Ballet program helping veterans combat PTSD

ABC NEWS (Australia)

An unlikely new program is assisting Australian service men and women to combat post traumatic stress disorder. Learning to dance is helping them step up to better mental health.

Transcript

00:00 After a decade in the army, including a tour of Afghanistan, James Wilfred Darby returned to life as a civilian.

00:07 Like many others, he found it difficult to adjust.

00:11 Having been medically discharged was just a heavy weight on me that I struggled with for quite some time.

00:18 When the 41-year-old sought help in dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder,

00:22 his psychologist handed him a flyer for a new program combining movement, balance and creativity.

00:29 I picked it up and was having a look at it and I was like, yeah, nah, this isn't for me.

00:35 I've never done any sort of even dance in my life, so I was like, this is just, I'm going to be hopeless at it.

00:41 Despite his doubts, he decided to give the Ballet for Veterans program a whirl.

00:47 After the first lesson and meeting everybody here, I was hooked. It was great.

00:52 The former combat engineer was one of 12 to take part in the program.

00:56 It's a research project between Queensland University of Technology, the Australian Defence Force and Queensland Ballet.

01:04 And results from the 12-week pilot far exceeded all expectations.

01:08 Particularly in the psychological domain, where certainly we saw terrific improvements, or reported improvements, amongst all the participants.

01:17 The idea is to get up.

01:19 While it may seem like an unlikely pairing, the history of ballet is steeped in military tradition.

01:25 Look, the military and the creation of ballet, ancient bedfellows.

01:32 For this veteran, ballet has been life-changing.

01:35 It's just given me overall confidence in my life and I'm just, I feel happy with things.

01:42 So much so, he's determined to work on his new craft.

01:46 Yeah, he's improved heaps. He can jump, he can pirouette, all the boutique steps, he's mastered.

01:53 Lieutenant Colonel Maher's research is in the process of a final examination.

01:57 It's hoped the results will generate increased funding so that the dance can go on.

02:02 on.

02:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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