Evanston Vet Center
We offer trained counselors to address substance use problems through individual and group counseling.
Call us for more information about the Recovery Now group, which meets on various days and times.
If you need additional support or a higher level of care, we collaborate with the Lovell VA Medical Center. We can also refer you to other agencies in the community.
We offer these unique therapies to support your needs:
- Gottman Method
- Family therapy
- Couples counseling
- Parenting groups
We work with our local partners and use our resources to advocate for your needs. We collaborate with partners to support our Veteran community.
Some of our partners include:
- Evanston Community Based Outpatient Clinic (VA Clinic)
- Chicago Park District
- Niles Public Library
- America Works
- Local first responders
- The National Guard, Reserve, and active-duty units
- Universities in our local community
If you or your organization would like to learn about working with Veterans and military culture and how you can help support the Veteran community, we can provide individual or education briefings. Give us a call for more information.
We offer grief and bereavement counseling if your service member dies while serving on active duty.
We can help connect you to the Veterans Benefits Administration and National Cemetery Administration to navigate burial and survivor benefits.
We offer unique individual and group therapies to support your needs.
Our therapy groups include the following:
- Readjustment group
- Era-specific groups such as Vietnam and Global War on Terror
- Whole health
- Parenting and relationship support groups
We use evidence-based therapies like these:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Prolonged Exposure (PE)
Our counselors use a trauma-informed care approach to provide therapy and supportive services to those who have experienced military sexual trauma (MST).
If you’re experiencing PTSD symptoms—such as feeling on edge, having trouble with sleep, or having issues with motivation or mood—let us know. We can provide the tools to manage these problems.
Call us to learn more about PTSD and available treatments.
We offer evidence-based practices and specialty care like these:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Prolonged Exposure (PE)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Whole health activities such as mindfulness and yoga
Find resources and other support options at VA’s National Center for PTSD
We’re here to welcome you home. We provide a community where you can connect with other Veterans and active-duty service members.
Whether you’re returning from deployment or leaving the military, we can help you connect with these tasks:
- Applying for VA health care
- Reviewing VA benefits
- Finding employment and training opportunities
- Connecting with your local Veteran Service Officer
If you need help and want to connect with another Veteran, we’re here. Some of our staff are Veterans, too. We understand Veteran and military experiences and can provide one-on-one counseling. We can connect you with our local VA suicide prevention coordinator for additional support.
Understanding your benefits, navigating health care, and choosing what is best for you are sometimes difficult tasks to manage. We can help connect you with benefits, services, and programs that support your transition from the military.
Let us help you with these tasks:
- Enrolling in VA health care and connecting with primary care
- Finding where to file a disability claim and the necessary steps to take
- Using your VA education benefits
- Finding how to apply for and use your VA home loan
- Accessing VA burial and survivor benefits
We can help you make direct connection with a Veteran Service Officer in your city or town and the local Veterans Service Organizations.
We want to make counseling convenient for you. We use virtual platforms such as WebEx and VA Videoconnect. If you can’t make it to our center because of a hectic schedule, daunting traffic, or other reasons, we can schedule a telehealth appointment with you.
You can join individual or group counseling. You’ll just need a smartphone or laptop, an internet connection, and a private location.
We have a rotating schedule of workshops often including job resources, navigating benefits, and community connections.
Contact us for more information.
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.