Supporting those who served. Supporting the journey forward.
Self-referrals and referrals from Armed Forces charities, NHS Veterans services, and partner organisations are welcome.
Veterans Support at Harestanes
At A Positive Start CIC, we recognise that military service can shape the nervous system, identity, relationships, and sense of belonging long after leaving the Forces.
Our Veterans Support Day offers a dedicated opportunity for Veterans to access trauma-informed counselling within a calm and supportive rural environment. This support is also available to people working in emergency services and other frontline roles who may be carrying similar experiences, responsibilities, or moral injury connected to their work.
This space is designed for those who have carried responsibility, pressure, and experiences that are not always easy to explain — especially outside military settings.
You do not have to carry this alone.
Supporting Those Who Served
A Positive Start CIC offers Veterans the tools, strategy and support needed to move forward.
Our goal is to help Veterans heal, grow and thrive through trauma-informed therapy that recognises the realities of service life, transition experiences, moral injury, and post-traumatic stress responses.
Leaving the military after giving your time, loyalty, and commitment can sometimes feel disorientating or isolating. For some, it may also bring a sense of loss, frustration, or betrayal.
Support is available at your pace and in a way that respects your experience.
What Support Can Help With
Veterans access counselling for many different reasons, including:
• adjusting to civilian life
• moral injury and difficult memories
• post-traumatic stress responses
• anxiety, anger, or emotional shutdown
• sleep difficulties
• identity changes after service
• relationship strain
• feeling disconnected or misunderstood
• loss of structure or direction
You do not need to arrive with the right words or a clear explanation.
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How Sessions Work
Sessions are trauma-informed and person-centred. This means:
• we work at your pace
• you choose what to share and when
• there is no pressure to explain everything at once
• the focus is on safety, understanding, and steady progress
Together we work toward:
• post-traumatic growth
• emotional resilience
• nervous system regulation
• renewed confidence in decision-making
• building skills to respond rather than react to life’s challenges
Healing happens in relationship, not in isolation.
Flexible Ways to Access Support
Sessions are available:
• in person
• by secure video call
Appointments are arranged individually and confidentially.
A Strength-Based Approach
Military service builds resilience, loyalty, courage, and commitment.
Therapy is not about removing these strengths.
It is about helping them support you in civilian life.
Understanding Moral Injury
Some experiences affect not only the nervous system but also a person’s sense of meaning, identity, or trust.
This is sometimes described as moral injury.
Moral injury can happen when someone:
• witnesses events that conflict with their values
• carries responsibility for decisions made under pressure
• feels unable to speak about what happened
• experiences betrayal by leadership or institutions
• returns from service feeling changed in ways others do not understand
These responses are not signs of weakness. They are human responses to difficult realities.
Moral injury is also experienced by people working in emergency services, healthcare, and other frontline roles, where responsibility for others’ safety can carry lasting emotional weight. Veterans and frontline professionals often recognise these experiences in similar ways, even when their roles have been different.
Support offers space to make sense of these experiences safely and at your own pace.
Accessing Support
Support begins with a free 30-minute introductory conversation.
This allows us to explore what would feel most helpful and whether Veterans Support sessions at Harestanes are the right fit for you.
Self-referrals and referrals from partner organisations are welcome.
If funding-supported places are available at the time of referral, we will always let you know. Where funding is not available, sessions can be accessed through our standard counselling pathways.
You are welcome to get in touch whenever the time feels right.