“You can’t heal a wound by saying it is not there.”
The founders and hosts of the PTSD Retreat Competa have first-hand knowledge of PTSD and its huge challenges for sufferers.
Dr Simon J. Parkes FHEA is a British Army veteran who completed tours in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. During the nine years in which he served, Simon felt there was a dearth of knowledge about PTSD, and a resistance to accepting the condition as a debilitating operational stress injury. This led him on a personal journey to learn as much as he could about PTSD, and to work tirelessly to support his fellow veterans in their endeavours to thrive in civilian life.
Simon is trained as a Royal British Legion Caseworker and as a SSAFA Transition Mentor for sick and injured military personnel and veterans. He is also an international educational consultant, academic tutor and coach and mentor with a specialism in assisting veterans with physical and mental health issues returning to education. He is Co-Director of the PTSD Retreat Competa.
Sarah Yuen RCH was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as an adviser to the British Task Force Helmand Commander, Lt. Gen. Sir Richard Felton, where she spent seven months accompanying British, American, Danish and Afghan troops on combat missions throughout Helmand province; following 18 months of mentoring British military personnel on training exercises worldwide, during the pre-deployment phase. After her Op Herrick 12 tour, Sarah returned to Afghanistan to perform a similar role for NATO.
While Sarah has never served in the military, the years she spent working with various tri-service units in theatre afforded her considerable combat “experience”. Sarah, who has also spent 35 years as a broadcast journalist, working for media outlets worldwide, covering numerous wars and natural disasters, returned from Afghanistan determined to help physically and psychologically-injured veterans in some way. She trained to be a Registered Clinical Hypnotherapist, specialising in PTSD and military visualisation techniques. Since that time she has helped dozens of people with PTSD to relieve and eliminate their symptoms. Sarah has a clinical hypnotherapy clinic in Competa and is a Co-Director of the PTSD Retreat Competa.
For both Sarah and Simon, the vision they had to create this PTSD Retreat came from a desire to establish a sanctuary where service personnel, police, first responders and health care workers would have the opportunity to challenge their bodies and calm their minds in spectacular surroundings; or just totally relax and unwind with fellow PTSD sufferers – or with their families, who have often borne the brunt of their conditions.
The opportunity to send PTSD sufferers to the PTSD Retreat Competa is offered to organisations and charities worldwide. Costs are kept as low as possible and published on this website for full transparency. Former and serving military personnel, police officers, first responders and health workers are chosen by charities, foundations, organisations and units to benefit from the PTSD Retreat.
To contact Sarah or Simon directly please call +34 621212644 or email ptsdretreatcompeta@gmail.com.
Click here to learn more about the holidays and facilities the PTSD Retreat Competa can offer.
PTSD RETREAT COMPETA 