When Sabrina returned to civilian life after being deployed to Afghanistan with the Australian Army, she found herself in a terribly dark place. She suffered from PTSD, anxiety and depression, and after experiencing the worst night of her life she tried earnestly to seek help. However, she found support for veterans in her situation was lacking.

Sabrina also discovered there was an unfortunate stigma associated with returned soldiers who were suffering mentally. If you asked for help, you were considered weak or broken. And if you were deemed broken, then you were never able to deploy again.

Sabrina left the Army in 2013, a year after her return from Afghanistan, and began her next challenge: starting the Carte Blanche Health Group. This group is now at the forefront of young veterans’ health care and transitional support, with Sabrina and her team developing retreat-style workshops to help veterans transition smoothly from the military to civilian life. Currently, they offer prescribed exercises, physiotherapy, chiropractic and nutritional support, all located in fully equipped health and fitness centres.

Sabrina’s focus when starting the Carte Blanche Health Group was to create a place where young veterans could rewrite their story. She says it’s a new approach to treatment in a setting that doesn’t make the person feel as if they’re being ‘treated’. She is passionate about wanting to reduce suicide rates among veterans and increasing the productivity of ex-soldiers in the community.

Carte Blanche Health Group is located in fitness centres in Frankston, Mornington and Noble Park, and last month opened its own stand-alone Allied Health Centre in Rosebud.