Honolulu Vet Center
The Honolulu Vet Center offer counseling services to eligible Veterans, active duty Servicemembers, members of the National Guard and Reserve, and their families. Readjustment counseling is offered to help our clients make successful transitions in life after stressful or traumatic military events.
Services include:
- Individual counseling - to cope with personal changes caused by stressful or traumatic events in the military.
- Couples/marital/family counseling - for family issues that are related to military stressors or trauma and post-military readjustment.
- Group counseling services - to join with other service members and veterans dealing with similar readjustment issues in a safe, non-judgmental, and confidential setting.
Current on-going groups available at the Honolulu Vet Center are:
- Combat Vet Support.
- Global War on Terror (GWOT) Veteran.
- Women's Support Group.
- Women's Trauma Skills.
- Women's Resilience.
- Vietnam Veteran.
New and different groups are added from time to time. Counseling services can be brief or as long as needed. If you are interested in services, please give us a call to speak with one of our counselors.
The Honolulu Vet Center provides counseling and support to Veterans, active duty Service Members, and members of the National Guard and Reserve who may be experiencing post-traumatic stress related to their military service.
If you want to find out more about post-traumatic stress or start treatment, give us a call to speak with one of our counselors. We use a variety of approaches to help individuals recover from trauma including:
- Supportive counseling.
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
- Solution Focused Therapy.
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
- Problem Solving Therapy.
- Mindfulness-based approaches.
Counseling is provided in one-to-one, couples/family and/or group settings. Counseling services are free, confidential and can be as brief or as long as needed.
Our Vet Center counselors are here to help you with safe and effective counseling approaches that respect and build on your strengths and resilience. We can also help you access other VA treatment programs for military sexual trauma.
Bereavement counseling is available for family members after the death of an active duty Service Member or for family members/caregivers of a Veteran who was in counseling and also receiving hospice or similar care. Services are confidential and free.
Vet Center staff understand that the psychological effects of stress and trauma can have an impact on a person's family relationships. Our counselors have a number of approaches to help strengthen family relationships when Veterans and Service Members are recovering from their military experiences.
Our current counseling approaches include:
- Gottman Method.
- Solution Focused Counseling.
- Cognitive Behavioral Couples Therapy.
- Cognitive Behavioral Couples Therapy for PTSD.
Vet Center counseling records are kept separate from the VA healthcare system medical records. Counseling services can be as brief or as long as needed.
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call the Veterans Crisis Line. Additionally, you can connect with qualified VA responders via:
- Chat online
- Text: 838255
We also encourage Veterans and Servicemembers to checkout VA's Mental health Apps for additional resources.
Honolulu Vet Center counselors are available for ongoing counseling needs. Please contact our office to explore services to address your mental health care.
Our staff are available to address questions regarding VA Benefits, VA Healthcare, and VA Burial benefits. We can provide appropriate referrals to point you to organizations and services in the community that may serve your needs best.
We host a VA benefits informational brief virtually currently done twice a month. In this briefing, Veterans and their families can expect to learn how to access VA benefits, navigate VA claim process, and be connected to appropriate Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) to best represent and guide Veterans on VA claims.
Visit VA Pacific Islands Healthcare System (VAPIHCS) for information about VA medical centers within the pacific area.
Visit Honolulu Regional Office for information relevant to local Veterans within the pacific area.
Please connect with one of our staff for assistance/referrals with community resources available to Veterans and their families. Services are free and strictly confidential.
Our staff are available to attend community events where Veterans and families of Veterans may be in attendance. We can provide information and education to all Veterans and their families about benefits and services available at VA.
We are available for in-service informational brief to any community organizations/businesses, National Guard/Reserve Units, and Active Duty Units interested in learning about our services.
Please contact our office if your organization would like a Vet Center staff to attend an event or to provide an in-service informational brief.
Our counselors are sensitive to the issue of addictions and substance use when there is stress and trauma. We can help you decide what kind of help would be best for you at this time.
Honolulu Vet Center has a long tradition of recreation and creative arts therapy activities. These activities have been facilitated by our staff and by expert community providers. We have offered group activities such as creative writing, archery, tai chi, yoga, walking, art therapy, photography, guitar, surfing, and others. If you would like more information about what is currently available, please contact our office to speak with one of our staff.
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.