The Veteran Who Built a Free Mental Health Service with Chris Sanders and Dr Debs Eastwood

Chris Sanders left the British Army in 2004 with undiagnosed PTSD, no budgeting skills, and no support network. What followed was years of alcohol addiction, homelessness, and broken relationships before the right counsellor finally helped him understand what was driving it all.
Now a qualified counsellor himself, Chris joins Dr. Debs Eastwood to talk about what the forces don’t prepare you for when you leave, the staggering reality of 1.7 million people waiting over 18 months for mental health support in the UK, and how he and Rosanna Douglas are building RDCS — a free, multimodal counselling service for veterans, emergency workers, and anyone the system has left behind.
This is a conversation about resilience, purpose, and what it looks like when someone turns the worst chapters of their life into a lifeline for others.
00:00 Introduction — RDCS and the counselling mission 00:31 Leaving the forces and the first signs of PTSD 02:52 The brotherhood mentality and what happens after 06:44 Homelessness on and off for seven years 09:22 Why veterans aren’t taught to budget — and what it costs them 11:44 Everyone is two bad choices away from homelessness 12:35 Finding the right counsellor and training to become one 21:20 1.7 million waiting over 18 months for mental health support 24:30 Why private therapy is out of reach for most families 25:35 The RDCS model — free counselling, community funded 31:40 Veterans, emergency services and uniform workers seen for free 37:25 College placements and scaling the model 43:00 Prostate cancer and staying driven 44:40 It doesn’t define me anymore
#PTSD #veteranmentalhealth #mentalhealth #counselling #wellnessonatap #NHS #homelessness #freecounselling
#mentalhealthmatters #podcastclips #veteranstories #interview