Lowell Vet Center
Our counselors specialize in the Gottman Method for couples counseling. We offer couples workshops in the evenings and on the weekends when it's convenient for you. Learn more about the Gottman Method
We know being a parent can be difficult. We provide gender specific support groups to discuss the challenges of parenting and learning new parenting skills.
We support Gold Star Families. We offer grief and bereavement counseling if your service member died while serving on active duty. Read more about Gold Star Families
We can help get you connected to the Veterans Benefits Administration and National Cemetery Administration and navigate burial and survivor benefits using the Planning Your Legacy Toolkit. Check out VA's toolkit for burial benefits and pre-need planning information
Our counselors use a trauma-informed care approach to provide therapy and supportive services to those who have experienced military sexual trauma (MST).
We have groups for MST survivors to focus on processing trauma and receive support from other MST survivors. Please call if you are interested in joining a group.
Symptoms of PTSD such as feeling on edge, trouble with sleep, motivation, or mood may be getting you off track. We can provide the tools to manage these problems. You can learn more about PTSD and treatments available by giving us a call.
We offer evidence-based practices and specialty care to include:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Prolonged Exposure (PE)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Adaptive Disclosure
- Whole health activities such as mindfulness and yoga
- Seeking Safety for PTSD and substance use
We offer individual and group therapy to women Veterans. We can connect you with a group that may include mentorship, creative arts, or community reading. We work closely with the Women Veterans Program Manager at our local VA to help you get the specific care you need.
We work with our local partners and use our resources to advocate for your needs.
Some of our partners include:
- YMCA
- AgeSpan
- North Shore Veterans Coalition
- Care Dimensions
- North Shore Veterans Collaborative
- Local first responders
- The National Guard, Reserves, and Active Duty units
- College and Universities in our local community
If you or your organization would like to learn about working with Veterans and military culture or how you can support the Veteran community, we can provide individual or group educational briefings. Give us a call for more information.
Understanding your benefits, navigating health care, and choosing what is best for you are sometimes difficult tasks to manage. We can help connect with benefits, services, and programs that support your transition from the military.
Let us help you with:
- Enrolling in VA healthcare and connecting with primary care
- Where to file a disability claim and the necessary steps to take
- Using your VA education benefits
- 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 Veteran Service Organizations.
Find a Veteran Service Officer near you
If you are a women Veteran, you can find resources by connecting with the Massachusetts Women Veteran Network. It was created by the MA Department of Veteran Services as a place women Veterans can connect with other women Veterans and to find services available specifically for you. Learn more by visiting Massachusetts Women Veteran Network or speak with the Veteran Outreach Program Specialist at the Lowell Vet Center for more information.
We understand navigating and preparing for the end-of-life process can be difficult. We offer the Legacy Workshop to help. The workshop focuses on the death and dying process. We discuss different phases of life, current life, end of life, and post death. We partner with Age Span (previously known as Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley), VA Geriatric and Extend Care Programs, Veterans Benefits Administration and other local resources to bring in guest speakers who specialize in this process. Contact the Lowell Vet Center for more information on this workshop.
We offer unique individual and group therapies to support your needs.
Group therapies
- Readjustment Group
- Mindfulness Drop-In Group
- Music Group
- Era-specific groups such as Vietnam and Global War on Terror
- Community reading groups
- Whole Health
- Women Veteran Groups
- Parenting and relationship support groups
- Seeking Safety
Evidence-based therapies
- 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)
- Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT)
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
- Prolonged Exposure (PE)
We can help you get connected to substance use programs both inpatient and outpatient with the VA. We also work closely with our community partners to help you with addiction, detox, or to gain stability.
We offer group support too. Our Seeking Safety group will teach you skills to cope with impacts of trauma and substance use, and to feel more in control of your day-to-day life.
We work closely with:
If you need help and want to connect with another Veteran, we are here. Some of our staff are Veterans, too. We understand Veteran and military experiences and can provide one-on-one counseling. We connect you with our local VA suicide prevention coordinator for additional support.
Whole Health centers around what matters to you, not what is the matter with you. Our team will get to know you as a person, before working with you to develop a personalized health plan based on your values, needs, and goals.
We offer quarterly group hikes with our 125th Mountain Company hiking group in the White Mountains and other locations surrounding the Lowell Vet Center. We also partner with local agencies to provide recreational activities such as kayaking, canoeing, and fly fishing.
Our Create Self Group for women Veterans is a creative therapy group that blends Internal Family Systems and Soul Collage to promote self-expression and trauma processing. Give us a call to find out when our next group or activity takes place.
We proudly celebrate diversity among those we serve and can connect you with bilingual services for individual or group counseling with us.
We proudly celebrate diversity among those we serve. We work closely with the LGTBQ+ Veteran care coordinator at our local VA and can make direct referrals.
We are here to welcome you home. We provide a community where you can connect with other Veterans and service members.
Whether you are returning from deployment or leaving the military, we can help you connect with:
- Bedford VA Transition Care Management team
- Applying for VA healthcare
- Reviewing VA Benefits
- Employment and training opportunities
- Your local Veteran Service Officer for state benefits such as the Welcome Home Bonus
Give us a call, we’ve got your six!
We have counselors trained to provide support to you or someone you know experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV), often called domestic violence. We can make a direct referral to the Bedford VA Safing Center, which specializes in treatment and prevention of IPV with Veterans.
We offer a specialized group, Strength at Home, in partnership with the Bedford VA. Please call us for more information.
If you are feeling unsafe and need additional support, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
Our team can connect you with VA’s HUD-VASH Program, Supportive Services for Veterans and Families, and other community resources and partners to help you.
The Bedford VA offers a homeless Veteran walk-in clinic, weekdays, from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. on the main Bedford campus in building 7, Room 206. The address is 200 Springs Road, Bedford, MA 01730.
You can also call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838 for assistance and support.
Visit VA’s HUD-VASH Program, Supportive Services for Veterans and Families for more information.
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 the Lowell Vet Center because of a hectic schedule, daunting traffic, or not feeling well we can schedule a telehealth appointment with you. You can join individual or group counseling, by grabbing your smartphone or laptop, having an internet connection, and finding a private location. We will be there for you!
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.