Fort Myers Vet Center
The Lee County VA Healthcare Center Substance Abuse Program offers help for Veterans and service members with a chronic mental illness or substance abuse addiction by providing inpatient and outpatient treatment.
Learn more at the Lee County VA Clinic or you can call 239-652-1800 for more information.
We have licensed marriage and family therapists and specially trained counselors to assist Veterans, service members, and family members to create effective and practical plans for personal growth.
We take pride in our community involvement and engagement. We work closely with community stakeholders and partners to find solutions for active duty, National Guard and reserve service members, and Veterans who need assistance.
We have the unique outreach opportunity to offer services to the community of Fort Myers and surrounding areas by using our Mobile Vet Center. In the event of a natural disaster, the MVC can and has been used for its extraordinary communications capabilities and versatility it provides in an emergency situation.
We also provide referral services to VA resources and community agencies. These include:
We offer grief and bereavement counseling services to family members of Veterans and service members for the following:
- Receiving Vet Center counseling services at the time of the Veteran’s death
- Families of service members who died while on active duty
We offer individual and group counseling for Veterans, service members, and their families as needed.
Note: Groups are by counselor recommendation.
- Vietnam support group
- GWOT (Global War on Terrorism) group
- Multiple mixed PTSD group
- Psychotherapy groups
Specialty care includes:
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Call us for more information at 239-652-1861.
You’ll first meet with the Vet Center Director and then be scheduled with a counselor. Our counselors are licensed, certified, and trained to assist those who experienced sexual trauma while serving in the military. Male and female readjustment counselors are available.
Care at our Vet Center includes one-on-one and group counseling services for active duty, National Guard and Reserves, and Veterans. We also provide couples and bereavement counseling services.
Types of treatment modalities offered include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
We offer guidance in many different areas of a Veteran’s transition from military to civilian life. We work with both active and non-active service members in obtaining resources and benefits the Veteran or service member has earned. Here’s a list of important resources a Veteran or service member might need:
Benefits
- The Florida Department of Veteran Affairs Veteran Service Officers (VSOs) are available statewide to help you process your VA claim. These services are free of charge, and the VSOs are all Veterans who have chosen to serve their fellow Veterans and Veteran families. All their VSOs are well versed on communicating your unique situation to VA efficiently and effectively.
- Phone number: 239-652-1800, ext. 20084
Veteran Readiness and Employment
- The Veteran Readiness and Employment Office can assist with educational programs and employment preparation. Contact the office to set up an appointment.
- Phone number: 239-433-7548
- Location: 11934 Fairway Lakes Drive #3, Fort Myers, FL 33913
Enrollment into health care
Lee County Healthcare Center
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Phone number: 239-652-1800
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Location: 2489 Diplomat Parkway East, Cape Coral, FL 33909
Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH)
- The VASH staff can help with getting Veterans connected to useful resources, and one-on-one assistance with programs like housing assistance, residential support services, and assistance with emergency household expenses.
- Phone: 239-652-1800
- Location: 2489 Diplomat Parkway East, Cape Coral, FL 33909
You can also text 838255. If you have hearing loss, call TTY: 800-799-4889.
You can also:
- Call 911.
- Go to the nearest emergency room.
- Go directly to your nearest VA medical center. It doesn’t matter what your discharge status is or if you’re enrolled in VA health care.
Find your nearest VA medical center
We can help you know where to go and how to do the following:
- How to get VA medical benefits and register for care
- Where to go to file claims to Veterans Benefits Administration and other forms
- Understanding your VA education benefits
- Vocational Rehabilitation registration
- Local Community Stakeholders who assist active duty, Reservist, and Veterans in need
We offer virtual counseling and outreach through VA Video Connect and Soft Phone Application.
For our Veterans and service members living in rural areas, this is a great resource to use because transportation can be a struggle and our facility may not be close to the Veteran’s or service member’s residence.
If you have any questions, please call 239-652-1861.
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.