Empowering Veterans Gold Coast

A five day program designed to empower veterans with PTSD, anxiety, stress or other mental health concerns, with practical tools to enhance their wellbeing, using Breath Meditation technique.

Griffith University is the program delivery partner for the Empowering Veterans Program, with facilitation provided by the International Association of Human Values (IAHV) and clinical oversight and evaluation by the Griffith University School of Medicine and Dentistry.  

The Empowering Veterans program uses the Sudarshan Kriya yoga (SKY) Breath Meditation technique, delivered via evidence-based workshops designed to empower veterans with PTSD, anxiety, stress or other mental health concerns, with practical tools to enhance their wellbeing. 

For 20 years, IAHV have been deploying the “Project Welcome Home Troops” program in the US. Griffith University wish to pilot delivery in Australia to evaluate its effectiveness for ex-serving ADF members. 

The program seeks to offer tailored workshops for the Australian veteran community, supported by a program evaluation, with the aim of enhancing mental health, emotional resilience, and overall quality of life. 

The program has also been featured in the documentary Almost Sunrise, which follows two Iraq War veterans, and in Free the Mind, which documents meditation-based therapy for U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

The program will be delivered by John Osborne, Program Director and Lead Trainer of Project Welcome Home Troops, who will be travelling from the United States to facilitate the sessions. He has more than 40 years’ experience teaching breathwork and meditation, and over 15 years working specifically with U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan through SKY-based programs. 

The program has also been featured in the documentary Almost Sunrise, which follows two Iraq War veterans, and in Free the Mind, which documents meditation-based therapy for U.S. veterans returning from combat. 

Event time: 

• Saturday and Sunday (31st January and 1st February – 10:30am-1pm) 
• Monday – Wednesday (2nd – 4th  February – 4:30pm – 7pm)