Kalispell Vet Center
Groups:
- Veterans in Recovery (VIR) Group- Attendees discuss staying active in recovery from addiction and brainstorm pitfalls as well as strategies to help foster long-term sobriety.
- Seeking Change- Attendees explore what better balance in their lives would look like, focus on addictions and harm-reduction, increasing motivation for change.
The Kalispell Vet Center provides eligible Veterans, and in some cases their family members, a variety of direct psychological services. We strongly encourage spouse/significant other involvement in Veteran counseling as a resource that cannot be overlooked. Families are strongly encouraged to participate in the healing process for Veterans.
Groups:
- Spousal and Caregiver Support Group- Process/support group with psychoeducational component for spouses and caretakers of Veterans while addressing challenges and self care.
The Kalispell co-chairs the Veteran Service Providers meeting addressing how to provide more support for Veterans in the community and educating and keeping everyone informed about what events and services are being offered for Veterans in the local and surrounding area.
We would also like to thank our supporters and community members/agencies who network with us to support our Veterans in the community.
Kalispell's support includes:
- Bereavement counseling for families after the death of an active duty service member
- Community referrals for bereavement counseling
Groups:
- Combat Groups- War Experience- Established process/support group with psychoeducational component for Veterans who’ve been in combat operations
- You Are Not Alone Group- Established process/support group with psychoeducational component
Military sexual trauma counseling may include individual or group counseling, marital and family counseling, referral for benefits assistance, liaison with community agencies or substance abuse information and referral to help you deal with the emotions of military sexual trauma and regain confidence in your everyday life.
Groups:
MST Support Group- Process/support group with MST psychoeducational component
Treatment modalities currently offered included but not limited to:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy(CBT)
- Web Based Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (Webstair)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Groups
Kalispell Vet Center personnel are knowledgeable on a wide range of benefits for Veterans and their families, including guidance regarding VA compensation and pension claims, retirement benefits, and survivor benefits.
Suicide prevention and awareness classes and trainings are available to anyone in the community on a group and individual basis. We network and work with multiple resources in local and state agencies to provide the best and most effective suicide awareness and prevention for Veterans and the community. For more information contact Veteran Outreach Program Specialist Adam at (404)257-7308 or (406)594-1411.
- Tuesday Support Group- Attendees check-in, sharing understanding and encouragement for each other, setting goals for themselves, and getting connected to supportive resources through community.
- Vietnam Combat Group- Process/support group with psychoeducational component while building a connection to supportive resources through community and camaraderie.
The Kalispell Vet Center has partnered with multiple organizations to help provide housing, job and educational assistance, and food. There are many resources available to help assist Veterans who are looking for support to get back to where they want to be.
The Kalispell Vet Center is a safe environment for LGBTQIA + clients to help find support. The Vet Center networks with the VA and can connect the Veterans to an array of different support groups for the LGBTQIA community. Contact a counselor for more information.
The Kalispell Vet Center has robust and expansive rec therapy and arts program to provide the most comprehensive and effective therapy for our Veterans including adaptive recreational opportunities.
Some activities the Vet Center hosts or participates in include but are not limited to: (Contact the Vet Center for more details)
- Ski/Snowboarding Weekends
- Indoor Archery Group Gathering
- Native American Sweats
- Whitewater Rafting
- Fly Fishing Trips
- Bowling
- Mountain Biking
- Painting
- Ceramics
- Golf
- Stand-up Paddle boarding
- Waterskiing/Wake boarding/Wake surfing
- Family Lake Day
- Kayaking
- SCUBA Therapy
- Movie Discussion Gathering
The Kalispell Vet Center works with the local tribes to provide the best support possible to the Native American community. The Vet Center also have a Tribal Veterans Representative who has been trained to better understand how to better support the Native communities.
The Kalispell Vet Center works with Veterans Upward Bound and VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment to provide the support Veterans need to successfully return to school and further their education.
Groups:
- Female Veteran Gathering- Female Veteran social hour for coffee and camaraderie
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.