Our Program
A free 8-week online program to help prevent anxiety and depression after job loss
For adults aged 30 to 67 who have lost their job, have been told their role will end, or face a major unplanned career change.
Free for individuals8 weekly online sessionsNot therapy, not job search
What you get
What you get
8 weekly online sessions
Two hours each, in small groups of 8 to 14 people.
Two program facilitators
In every session, trained in the Project Peace method.
Evidence-informed skills
CBT skills, self-compassion, mindfulness and acceptance, values and meaning, social connection, preparing for setbacks, and knowing when and where to get help.
Built for the AI era
Support for people whose whole job category is being automated or erased, so they can stay well and find their footing again.
Free
Free for individuals.
Already getting support?
People already seeing a GP or mental health professional are welcome.
What it is not: it is not therapy, counselling, diagnosis or treatment, and it is not a job-search service. We don’t help with CVs, interviews or finding work.
Our method
Our method: the Suit, the Monk and the Gap
A plain-language way to make sense of job loss, and to act early.
The Suit
The roles we wear: leader, colleague, parent, friend. Job loss can strip away the work Suit.
The Monk
The inner self: values, calm, and a sense of worth that doesn’t depend on a title.
The Gap
The distance between who you are and the role you’ve lost. A widening Gap is an early warning sign of stress that, left unchecked, can lead to anxiety and depression. That’s the time to act and seek help.
The method was developed by Raf Adams and is provided to Project Peace free of charge. The program uses it in plain, everyday language. It is secular.
Weeks 1 to 8
Weeks 1 to 8
8 weekly online sessions of 2 hours, in small groups of 8 to 14 people. Every session ends with support information.
Week 1
Welcome: what has changed, and the Suit
Common reactions to job loss, and how losing a role can shake identity.
Weeks 2–3
Empty the Gap
Know the early warning signs of stress, anxiety and depression, and when and how to see a GP. Notice thinking traps such as “I’m worthless without the job”, and practise treating yourself as you would a friend.
Weeks 4–5
Expand the Monk
Practise calm in uncertainty, keep a healthy weekly rhythm, and name what matters most, so self-worth doesn’t depend on a job title.
Weeks 6–7
Maximise the Suit
Value the roles you still hold, reconnect with people and groups, and plan ahead for setbacks such as rejection, money stress and low days. Here “maximise the Suit” means a fuller life beyond the job, not job search.
Week 8
Keeping well
Bring your warning signs, skills, values, connections and support options into one personal plan. Every session ends with support information.
Informed by research
Informed by research
Each part of the program draws on published prevention research. This includes principles from the University of Michigan JOBS Program, such as preparing for setbacks and building a sense of mastery in a supportive group, and research on CBT skills, self-compassion, mindfulness, values and social connection.
Project Peace does not deliver the JOBS Program or use its materials. Our combined program is new, so we measure it carefully.
How we measure
The Life Audit and how we measure
For reflection
The Project Peace Life Audit
Participants complete the free Project Peace Life Audit in week 1 and week 8. It is a short self-reflection questionnaire on this website. It is a tool for reflection, not a diagnosis or a psychological assessment, and we do not use it to measure results. Your answers stay private to you.
Outcome measures
SWEMWBS and PHQ-4
To measure the program, we use two short, standard questionnaires, SWEMWBS and PHQ-4, at the start, at the end and 3 months later.
Results are reported at group level only and de-identified, including if there is no change.
Our track record so far
Our track record so far
Between February and July 2026 we ran 26 free weekly community sessions for The Life Journey Meetup group.
26
Free weekly community sessions, February to July 2026
4.7 / 5
Rated 4.7 out of 5, from 226 ratings
9
Sessions prevention-focused in topic: stress, self-criticism and career change
Nine sessions covered recognised risk factors for anxiety and depression such as stress, self-criticism and career change. These sessions weren’t designed or measured as a prevention program, so we make no claims about their results. We will report the 8-week program’s results once we have them.
For employers
For employers
We run private, confidential groups for staff affected by a restructure, redundancy or role change, and for the leaders managing it. Delivered online by Project Peace.
$998 per person
Fees are a payment for a service, not a donation, and help keep our public program free.
Or email [email protected]
Sponsor a free place
Sponsor a free place
The public program is free. Sponsorship funds places for people facing job loss who have no employer support.
- 1 person$998
- 10 people$9,980
- 100 people$99,800
Donations fund free places and the costs of running the program. Program facilitators may be paid a fee per session under our conflict of interest policy.
Project Peace is a registered charity with the ACNC. Donations are not currently tax-deductible.
Ready to take the next step?
If you have lost your job or face a major unplanned career change, the program is free for you. If you want to help, you can sponsor a free place.