Colorado Springs Vet Center
Care at our center includes:
- One-on-one counseling sessions targeted at your individual needs
- Group counseling (we offer a variety of different groups, to include processing, equine assisted, and archery) Referrals are required for all groups
Here are some of the evidence-based treatments we offer:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Gottmann Method
If you're feeling on edge and on guard, having trouble with sleep, motivation, or mood, or just feeling unlike yourself following a major event or critical incident, we can teach you tools to manage these problems and get back on track. Asking for help takes courage and we provide the private, comfortable setting with expert counselors to help you take that next step. Our counselors are specifically trained in helping individuals heal from trauma.
We have both male and female counselors available to provide individual and group services.
We understand that the transition from military to civilian life can be a challenge. We offer a variety of ways to assist you in that process such as:
- How to get VA medical benefits and register for care
- Where to go to file claims and other forms
- Understanding your VA education benefits
- Housing and home loans
- Education and referral for VA burial benefits
We can also connect you to Veterans Service Organizations in your community. Please give us a call and we will guide you to the most appropriate resource you require.
We have clinicians who can provide services such as:
- Couples counseling
- Individual counseling for couples, spouses, children and significant others
Our Vet Center offers bereavement counseling to any family members of Armed Forces personnel who died in the service of their country. Family members of Reservists and National Guardsmen who die while on duty are also eligible.
We offer secure and confidential individual and group counseling through telehealth. You can schedule a phone or video appointment for Vet Center counseling services.
We have easy-to-use telehealth platforms that allow us to provide you with our same high-quality services virtually. All you need is a smartphone or similar device, an internet connection, and a private location.
We work to bridge mental health care with every other aspect of Veterans’ lives. You can expect your counselor to help you highlight the connection between mental health and various aspects of self-care (e.g. food and drink, working your body, surroundings, spirit and soul, personal development, recharging, and relationships).
To complement our counseling services, we partner with entities such as:
- Local Veteran/Service Member support organizations
- Local military installations
- National Guard and Reserve units
We understand that navigating the variety of resources can be a challenge. Our office can help educate you on topics such as:
- How to get VA medical benefits and register for care
- Where to go to file claims and other forms
- Understanding your VA education benefits
- Housing and home loans
- Education and referral for VA burial benefits
We can also connect you to Veterans Service Organizations in your community. Please give us a call and we will guide you to the most appropriate resource you require.
Unhealthy substance use often goes hand in hand with PTSD, depression, or stress. We can help you understand how problematic drinking, and drug use might be related to other stressors in your life, and we can teach you how to take control over your substance use. We can also connect you to more intensive or comprehensive substance use treatment programs within VA or in our community, if needed.
Our primary focus is your safety. If you feel hopeless, suicidal, or in need of crisis care, just let your counselor know so you can work together to help you feel safer and more optimistic about your future. Should you need the Veterans Crisis Line, in addition to calling them, you can also reach them via confidential chat at Veterans Crisis Line or text to 838255. Together we work to help you stay safe and improve your world.
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.