About Us

Veterans at Ease is a dedicated military mental health charity founded in 2010. We exist to ensure that no veteran, serving member of the Armed Forces, emergency services personnel, or family member has to carry psychological trauma alone.

We deliver free, open-ended, specialist one-to-one integrated psychotherapy across our regional hubs in the North East, Tees Valley, East Anglia and London, as well as online. Built on a foundation of shared military experience, empathy, and rigorous clinical excellence, our mission is to empower individuals to process trauma, rebuild their lives, and strengthen family relationships.

Veterans at Ease was established by CEO Garreth Murrell (Winston Churchill Fellow 2012) following his own 14-year struggle with undiagnosed PTSD after serving in Bosnia on Op Grapple 1.

After finding traditional NHS pathways unsuccessful, Garreth discovered lasting recovery through specialised private psychotherapy. Recognising two major systemic barriers facing veterans—the high financial cost of effective therapy and a lack of military insight from civilian providers—he retrained as a psychotherapist for the next 4 years. Veterans at Ease was formed to permanently remove those obstacles, offering free, high-calibre therapy delivered by individuals who truly understand military culture.

In recognition of our voluntary impact and service model, Veterans at Ease was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2016.

At Veterans at Ease, we believe those who served deserve nothing less than the highest standard of mental health care available in the UK.

While many military support services offer brief counselling or surface-level listening, our clinical training model operates at Level 7 (Master’s level). Because all of our therapists train on UKCP-accredited pathways to become fully registered UKCP Psychotherapists, Veterans at Ease offers psychotherapy straight in at Column C under the unified ScopEd (Scope of Practice and Education) framework—the top tier reserved for advanced clinical competence and complex trauma practice.

• Master’s Level (Level 7) Rigour: Our therapists undergo deep, multi-year training designed specifically to handle complex PTSD, deep-seated emotional trauma, and severe psychological distress.
• UKCP Registration: Every practitioner works toward full accreditation with the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), adhering to strict ethical guidelines, continuous clinical supervision, and rigorous personal development.
• ScopEd Column C Entry: Entering straight at Column C means our beneficiaries receive specialist, deep-level psychotherapy from day one—without being passed around or limited to basic symptom management.
• Integrative Trauma Modalities: Our practitioners utilise evidence-based approaches—including Transactional Analysis (TA), Neuro-Linguistic Psychotherapy (NLPt), and the Hypnospychotherapy Model—to address the root causes of trauma.

• Built on Military Lived Experience: The majority of our clinical team and staff come directly from the military community, bringing innate cultural understanding, shared language, and zero judgment to every session.
• No Stopwatch, No Waiting Lists: Recovery does not follow a fixed schedule. We provide unlimited, open-ended weekly one-to-one therapy for as long as a client requires support. Initial inquiries are answered swiftly (typically within 24–48 hours), with no bureaucratic waiting lines or sudden session cut-offs.
• Whole-Family & Emergency Services Support: Trauma affects the whole family unit. We extend our services to spouses, partners, and immediate family members living alongside someone facing mental health challenges, as well as blue-light emergency services personnel.
• Community Hubs & Social Enterprise: Through our regional hubs, retail shops, and Café 22, we create welcoming “Muster Point” environments where veterans can drop in, combat social isolation, and access local support networks.

Our head office is located in Gateshead, supported by a network of community hubs and social enterprise retail stores:

• North East: Gateshead (Head Office & Hub), Blyth, Byker, South Shields, Whitley Bay.
• Tees Valley: Stockton-on-Tees.
• East Anglia: Dereham, King’s Lynn, Norwich.
• Digital Outreach: Online sessions available for beneficiaries across the UK.