Jacqueline Suttie from Edinburgh receives the award of MBE as Founder and CEO of PTSD UK for her services to people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
PTSD UK is still the only charity in the UK dedicated to raising awareness and supporting everyone affected by the condition, no matter the trauma that caused it.
She runs the charity that provides resources to educate, empower and inspire resilience in everyone affected by PTSD. She also campaigns to raise awareness of the condition, reach out to high-risk communities and help shape UK healthcare policies.
- She has established links with high-risk communities across the UK such as the emergency services, rape crisis centres, and victim support services along with other charities which support people who are at risk of PTSD.
- Ms Suttie was selected to be a stakeholder in the creation of the new NICE guidelines for a number of topics. As part of the consultation she is able to recommend better provision of services, faster access to support, early interventions, and make suggestions of how services can be improved.
Jacqui’s transformative journey from ‘the darkest place [she] could imagine’ to becoming a beacon of hope for others is inspiring. Diagnosed with PTSD in 2015 after a traumatic sexual assault two years earlier, Jacqui faced years of debilitating fear, flashbacks, panic attacks and a relentless struggle with daily life following the trauma she experienced – but there was nowhere for her to turn to for support and understanding.
Following Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) treatment, Jacqui not only reclaimed her life but also discovered a fresh sense of purpose. The lack of understanding, provisions and information that Jacqui experienced, made her realise that help and education was sorely needed for everyone affected by PTSD and its ‘sibling’ condition Complex PTSD (C-PTSD).
Jacqui used her professional expertise in digital marketing, solid educational background with both undergraduate and master’s science degrees, and her unwavering passion and dedication to found PTSD UK – the only charity in the UK dedicated to supporting everyone affected by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, no matter the trauma that caused it.
She said: “This is an absolutely incredible honour, and I am immensely grateful and humbled. It’s taken so long to sink in because it means so much to me. If the ‘Jacqui of eight years ago’ could see me now, I wouldn’t have believed it.
“I was unable to leave the house alone, my world was crumbling around me, I was terrified of everything, and had nowhere to turn to for the answers I desperately needed. But now, I get the unbelievably empowering privilege of leading a national charity supporting thousands of people, and genuinely transforming peoples’ lives. Receiving an MBE is not just about personal recognition for me however, it’s a testament to the collective efforts of everyone in our small team at PTSD UK and our amazing supporters.
“It is a shared triumph that highlights the pressing need for increased awareness of the causes, symptoms and treatments of PTSD and C-PTSD. I feel very privileged to receive recognition for my work and a mission I deeply care about, and hope that this will show others who are in the depths of the condition to see that things can get better, and Tomorrow CAN be a new day.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
