19th December 2025
We are delighted to share this Voices blog by Kerry Riley, Health Visitor & Public Health Manager at SSAFA (the Armed Forces charity), who shares her experience of supporting military dads’ mental health overseas and her use of the “Invisible” film.
Kerry Riley, Health Visitor & Public Health Manager at SSAFA (the Armed Forces charity)
Working in a number of military communities overseas has taught me many things, but nothing has moved me more than hearing the quiet, often unheard, voices of fathers. For years, maternal mental health has rightly been a focus within the perinatal period. Yet fathers, especially those living in isolated postings far from home, have too often remained invisible. They shoulder the weight of parenting, operational demands, relocation, separation from extended family, and the pressure to ‘just get on with it’. Yet still, very few people ask them how they are coping.
When I first saw the film “Invisible” shared by the Institute of Health Visiting, I immediately knew it had the power to spark meaningful conversations in our overseas military communities. Research tells us that around one in ten dads will experience perinatal mental health difficulties. For military fathers, those risks can be amplified by mobility, transition, reduced informal support networks, and navigating unfamiliar health and welfare systems. As health visitors, we hold a unique opportunity and responsibility to create the space for these conversations because when one parent struggles, the impact is felt across the whole family.
Partnering with BFBS Taking the Conversation Global
To raise awareness across the global military community, I partnered with BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) – a partnership that has proven to be hugely beneficial.
During Men’s Health Week, BFBS broadcast an interview with the actor who plays Luke in the film, the producer, and a representative from the charity Dad Matters. This interview was aired across British military bases worldwide, reaching dads who may never walk into a clinic or openly share their feelings, but who will quietly listen to the radio while driving to work or preparing for deployment.
Hearing fathers’ mental health discussed so openly helped normalise a simple, powerful message: dads need support too – not because they are failing, but because they are human.
Strengthening Practice Through SSAFA Community Health Teams
Within SSAFA’s Community Health Service, we screened the Invisible film with health visitors, using it as a reflective tool. Staff shared how the film prompted them to think differently about language, first contacts, and the subtle signs that may indicate a father is struggling, such as irritability, withdrawal, changes in mood, or anxiety that is easily dismissed in busy family life.
We distributed the film, discussion prompts and key messages to Local Safeguarding Partnership Boards, welfare teams, schools, social work teams and military command. The aim was simple: start conversations and increase visibility of paternal mental health needs across all environments from firm bases to the most remote postings overseas.
We also signposted to iHV’s Fathers’ Mental Health resources, and ensured that families knew how to access support through SSAFA and Defence medical services. The response was overwhelming. We received messages from stakeholders saying “thank you for talking about this”, and staff told us how powerful, emotional and practice changing the film had been. In many ways, these conversations marked the beginning of a cultural shift, one in which fathers are no longer seen as an optional extra, but as equal partners in the perinatal journey.
A Moment That Stopped Me in My Tracks
One message I received will stay with me forever. A father shared that he had been silently struggling for months, not wanting to burden his partner. After hearing the BFBS interview, he paused and said for the first time: “Maybe I need help too.”
Reflecting on Our Practice
This journey has prompted me to reflect deeply on my own assumptions and approaches:
- Do I always create space for fathers to talk, even if they are not physically present at the visit?
- Do our materials, pathways and assessments actively include fathers — or do they simply allow them if they show up?
- How do we ensure parity of support in overseas settings, where access, continuity and systems can differ from UK provision?
These questions have informed ongoing discussions within SSAFA about embedding paternal mental health more intentionally within our public health governance, training and service design overseas. Small, consistent changes such as asking both parents about their wellbeing, reducing gender-based assumptions, and acknowledging fathers as equal caregivers, can create a profound shift in family health outcomes.
Health Visitors at the Heart of Change
Working alongside our health visiting teams, welfare colleagues and Local Safeguarding Partnership Boards (LSPB), we have challenged and generated conversations to explore practical steps to strengthen father-inclusive practice. For example, routinely involving fathers in assessments and documentation, and actively checking in with deployed and remote fathers.
Ultimately, what we have done through this initiative is encouraging reflective discussion and listening to the voice of fathers – as evident in the following quote from one health visitor: “The film reminded me that, even if the father is deployed, I must make every effort to understand his needs and feelings as part of the family unit.”
Conclusion
Promoting paternal mental health is preventative public health at its best. It reduces risk, strengthens relationships, and improves outcomes across the Healthy Child Programme. SSAFA’s motto is Never Battle Alone, and it feels especially relevant here. Fathers should never have to struggle alone and unseen. By seeing fathers and hearing fathers, we can ensure no parent in any location, in any posting, feels invisible.
Kerry Riley, Health Visitor & Public Health Manager at SSAFA (the Armed Forces charity)
About Invisible
Invisible is a powerful and thought-provoking film produced by the Institute of Health Visiting in collaboration with Inner Eye Productions, and funded by The Burdett Trust for Nursing. Based on an original idea by Dr Sharin Baldwin and Chris Godwin, the film brings together extensive academic research, practitioner interviews, and compelling lived-experience accounts from a diverse range of fathers and parents.
To find out more about iHV training on father-inclusive practice, please see here or contact [email protected]
