Speaking to the Defence Select Committee

On Tuesday, September 11, I’ll be appearing on a panel giving evidence to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee on how mental healthcare for serving personnel, veterans and their families can be improved. The hearing starts at 11:30 am and will be broadcast live on parliament TV.

I’d love to hear specific suggestions on how services could be better — no matter how modest or ambitious. Even taking 10 seconds to write me a single sentence will help me to make my testimony count. I have enclosed links to submissions from earlier this year below.

Last month, I wrote a cover story for the Financial Times Weekend section on why we need to embrace new types of psychological therapies to give all trauma survivors — military or civilian — their best shot at recovery. The story garnered more than 150 comments, and I received a number of heartfelt personal emails. It was very encouraging to know how many people care so deeply about these matters.

Separately, I will be holding a live online event at 8pm UK time this Thursday, September 6 for people who want to explore new perspectives on depression, as an extension of my course: ‘Deep Work: the 11 Lessons I learned from depression.’ The theme of the event is “How can we reclaim our minds?” It’s free and lasts one hour. Email me if you want login details or to find out more.

Thank you for all your support,

More soon

Matt

Earlier testimony to the Committee:

27 Mar 2018 – Mental health and the Armed Forces Part One: The scale of mental health issues – oral evidence | PDF version (247 KB) HC 813 | Published 03 Apr 2018