Veterans: getting care & support

How to start

1. If you already use VA: ask your primary care provider to set up a mental health appointment.
2. If you don’t: contact your nearest VA medical center or Vet Center.
3. Or call the VA health benefits hotline to find the right help: 877-222-8387 (weekdays).

Same-day options may include

• Nurse triage by phone
• Secure messaging
• Telehealth and video visits
• Walk-in or face-to-face visits

You do not need to be enrolled in VA health care to get mental health care. In a mental health emergency, you can walk into any VA medical center, day or night. Your discharge status and enrollment don’t matter.

Vet Centers offer free individual, group, marriage and family counseling for eligible veterans, service members (including National Guard and Reserve) and families. They help with the move to civilian life, trauma and the effects of MST, in a relaxed, non-medical setting.

VA care for physical and mental health conditions related to military sexual trauma is free. You do not need a disability rating, and you do not need to have reported it at the time or have documents. You may qualify even if you are not eligible for other VA care.

MST counseling is available at every Vet Center, regardless of gender or era of service.

• Give an Hour: weekly peer support groups for military, veterans and families.
• Headstrong: connects military-connected people to outpatient trauma therapy, with 30 sessions at no cost.
• Wounded Warrior Project: no-cost mental wellness programs, including weekly support calls and an intensive two-week program.

Military OneSource offers free, confidential support 24/7 at 800-342-9647. Honorably discharged veterans and their immediate families can use it for up to 365 days after leaving service.

VA also lists BeThere peer support, through Military OneSource, for transitioning veterans up to 365 days after separation or retirement.

You may be eligible if you served in the active military, naval or air service and didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge. If you enlisted after September 7, 1980, or entered active duty after October 16, 1981, you usually need 24 continuous months or the full period you were called to serve, with some exceptions.

Some exceptions to the time rule

• A discharge for a service-connected disability
• A hardship or “early out” discharge
• Service before September 7, 1980

Guard and Reserve members may qualify if called to active duty by federal order and they completed that period. Active-duty training alone doesn’t count.

• Deductible health and education expenses from last year (if asked)
• Discharge papers (DD214 or other separation documents) and service history
• Gross household income from last year (if asked)
• Insurance cards, including Medicare, private, employer or spouse plans
• Social Security numbers for you, your spouse and qualifying dependents
• Any toxic or hazard exposures during service

You don’t have to report income and expenses when you apply. VA only needs them if you don’t qualify based on other factors.

• In person: bring a signed VA Form 10-10EZ to your nearest VA medical center or clinic.
• By mail: send VA Form 10-10EZ to the Health Eligibility Center, PO Box 5207, Janesville, WI 53547-5207.
• By phone: call 877-222-8387, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
• Online: apply at VA.gov. You can save your application and come back to it.

VA lists the decision time as less than one week. If more than a week passes with no answer, don’t apply again. Call the hotline instead.

Once you’re enrolled

• Ask for a mental health appointment, or tell your primary care provider what you need
• Set up your VA.gov account for secure messages and appointments
• Use VA Form 10-10EZR later to update your income, insurance or contact details

• Accessed Vet Center care before January 2, 2013, as a Vietnam-era veteran
• Experienced military sexual trauma, regardless of era of service
• Provided emergency medical care or mortuary services to casualties of war while on active duty
• Served on a drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) crew directly supporting combat operations
• Served on active duty in any combat theater or area of hostility
• Served on active duty in response to a declared national emergency or major disaster, or a governor’s orders for a state disaster or civil disorder
• Took part in a Coast Guard drug interdiction operation

Some Reserve members with service-related readjustment needs, and some veterans using certain education benefits, may also qualify.

Family members can use Vet Center services for help coping with deployment, help supporting their veteran’s or service member’s readjustment, and bereavement counseling after a death on active duty.

• No VA health care enrollment needed
• No service-connected disability needed
• Vet Center records are not linked to VA medical records, and are not shared with VA medical centers or the Department of Defense without your signed release

Anyone who visits a Vet Center is seen that day, and a plan for further services is discussed. You can also book an appointment, including outside usual hours.

Staff will look for discharge papers (such as a DD214), certain awards or pay stubs. If you don’t have them, someone will help you get them when you come in.

Vet Centers also offer help with VA benefits, employment and referrals, plus screening and referral for issues like traumatic brain injury and depression.

Group activities may include

• Community service projects
• Creative writing, painting or photography
• Gardening and outdoor activities
• Music groups
• Potluck dinners and holiday gatherings
• Yoga, tai chi or mindful meditation

You may qualify if VA can’t give you care within its access standards. For primary care, mental health and extended outpatient care, that is a 30-minute average drive or a 20-day wait. For specialty care, it is a 60-minute drive or a 28-day wait.

Other ways to qualify

• You and your VA provider agree community care is in your best medical interest
• You live in a state or territory without a full-service VA health facility
• You need a service VA doesn’t provide at any facility
• VA can’t provide the care in a way that meets its quality standards

You need to be enrolled in or eligible for VA health care. Your VA care team must approve community care before you go, except in some cases like urgent or emergency care.

Steps

1. Tell your VA care team the care you need and any problems with distance or wait.
2. Ask: “Am I eligible for community care for this?”
3. Get the referral before booking.
4. If VA says no, you can appeal through the clinical appeals process.

VA telehealth lets you reach VA care from home, while away, or from a local clinic. For a video visit you need a smartphone, tablet or computer and internet access. Ask your VA care team which options fit you, then schedule online, by phone or in person.

If you don’t have the tech

• ATLAS sites offer private appointment rooms with internet and on-site help
• VA can provide internet-connected, video-capable devices to qualifying veterans
• VA can help you find internet service or discounts

• Care for a VA-rated service-connected disability
• Care for conditions related to sexual assault or harassment during service
• Counseling at a Vet Center
• Emergency mental health services if you’re in crisis
• Mental and behavioral health care if you served at least 100 days and served in a combat theater (or piloted a drone in one)

VA’s eligibility page also says that, even if you don’t qualify for VA health care, you may still get care for PTSD and other mental health problems, and for problems linked to military sexual trauma.

If a provider or trained crisis responder finds you are at risk of immediate self-harm, VA can provide or pay for emergency mental health care and up to 90 days of related services, even at a non-VA facility and even if you’re not enrolled.

You need to meet one of these

• Experienced sexual assault, battery or harassment while serving
• Served more than 100 days under a combat exclusion or in support of a contingency operation, without a dishonorable discharge
• Served more than 24 months of active duty, without a dishonorable discharge

VA lists two routes: apply for a discharge upgrade, or ask VA for a Character of Discharge review. A review looks at whether you qualify for VA benefits. It doesn’t change your military discharge.

To apply for an upgrade, start with VA’s online questions. You’ll get step-by-step instructions, the forms you need and the right address, so your application goes to the right board. A Veterans Service Organization can help for free.

Peer Specialists work in many VA facilities. They are veterans with their own experience of mental health recovery. They can be a role model, help you connect with resources and help you reach your recovery goals.

Groups are usually led by someone who has been through trauma too. You can just listen, and share when you are ready. Groups help people feel connected, but they are not a replacement for PTSD treatment.

Where to find one

• Ask a Vet Center: 1-877-927-8387
• Ask your local VA about support groups
• Try a free virtual peer group, such as Give an Hour

An accredited Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative can help you gather evidence, file a claim or ask for a decision review, and can talk with VA for you. Their help on VA benefit claims is always free.

1. Pick one person to start with.
2. Choose a calm time to talk.
3. Say it simply: “I’ve been having a hard time since I got out. Can I talk to you about it?”
4. Tell them what helps: “You don’t need to fix it. Just listen.”
5. Thank them, and keep in touch.

1. Plan a time to talk so they can prepare.
2. Start with support: “I know things are hard right now, and I’d like to help.”
3. Remind them it is their choice: “It’s your call, but I’ll help however I can.”
4. You don’t need to ask about their service. Suggest talking with someone at VA or a Vet Center.
5. Offer practical help, like finding a number or going along.
6. Talk again later. It doesn’t have to be settled in one go.

1. Write down your main concerns and how long you’ve had them.
2. Note what makes things better or worse, including sleep, anger and drinking.
3. List your questions.
4. Bring your sleep log or other worksheets from this app.
5. Bring someone with you if that helps.

• “I’m having a hard time since I got out, and I want help.”
• “I’m not sleeping, and I’m snapping at my family.”
• “I want to talk about what’s going on now, not the details of what happened.”
• “I’d like to know what my options are.”

• Can I do some sessions by video?
• How long does treatment usually take?
• Is there a peer specialist or group I could join too?
• What can I do between sessions?
• Which trauma-focused therapies do you offer, like CPT, PE or EMDR?

Feeling comfortable with your provider matters. It’s OK to ask for a different provider, a different time or a different way of meeting, like video. Trying again is not failing.

PTSD Coach is a free app for anyone who has, or thinks they may have, PTSD. It includes information about PTSD and treatment, tools to screen and track your symptoms, stress-management tools and quick links to support. Family and friends can use it too.

There is also a computer version, PTSD Coach Online, with 17 tools and video coaches.

PTSD Family Coach offers practical help for coping when someone you love has PTSD, including ways to care for yourself.

CBT-i Coach is a companion app for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, the recommended treatment for long-lasting sleep problems. VA also lists an Insomnia Coach app for sleep.

Mindfulness Coach includes mindfulness exercises. Coping Coach focuses on managing stress and self-care.

VA lists a Safety Plan app to help you create a plan for times of crisis: your warning signs, what helps, who to call and how to stay safe. The “Veterans: everyday coping” guide has a “My hard-moment plan” worksheet too.

Beyond MST is one of VA’s self-help apps, made for people affected by military sexual trauma.

If you are in Cognitive Processing Therapy or Prolonged Exposure therapy, the CPT Coach and PE Coach apps can support you between sessions. Ask your therapist if they would like you to use them.

The Veterans Crisis Line website lists phone numbers for calling from overseas regions, both on and off military bases. Its online chat works from anywhere with internet.

You can also find a free local helpline in your country at findahelpline.com, or call the local emergency number.

VA’s Foreign Medical Program (FMP) may pay for medically necessary care outside the U.S. for a VA-rated service-connected condition, a condition that makes it worse, or care through Veteran Readiness and Employment. It does not cover care inside the U.S. or its territories.

You can find your FMP benefits letter in your VA.gov account and share it with your provider, so they can file a claim. You can also file a claim yourself.

Vet Center services are also available in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa.

• Ask your VA team before you leave what support can continue while you’re away
• Download VA’s free apps, like PTSD Coach, which work anywhere
• Keep a copy of your “My support team” worksheet on your phone
• Save the Veterans Crisis Line website and chat link

• Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988 then press 1, text 838255, or chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net
• If a life is in danger, call 911
• Walk into any VA medical center, day or night
• Anyone in crisis in the U.S. can also call or text 988, or text HOME to 741741

You don’t have to be enrolled in VA to use the Veterans Crisis Line. It is for veterans, service members, Guard and Reserve members, and the people who support them.

• Ask your VA primary care provider for a mental health appointment
• Call the VA health benefits hotline (weekdays): 877-222-8387
• Call the Vet Center Call Center, 24/7: 1-877-927-8387
• Walk into a Vet Center during opening hours

• A peer support group or peer specialist
• A Veterans Service Organization for benefits help
• Regular sessions with a counselor or therapist
• VA’s free self-help apps between sessions