• “Dean has produced a world-class guidebook on how we deal with traumatic wounds"

    Steve Biddulph, author of Raising Boys, Raising Girls & The New Manhood

  • ”The roughest, most honest, journalistic memoir of war I've ever encountered”

    Thomas E. Ricks, author of Fiasco and Waging a Good War

  • “A gripping read ... I praise Dean’s raw honesty!”

    Senator Jacqui Lambie

  • “I have never read a more visceral & moving account of a person so at war with himself"

    Dr Mark Cross, psychiatrist, author of Anxiety and co-author of Changing Minds

  • “Dean Yates captures the after war of PTSD and moral injury in the most searing way”

    Nancy Sherman, New York Times notable author & philosopher

  • "No work has pulled back the veil on the consequences of trauma & moral injury like this"

    John Bale, co-founder of Soldier On and Fortem. Afghan veteran

  • "Dean raises important questions about the impact work can have on employee mental health and the support they get"

    Amy McKeown, Workplace Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategist

  • "A story like no other. Dean’s extraordinary journey is a gift to those who feel shackled by shame & defeated by trauma"

    Peter Whish-Wilson, Greens Senator for Tasmania

  • "Yates reveals an essential truth about recovery from trauma and moral injury, namely that it is a lifelong challenge"

    Professor Brett Litz, global pioneer on moral injury

Read full endorsements

I am an impactful public speaker. I can tailor a speech or presentation for just about any occasion. Topics include my healing journey from trauma; what mentally healthy workplaces look like; moral injury & eyewitness to the world.

My presentations on moral injury have won rave reviews from WHS officers, psychiatrists, counsellors, social workers & people with lived experience. I am booked to give a keynote speech at the ANZ Moral Injury Conference in Launceston in May 2026.

Public speaking

Most recent testimonial: "At a recent gathering of 110 members of the Tasmanian Men's Shed Association, Dean was our keynote speaker. We have been running this event for 6 years, and never has a speaker made more of an impact on our audience than Dean. His story is incredibly powerful and his delivery is masterful. Guests were enthralled and moved. The feedback on Dean's presentation has been overwhelmingly positive, with orders immediately placed to purchase his memoir 'Line in the Sand'. On a personal note, I have previously been a regular on the keynote speaking circuit and have had exposure to a lot of speakers, including those on the international circuit. Dean is up there with the world's best. I would highly recommend him as a gifted and brave storyteller that impacts lives and changes them in the most positive of ways."

Wendy Kennedy, CEO Tasmanian Men's Shed Association/Clr Clarence City Council/ Director Wendy Kennedy Productions & Director Tasmanian Racing Appeals Board

An Introduction to moral injury — F2F & online presentation

This presentation is suitable for anyone whose moral values are threatened in the workplace. But it’s especially geared toward frontline occupations; those in a leadership position (govt, NGO or private sector); WHS/HR & regulators; clinical & spiritual care teams. Among the things I talk about: Similarities and differences with PTSD; what will the addition of “moral problems” to the DSM-5 in Sept 2025 mean in practice; moral injury and the challenge for workplaces; & moral injury prevention and healing. For more information, see here

I deliver this presentation for Positive Solutions. If your organisation is interested, contact me directly through this website, LinkedIn or admin@positivesolutions.com.au

Selection of participant feedback:

“Dean’s presentation is the most dynamic & relevant on moral injury I have seen. He has taken his lived experience as a journalist in warzones and translated this into an understanding of moral injury that should be required for all.”

“Dean's grasp of moral injury is significant. He answered a number of long-held questions no one else has been willing to answer for me - or didn't know how to.”

Photo by WorkSafe Tasmania, July 2025