Finding freedom together: A veteran’s journey back to family

Healing from trauma hasn’t been easy for veteran Dan Baldry and his family. 

But together, they’re growing ever stronger, thanks in part to the REBOOT Trauma Recovery program by PTSD Resurrected. 

“Doing the REBOOT program with my wife was one of the most rewarding things I'd ever done,” Dan says.  

“I'd done a lot of other programs, but nothing quite like REBOOT. It really brought our relationship so much closer than any other program, and our marriage is constantly getting stronger and stronger.” 

After Afghanistan

Dan served as an Airfield Defence Guard in the Royal Australian Air Force from 2009 to 2014, working in domestic and international disaster relief, and deploying to Afghanistan in 2012. 

While Afghanistan was a career highlight, it also left him changed. 

“I witnessed some things there that sort of went against my moral values, and came back a little bit different,” Dan says.

Around 10 years later, the effects of trauma caught up to him.

“It was definitely hard,” Dan’s wife Ruia recalls. 

“Dan was always angry, the kids were scared of him, and I'd got to the point that I resented him.

“I was in a very dark place trying to hold myself and my family together.”

“I had a lot of addictions, I was in mental health hospitals, and it was sort of a Band-Aid effect,” Dan shares.

“It helped for a little bit, but it wasn't lasting. I was looking for a forever solution to my problems.” 

REBOOT Trauma Recovery program participants

REBOOT Trauma Recovery 

Dan had “tried everything” before joining the REBOOT Trauma Recovery program in 2025. 

REBOOT is a three-day, evidence-informed program designed to help veterans and their families heal from service-related trauma.  

Gold Coast-based charity PTSD Resurrected delivers the program across Australia, both face-to-face and online. There’s no cost to participate, thanks to RSL Queensland and other funding partners. 

“We deliver REBOOT as a result of our own lived experience with PTSD, depression, anxiety and all the issues that go along with service-related trauma,” PTSD Resurrected co-founder Andy, another Afghanistan veteran, explains. 

“When we found hope, healing and purpose again in our own lives and realised, hey, you can actually overcome this stuff, we wanted to share that with others.” 

According to Andy’s wife, fellow PTSD Resurrected co-founder Zoe Cullen, the program also provides much needed support for veterans’ partners. 

“Before REBOOT, I found that there wasn’t a lot of help for people who were experiencing what I was experiencing as the partner, as the support person,” she says. 

“REBOOT is about being in a room with other people who have been through the same thing and overcame it. It’s the power of lived experience. That's where hope is for people who come on these courses.” 

PTSD Resurrected co-founders Andy and Zoe Cullen 

Healing from moral injury  

Unlike a support group or counselling session, REBOOT equips participants with practical tools to help them understand trauma, process moral injury, rebuild their sense of purpose and identity, and develop sustainable strategies for long-term recovery. 

Each course is delivered in a safe, structured environment by trained facilitators with lived experience and professional backgrounds in trauma recovery. 

“Ultimately, REBOOT is a moral injury program. It's helping people dig down to the root causes of the issues they're facing, not just the symptoms like anger, drug addiction, alcohol addiction or marriage dysfunction,” Andy explains. 

“We allow people the space and time to really identify what they’re really struggling with – things like loss of identity, loss of purpose, unforgiveness of self and others, unresolved guilt, shame and regret.  

“Many veterans and their partners are exposed to these moral traumas and don't have a clear pathway of how to deal with it. REBOOT offers that in a peer support setting. It's like tribe helping tribe, community helping community.” 

Guilt and false guilt, and forgiveness and ‘unforgiveness’ were breakthrough lessons for Dan. 

“I realised that I’d held onto things that were out of my power to change. Letting go of those things was beneficial to my healing,” he says. 

“It wasn't until REBOOT that I really understood the impact that unforgiveness has on me, not the other person.” 

Hope and comfort 

Going through REBOOT gave Dan and Ruia comfort and hope. 

“It was uplifting and very rewarding and gave us tools to be able to keep moving forward,” Dan says. 

“It gives hope because it's lived experience. It's people that have been there, been through the struggles and now they're just walking in freedom.” 

Sharing her experiences, and hearing that of other veterans and partners, was particularly beneficial for Ruia. 

“REBOOT allowed a space for us to be really vulnerable and also connect with others who have been on a very similar journey,” she says. 

“Seeing the breakthrough and healing that people have had over three days was also uplifting. 

“I think that it's definitely a need for veterans and spouses to be able to do REBOOT together. It really helps having everyone be able to be vulnerable and for me to hear a different side of what Dan's been dealing with.” 

Since REBOOT, the changes in Dan, Ruia and their children have been profound. 

“After REBOOT, Dan was a lot more patient, calm, loving, and more open to being vulnerable and showing emotions,” Ruia says. 

“The program allowed us to communicate on a deeper level and talk about things that we otherwise never would've spoken about.” 

“Probably the biggest reward is seeing my family see the changes in me,” Dan says. 

“They've seen the person I was and now they see me becoming a better father, a better husband, and a better person in general.” 

Dan volunteers as a mentor on the REBOOT program 

Helping others heal 

Dan and Ruia now volunteer as mentors on the REBOOT Trauma Recovery program, determined to help others like them. 

“We just have a heart to see other people get healing, because we don't want other people going through what our family went through,” Dan says.  

“Seeing people get freedom from addiction, anger, hurt, any pain that they're carrying – you see joy in people come to life, and that's the only payment we ever need.” 

“We just love that we're able to mentor others. It is a blessing to be that community for them,” Ruia adds.  

“I highly recommend that couples do programs like this together. There's so much strength and power to be gained from that.” 

“If you've tried everything, come give it a go,” Dan says.  

“You've got nothing to lose. You've got everything to gain.”