Chattanooga Vet Center
We understand that self-medication is a common means of attempting to control the emotions that are controlling us. We understand that addiction is complex, sensitive, and can sometimes be lifelong. All of our counselors are trained in substance use treatment.
We have a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) onsite to offer family and couples counseling.
Specialty care includes:
- Couples counseling and support
- Spouse and significant other groups
We have strong connections to the City of Chattanooga, as well as to the Veterans and service members who live here.
Our Outreach Program Specialist meets monthly with the Chattanooga Area Veterans Coalition and attends numerous community outreach events each year. We also work to expand our partnerships to help Veterans and service members find the resources they need. Please call us if you would like to learn more.
Loss is inevitable in life, whether it’s a family member, close friend, beloved pet, relationship, or significant lifelong dream or goal.
We have a certified grief/bereavement counselor on staff ready to help you move forward in life in the absence of your loss.
These videos will help you learn more about the treatment methods we offer:
What is cognitive behavioral therapy?
How grief affects your brain and what to do about it
Traumatic bereavement: Helping children and young people who are struggling in schools and colleges
We offer individual and group counseling.
Specialty care includes:
- Era-specific groups (Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq)
- Peer support groups to educate all Veterans and service members on VA benefits and initiatives that are available as well as to connect Veterans with Veteran-centric resources in the community
- Drum therapy
The most effective treatment method is the one that works best for you and moves you to a place of healing and personal growth. We provide the following treatments:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy
- Motivational interviewing
- Grief counseling
Nobody joins the military with thoughts that they’ll be sexually harassed, sexually abused, objectified, or made to feel less than human. The sense of betrayal at the hands of your “military family” is traumatic. Left untreated, it can affect your ability to thrive.
The most effective treatment is one that suits you best. We offer treatment modalities such as, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), which will help you to process memories of your trauma and confronting the emotions that come from those memories.
We have both male and female counselors trained to help you overcome the trauma of MST.
Note: Ask for “Zoe” when you call us. You’ll be handed off to a counselor, immediately, without being asked for additional personal information.
Trauma can happen to anyone at any time. Whether it’s related to combat, sexual assault, or other life-threatening experiences, the human brain will not allow these memories to go unaddressed no matter how hard we try to “stuff them down” or “push them aside.”
These memories, and the emotions that go with them, will often come out in the form of anxiety, depression, or outright anger. You don’t have to suffer alone. All of our counselors are trained to help you overcome the memories and emotions associated with your traumatic event(s).
Both cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy are the most researched and effectively proven treatments for addressing PTSD. Learn more about them by playing the following videos.
We offer peer support groups that provide education and connection to help in your transition from deployment or leaving the military. The peer groups can help with the following:
- VA benefits and initiatives
- Connection to resources in the community
- Employment assistance
- State and local Veteran Service Officers in your community
Supporting you in your transition from military service to civilian life is what we do best. We are available to help you find your footing after your military service.
If you prefer, you can text the Veterans Crisis Line using your mobile device at 838255 or chat online by using the Veteran Crisis Line chat feature.
Our counselors and our outreach specialists are ready to help connect you to community resources.
This may include assisting you with connections for:
- Veteran housing
- Assistance for homeless Veterans
- Employment assistance
- Veteran rehabilitation and education (VR&E)
- Local food pantries or low-cost food distribution centers
- State and local Veterans Service Officers or Veteran-centric organizations
How we're different than a clinic (FAQs)
How we’re different than a clinic
What are Vet Centers?
Vet Centers are small, non-medical, counseling centers conveniently located in your community. They’re staffed by highly trained counselors and team members dedicated to seeing you through the challenges that come with managing life during and after the military.
Whether you come in for one-on-one counseling or to participate in a group session, at Vet Centers you can form social connections, try new things, and build a support system with people who understand you and want to help you succeed.
Who is eligible to receive services at Vet Centers?
Vet Center services are available to you at no cost, regardless of discharge character, and without you needing to be enrolled in VA health care or having a service-connected disability. If you’re a Veteran or service member, including members of the National Guard and Reserve, you can access our services if you:
- Served on active military duty in any combat theater or area of hostility
- Experienced military sexual trauma (regardless of gender or service era)
- Provided mortuary services or direct emergent medical care to treat the casualties of war while serving on active military duty
- Performed as a member of an unmanned aerial vehicle crew that provided direct support to operations in a combat theater or area of hostility
- Accessed care at a Vet Center prior to January 2, 2013, as a Vietnam-Era Veteran
- Served on active military duty in response to a national emergency or major disaster declared by the president, or under orders of the governor or chief executive of a state in response to a disaster or civil disorder in that state.
- Are a current or former member of the Coast Guard who participated in a drug interdiction operation, regardless of the location.
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Are a current member of the Reserve Components assigned to a military command in a drilling status, including active Reserves, who has a behavioral health condition or psychological trauma related to military service that adversely effects quality of life or adjustment to civilian life.
We encourage you to contact us, even if you’re unsure if you meet these criteria. If we can’t help you, we’ll find someone who will.
Our services are also available to family members when their participation would support the growth and goals of the Veteran or active-duty service member. If you consider them family, so do we. We also offer bereavement services to family members of Veterans who were receiving Vet Center services at the time of the Veteran’s death, and to the families of service members who died while serving on active duty.
Do I have to be enrolled in VA health care to access Vet Center services?
No. You don’t have to be enrolled in VA health care or have a service-connected disability.
What about my privacy?
Safe and confidential. Our records can’t be accessed by other VA offices, the DoD, military units, or other community networks and providers without your permission or unless required to avert a life-threatening situation. Here, you can be as open as you want—there’s absolutely no judgment.