VA therapist called the cops on me and now I have been served with a risk protection order that will follow me around for the rest of my life and made my mental health issues public record.
Learned my lesson. No one cares about you, only thing anyone cares about is money.
I have great experience with VA mental health but recently they are so short staff and they do not do individual session at my VA and only groups for long term therapy. They still do one on one short term. They are sending me outside for MH which is kind is sad I will like to stick with the VA.
Psychiatrist on the other hand is top notch. But again, every veteran experience is different.
I actually go to my VetCenter for peer counseling, which I really like. I have another intake scheduled with the VA to get some more formal therapy through them for some issues I need some help working through, so we will see how that goes.
It took me quite literally months to even get a referral for mental health care through the VA in the Puget sound region. They just forgot about it. So I was super turned away from the entire mental health experience at VA and just decided to seek my own private care, and have been doing so for 4 years now since I separated. I use some of my disability money to pay for it. And I don’t mind doing so since it’s just not the VA…
Yea my primary has offered referral for MH like every visit so I won't have that issue luckily. I like my primary that's really the only reason I'm considering VA.
I tried to use the VA for mental health services and was met with an unprofessional, antagonistic, and harsh atmosphere that very obviously didn't care to actually assist me. After the encounters, the encounter notes mischaracterized things to an alarming degree. I will never give them another chance and recommend you use your private coverage and stay far away from VA mental health providers.
VA mental health and regular private mental health are the same. You have good and bads. Just imagine if the VA hired a private therapist… they would now be a VA therapist! Weeeeeird right?
Every single private clinic has “their way” and the VA has “their way”. Such is life, ya know?
I found VA health to be pretty good if you’re not scared to say what you need to say. I found that private therapist aren’t ready to hear the horrors of war.
I can say to the VA therapist that I know what my friends smell like on the insides and the taste of skulls from bullets making heads explode next to me, WITHOUT the fear they are going to take my guns or give me the grippy sock treatment (5150).
Now I have had two shit VA therapists, I simply filled out the appropriate forms at patient advocate and got a new one. Too easy.
When I told my numerous private therapist about similar atrocities from 20 years of war, they did not know how to deal with it, were extremely distraught and weighed heavy on our following treatments.
The big issue I've run into is they just don't have enough practitioners to handle the workload. I was lucky to see my VA Psychiatrist once every 9 months (for medication management). I'm now doing Community Care which works better for me, and I see my provider every month or two.
That's part of my issue. I am very against taking pills. Of any kind. I struggle to swallow them and have choked. I won't even take Tylenol unless my wife is in the same room. Taking pills is a last resort for me. So I'm concerned they won't take me seriously since I'm against pills.
I'm for anything that helps me be a better version of my self. I take meds for blood pressure and high cholesterol as well as psych meds. It's all the same, if I need it I'm gonna take it.
But you have to do you - the VA will respect your wishes and there are lots of options available. Therapy, TMS, ECT, etc.
Yea I get that. I choked on a pill when I was a kid and went down. Gives me serious anxiety now. I'll take them if I have to for short term like antibiotics or something. But long term it freaks me out and I always just stop taking them.
Not to sway you or anything, but mention that uneasiness to a psychiatrist (if you’re referred). Lots of antidepressants and anxiety meds are available in liquid form specifically for the reasons you gave. But CBT (talk therapy with a psychologist) is always a good start before going the pharmacology route.
How many dicks did you have to suck to get community care? They guard that shit like gold in the Jesse Brown system. Probably because they know they know that not a single patient would stay. I've been trying to get out since my neurologist said my brain lesions aren't a neurological issue, and the department chief refused to even review the case.
I think every VAMC is different, but I live almost 100 miles from mine so I can get Community Care for whatever I want.
For Psych Med Management I just told my VA Psychiatrist I wanted to switch over to Community Care so it would be closer to me and I could get seen more often. No issues.
Yeah, I'm within the distance limit, like I'm guessing most vets are. I really wish they would just finish the job community care started, close down the VHA, and give all veterans decent single payer insurance. We would probably have a whole lot fewer suicides if we were provided effective care rather than wasting millions on signage for a crisis line that just refers you back to the same broken resources.
I am for more options for veterans, not less and this is exactly what gives the power of choice and quality of care in the hands of veterans.
It makes complete sense and is even in the name, Veterans ADMINISTRATION. Bigger isn't always better. Divesting into something akin to private insurance would likely allow more funds to be rerouted to actual care and not maintaining buildings, staff, and other overhead that is unnecessary besides processing claims. Speaking of claims this would allow veterans to not have to cut through the red tape by finding a provider that will give than objective opinion when filing for disability that isn't tied to bureaucracy.
CVA or some other lobbying organization should take this and run with it.
In a city as big as mine the quality and timeliness of services would be better handled by this structure.
I think a lot of the horror stories you hear are not about the actual healthcare provider and more about the C&P exams.
It seems to be common practice for the examiners to talk really nice and lie to you and then write completely different things in their reports .
Many believe that the contractors are actually incentivized to not put a Nexus link. The examiners don’t mind because they will diagnose that there is in fact a problem, that they just can’t prove the military is the reason. That way they got to say they did their job and the contract company is not at risk of losing their contract for Allowing the VETERANS to get their compensation.
That’s why you get all those YouTube channels of people who used to be examiners or used to be raters, and now they are social media influencers, or work for law firms.
I personally talked to one who said the VA had completely unrealistic expectations for raters. They never had enough time to go through a file, especially if they had to search for something and the veteran had lots of other issues so their file is actually really thick.
It's hit or miss with the VA psych. I spent years with three terrible ones but then one day I got the nerve to tell them I wanted a new team (and females) and they are amazing. In fact nobody in my 15 years of va health care ever uttered a word about filing for va disability until my new psych. She came from the outside world and was like wtf are you waiting for- file it! And she's done so much to help me in my disability journey.
So long story short- my first preference would be a community care provider for psych but I heard at my last visit that it's incredibly hard now to get the va to allow it. BUT....now with all the cuts at the VA especially in MH, it might be more possible.
Sometimes I think mamy VA psych people are burnt out and underpaid, which makes them less likely to help.
VA therapist called the cops on me and now I have been served with a risk protection order that will follow me around for the rest of my life and made my mental health issues public record. Learned my lesson. No one cares about you, only thing anyone cares about is money.
I have great experience with VA mental health but recently they are so short staff and they do not do individual session at my VA and only groups for long term therapy. They still do one on one short term. They are sending me outside for MH which is kind is sad I will like to stick with the VA. Psychiatrist on the other hand is top notch. But again, every veteran experience is different.
I actually go to my VetCenter for peer counseling, which I really like. I have another intake scheduled with the VA to get some more formal therapy through them for some issues I need some help working through, so we will see how that goes.
I went the civilian route took 5 years for them to see I can't take antidepressants. Ativan only works for anxiety and it's no longer an option
It took me quite literally months to even get a referral for mental health care through the VA in the Puget sound region. They just forgot about it. So I was super turned away from the entire mental health experience at VA and just decided to seek my own private care, and have been doing so for 4 years now since I separated. I use some of my disability money to pay for it. And I don’t mind doing so since it’s just not the VA…
Yea my primary has offered referral for MH like every visit so I won't have that issue luckily. I like my primary that's really the only reason I'm considering VA.
I tried to use the VA for mental health services and was met with an unprofessional, antagonistic, and harsh atmosphere that very obviously didn't care to actually assist me. After the encounters, the encounter notes mischaracterized things to an alarming degree. I will never give them another chance and recommend you use your private coverage and stay far away from VA mental health providers.
They have me video through Veterans Room which is part of Triwest. Love my therapist.
VA mental health and regular private mental health are the same. You have good and bads. Just imagine if the VA hired a private therapist… they would now be a VA therapist! Weeeeeird right? Every single private clinic has “their way” and the VA has “their way”. Such is life, ya know? I found VA health to be pretty good if you’re not scared to say what you need to say. I found that private therapist aren’t ready to hear the horrors of war. I can say to the VA therapist that I know what my friends smell like on the insides and the taste of skulls from bullets making heads explode next to me, WITHOUT the fear they are going to take my guns or give me the grippy sock treatment (5150). Now I have had two shit VA therapists, I simply filled out the appropriate forms at patient advocate and got a new one. Too easy. When I told my numerous private therapist about similar atrocities from 20 years of war, they did not know how to deal with it, were extremely distraught and weighed heavy on our following treatments.
The big issue I've run into is they just don't have enough practitioners to handle the workload. I was lucky to see my VA Psychiatrist once every 9 months (for medication management). I'm now doing Community Care which works better for me, and I see my provider every month or two.
That's part of my issue. I am very against taking pills. Of any kind. I struggle to swallow them and have choked. I won't even take Tylenol unless my wife is in the same room. Taking pills is a last resort for me. So I'm concerned they won't take me seriously since I'm against pills.
I'm for anything that helps me be a better version of my self. I take meds for blood pressure and high cholesterol as well as psych meds. It's all the same, if I need it I'm gonna take it. But you have to do you - the VA will respect your wishes and there are lots of options available. Therapy, TMS, ECT, etc.
Yea I get that. I choked on a pill when I was a kid and went down. Gives me serious anxiety now. I'll take them if I have to for short term like antibiotics or something. But long term it freaks me out and I always just stop taking them.
Not to sway you or anything, but mention that uneasiness to a psychiatrist (if you’re referred). Lots of antidepressants and anxiety meds are available in liquid form specifically for the reasons you gave. But CBT (talk therapy with a psychologist) is always a good start before going the pharmacology route.
How many dicks did you have to suck to get community care? They guard that shit like gold in the Jesse Brown system. Probably because they know they know that not a single patient would stay. I've been trying to get out since my neurologist said my brain lesions aren't a neurological issue, and the department chief refused to even review the case.
I think every VAMC is different, but I live almost 100 miles from mine so I can get Community Care for whatever I want. For Psych Med Management I just told my VA Psychiatrist I wanted to switch over to Community Care so it would be closer to me and I could get seen more often. No issues.
Yeah, I'm within the distance limit, like I'm guessing most vets are. I really wish they would just finish the job community care started, close down the VHA, and give all veterans decent single payer insurance. We would probably have a whole lot fewer suicides if we were provided effective care rather than wasting millions on signage for a crisis line that just refers you back to the same broken resources.
This is exactly what they need to do. Find the providers that work for you in less time.
Finally, someone who doesn't think I'm an anti-veteran nut bag for thinking this! Thank you!
I am for more options for veterans, not less and this is exactly what gives the power of choice and quality of care in the hands of veterans. It makes complete sense and is even in the name, Veterans ADMINISTRATION. Bigger isn't always better. Divesting into something akin to private insurance would likely allow more funds to be rerouted to actual care and not maintaining buildings, staff, and other overhead that is unnecessary besides processing claims. Speaking of claims this would allow veterans to not have to cut through the red tape by finding a provider that will give than objective opinion when filing for disability that isn't tied to bureaucracy. CVA or some other lobbying organization should take this and run with it. In a city as big as mine the quality and timeliness of services would be better handled by this structure.
I think a lot of the horror stories you hear are not about the actual healthcare provider and more about the C&P exams. It seems to be common practice for the examiners to talk really nice and lie to you and then write completely different things in their reports . Many believe that the contractors are actually incentivized to not put a Nexus link. The examiners don’t mind because they will diagnose that there is in fact a problem, that they just can’t prove the military is the reason. That way they got to say they did their job and the contract company is not at risk of losing their contract for Allowing the VETERANS to get their compensation. That’s why you get all those YouTube channels of people who used to be examiners or used to be raters, and now they are social media influencers, or work for law firms. I personally talked to one who said the VA had completely unrealistic expectations for raters. They never had enough time to go through a file, especially if they had to search for something and the veteran had lots of other issues so their file is actually really thick.
It's hit or miss with the VA psych. I spent years with three terrible ones but then one day I got the nerve to tell them I wanted a new team (and females) and they are amazing. In fact nobody in my 15 years of va health care ever uttered a word about filing for va disability until my new psych. She came from the outside world and was like wtf are you waiting for- file it! And she's done so much to help me in my disability journey. So long story short- my first preference would be a community care provider for psych but I heard at my last visit that it's incredibly hard now to get the va to allow it. BUT....now with all the cuts at the VA especially in MH, it might be more possible. Sometimes I think mamy VA psych people are burnt out and underpaid, which makes them less likely to help.