that saved his life.

On his qualification, 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’.”

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”.

In 2018 Dean was officially given the greenlight, and deemed recovered enough, to pursue this aspiration. 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.