The Warrior Programme - Randomised Control Trial 2015

Abstract: Many organisations exist to support ex-Service personnel facing difficulties in their transition to civilian life, and a large number claim to improve mental health or mental well-being. It is known that around a quarter of the general population will suffer a common mental health disorder, and the ex-Service community is not immune from such conditions (neither, it should be said, is it proven to be any more vulnerable). Recognising this need, the Armed Forces charities sector has spawned treatments, therapies and other support programmes that cover the full spectrum of interventions, not of all of which have necessarily been proven to be effective. Indeed, a common criticism heard from outside the sector, and occasionally from inside it too, is that there are too many organisations that whilst probably not doing harm, equally do not necessarily do any good. That is why the Warrior Programme should be congratulated for electing to bring Southampton University in to provide an independent evaluation, and also to subject their findings to peer review by King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London. As a Trust whose aim is to provide an evidence base that will influence and underpin policy making and service delivery, deciding whether to fund this research was not difficult for us.