Ballet for Veterans program used to treat PTSD

Former combat engineer James Wilfred-Derby is participating in the Ballet for Veterans and says it has had a profound impact on his mental health.

Transcript

00:00 After a decade in the army, including a tour of Afghanistan, James Wilfred Darby returned

00:06 to life as a civilian.

00:09 Like many others, he found it difficult to adjust.

00:12 Having been medically discharged was just a heavy weight on me that I struggled with

00:17 for quite some time.

00:19 When the 41-year-old sought help in dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, his psychologist

00:24 handed him a flyer for a new program combining movement, balance and creativity.

00:30 I picked it up and was having a look at it and I was like, yeah, nah, this isn't for

00:35 me and I've never done any sort of even dance in my life so I was like, this is just, I'm

00:40 going to be hopeless at it.

00:42 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.

00:51 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

01:01 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

01:15 reported improvements amongst all the participants.

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

01:24 tradition.

01:25 Yeah, look, the military and the creation of ballet are 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.

01:48 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.

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