VA Mental Health Services Guide: How to Get Care, Even If You've Never Used VA

If you are in crisis, use the block above. If you are not in crisis but need to be seen today, VA says to "call or walk in to any VA medical center—anytime, day or night," and that it "doesn't matter what your discharge status is or if you're enrolled in VA health care." Every VA medical center offers same-day mental health services. The crisis support resources guide lists every crisis line, including free emergency room care for a suicidal crisis.

VA's mental health page opens with "no matter your discharge status, service history, or eligibility for VA health care." That is broader than most veterans expect. The table sorts it out.

Source: https://www.va.gov/health-care/health-needs-conditions/mental-health/, https://www.vetcenter.va.gov/Eligibility.asp, https://www.va.gov/resources/what-benefits-can-i-get-if-i-have-an-other-than-honorable-discharge/, checked September 2026.

Enrolled veterans. The medical benefits package in 38 CFR 17.38 covers "outpatient medical, surgical, and mental healthcare, including care for substance abuse," the same for inpatient care, and counseling for your immediate family "in connection with the veteran's treatment." No referral is needed to ask for mental health care; you can go straight to the mental health clinic. If you are not enrolled yet, the VA health care enrollment guide explains eligibility and the application.

Other-than-honorable (OTH) discharge. Since 2017, VA has provided emergency mental health stabilization to former service members with OTH discharges, for up to 90 days. A 2018 law, 38 U.S.C. 1720I, added ongoing care: an initial mental health assessment and mental or behavioral health care for former members who were not dishonorably discharged and who either deployed more than 100 cumulative days in combat or contingency operations, or experienced sexual assault or harassment while serving. VA's OTH benefits page also encourages you to apply for VA health care anyway and to ask for a Character of Discharge review. Vet Centers and MST care are open to you as well.

Vet Centers. These are community counseling centers separate from VA hospitals. Services are free and confidential, and "you don't have to be enrolled in VA health care or receive disability compensation." Eligibility includes service in a combat theater or area of hostility, MST in any era, mortuary or direct emergent medical care for casualties, unmanned aerial vehicle crews who supported combat, Coast Guard drug interdiction, and current Reserve Component members with a service-related behavioral health condition. Family members are eligible when it supports the veteran's goals, and bereavement counseling is available to families of those who died in service or by suicide.

VA lists the conditions it treats: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, suicidal thoughts, military sexual trauma, substance use disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety and specific phobias. Two need their own note.

PTSD. PTSD is treatable. VA offers the 3 trauma-focused therapies its own guideline rates most effective, plus medication, residential programs and telehealth. The PTSD treatment options guide covers what each therapy involves, how long it takes, and how treatment relates to a disability rating. Not every veteran has PTSD, and mental health care at VA is not only about PTSD.

Military sexual trauma. VA's MST page says MST-related care is free, needs no enrollment, and that "you don't need to have reported the MST at the time or have other proof that the MST occurred to get care." Every VA health care facility has an MST Coordinator. Care includes assessment, counseling, medication, individual and group therapy, and residential programs, and you can ask for a clinician of a particular gender. Women veterans can also call the Women Veterans Call Center at 855-829-6636, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET and Saturdays 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET.

Substance use. VA's substance use page lists medically managed detoxification, medications that reduce cravings (such as methadone and buprenorphine for opioid use), short-term outpatient counseling, intensive outpatient treatment, residential care, self-help groups, and continuing care and relapse prevention. VA treats substance use together with PTSD or depression when they occur together.

• VA medical centers. Mental health clinics, PTSD Clinical Teams, inpatient units and 24/7 emergency mental health care.
• Community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs). Smaller VA clinics; many integrate mental health into primary care so you can be seen the same day you see your doctor.
• Vet Centers. 300 community centers plus 83 Mobile Vet Centers that travel to rural areas and events. The 24/7 call center is 877-927-8387 (TTY: 711).
• Telehealth. VA's telemental health program lets you see a VA provider by video from home using VA Video Connect, on any computer, tablet or phone. The telehealth services guide explains the setup.
• Community care. Under VA's community care rules, VA can send you to a private provider it pays for when it cannot offer an appointment within a 30-minute average drive or 20 days for mental health care, or when the service is not available, among other reasons. VA must approve the referral first.

Talk therapy. Individual and group therapy, including the evidence-based therapies for PTSD, depression and anxiety. Sessions are usually weekly.

Medication. Evaluation and prescriptions through VA pharmacies. Copays for medication are covered in the prescription benefits guide.

Residential and intensive programs. VA's Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs (RRTPs) provide 24/7 care in a residential setting. VA says veterans "typically stay around 6 weeks," from a few weeks to a few months. There are about 250 programs at around 120 sites, with tracks for PTSD, substance use, homelessness, general mental health and women veterans. You get in through a mental health provider at your local VA medical center. Intensive outpatient programs are a step down from residential care.

Peer support. VA peer specialists are veterans who have recovered from a mental health condition, hold certification, and work alongside clinical teams. Ask your mental health team for one.

Whole Health. VA's Whole Health approach adds acupuncture, meditation, yoga, tai chi, biofeedback and health coaching to conventional care, for veterans who want them.

Apps. VA's mental health apps include PTSD Coach and Mindfulness Coach. They are self-help tools, not a substitute for care.

1. Already using VA? Ask your primary care provider (your Patient Aligned Care Team, or PACT) to make the appointment, or contact the mental health clinic yourself. No referral is required.
2. New to VA? Call or walk in to any VA medical center, any time. Or call the Health Benefits Hotline at 877-222-8387 (TTY: 800-877-8339), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, and ask about mental health care in your situation.
3. Want to stay out of the hospital system? Call or walk in to a Vet Center during clinic hours, or call 877-927-8387 any time.
4. At the first visit, expect an assessment: what is going on, what has helped before, and what you want from treatment. Same-day options include a face-to-face or walk-in visit, a video visit, phone nurse triage, secure messaging and prescription fills, so the first contact may be short and the fuller appointment scheduled after.
5. Not ready, but someone you love is worried? They can call the Caregiver Support Line at 855-260-3274, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. VA deactivated its Coaching into Care line in 2024 and routes those calls here; the family counseling guide explains the options.

Much of VA mental health care is free. From VA's copay rates page, effective January 1, 2026:

• Care for a service-connected condition is free in every priority group.
• A service-connected rating of 10% or higher exempts you from all outpatient and inpatient copays.
• Readjustment counseling and related mental health services (Vet Center care) never carry a copay.
• Through December 29, 2027, your first 3 outpatient mental health or substance use visits each calendar year are copay-free. This comes from the Cleland-Dole Act of 2022 and started June 27, 2023, per VA's announcement.
• MST-related care and COMPACT Act emergency suicide care are free regardless of enrollment.

After those, a veteran without an exemption owes the standard outpatient copay: $15 for a primary care visit and $50 for a specialty care visit, with medication copays on top. Which priority group you land in, and the full copay table, are in the VA health care coverage guide.

Mental health care and disability compensation are separate systems, but they touch in 2 ways.

First, treatment records are evidence. A VA diagnosis, a treatment plan, and notes describing how symptoms affect your work and relationships are the kind of records VA weighs in a claim for a condition that began in, or was made worse by, service. Mental disorders are rated under 38 CFR 4.130, the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders, at 0, 10, 30, 50, 70 or 100 percent based on "occupational and social impairment." Diagnosis alone does not set the percentage; the level of impairment does. The VA disability guide explains the claim process, and the rating estimator shows how a mental health rating combines with others.

Second, getting care does not require a claim, and filing a claim does not require care. You can do either without the other. Many veterans wait on care because they fear it will affect a rating; the PTSD treatment options guide explains the protection rules that apply when a rated condition improves.

Bridge to your claim: If a mental health condition started in service or was made worse by it, the records from your VA treatment are evidence for a disability compensation claim. A VA-accredited representative can help you file for free.

• Family counseling. Vet Centers offer marriage and family counseling. For enrolled veterans, 38 CFR 17.38 includes "marriage and family counseling" for immediate family members "in connection with the veteran's treatment." The family counseling services guide covers who qualifies and how to ask.
• Caregiver Support Line. 855-260-3274, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. Since VA deactivated Coaching into Care in 2024, this is the line for family and friends of a veteran who is not yet getting care.
• Caregiver Support Line. 855-260-3274, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, from VA's Caregiver Support Program. The caregiver support programs guide covers the stipend program and training.
• Peer support outside VA. VA's mental health page points to BeThere peer coaches, who are veterans, through Military OneSource at 800-342-9647, available 24/7 to service members, Guard and Reserve, families and recently separated veterans.
• Homeless or at risk. The National Call Center for Homeless Veterans, 877-424-3838, is open 24/7.

Many states run their own veteran mental health programs alongside VA: state-funded counseling for veterans and families, peer-to-peer programs staffed by veterans, and outreach teams that work with county mental health agencies. Some serve veterans with any discharge. Select your state to see what is available where you live.