Veterans

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder- Click here to take an online PTSD screening. Only a mental health care provider can diagnose PTSD, but the screening can help you and your provider understand if you might benefit from treatment.

Information on Military Sexual Trauma can be found here.

The MISSION Act, once called the Veterans Choice Act, provides eligible veterans with care options outside of the VA through community care, reduces drive times for rural veterans, and decreases wait times for receiving care, further meeting the need of veterans seeking help.  Additional MISSION ACT information and information on applying for benefits is available by visiting www.va.gov.There are several psychiatric hospitals in Alabama: For more information on where these are, please visit Hospitals Archive – Alabama Hospital Association (alaha.org).

Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act of 2018

The MISSION Act, once called the Veterans Choice Act, provides eligible veterans with care options outside of the VA through community care, reduces drive times for rural veterans, and decreases wait times for receiving care, further meeting the need of veterans seeking help.  Additional MISSION ACT information and information on applying for benefits is available by visiting www.va.gov.

Your local Veterans Affairs offers treatment options that are proven to be effective for most people, and many types of professionals at the VA can help treat substance misuse.

Evidence-based therapies are among the most effective treatments for substance misuse. They include the following:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps veterans with substance use disorders develop more balanced and helpful thoughts about themselves, others, and the future. It can help veterans manage the urge to drink or use drugs, refuse opportunities to misuse substances, use a problem-solving approach to deal with substance misuse, and achieve personal goals.

• Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Motivational Interviewing helps veterans with substance use disorders by focusing on conversations between the veteran and their provider to detect and strengthen personal motivations for change. This therapy looks at the reasons behind your desire to make a change and the potential benefits of change.

• Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET)

Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) helps veterans with substance use disorders by focusing on conversations between the veteran and their provider to detect and strengthen personal motivations for change. This therapy looks at the reasons behind your desire to make a change and the potential benefits of the change. MET is a version of MI that focuses specifically on changing alcohol and/or substance misuse

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides the following services for eligible veterans. The services offered depend on the veteran’s specific needs. Therapy and counseling services available through Veterans Affairs include:

• Short-term outpatient counseling
• Intensive outpatient treatment
• Marriage and family counseling
• Self-help groups
• Residential (live-in) care
• Continuing care and recurrence prevention (making sure you don’t slip back into substance misuse)
• Special programs for veterans with specific concerns (like women veterans, returning combat veterans, and homeless veterans)