Tampa Vet Center
We can connect you to inpatient or outpatient substance use treatment in the community or our local VA Medical Center Substance Use Disorder (SUD) program.
We use VA Video Connect (VVC) to provide services via telehealth. VVC allows for those who are unable to conduct in-person visits to still engage with their counselors without having to come to the Vet Center.
We're committed to functioning as a focal point where Veterans, service members, and community partners can connect and engage. We actively partner with the following entities:
- Bay Area Legal Services - Assists eligible Veterans with an array of legal concerns
- K9 Partners for Patriots - Assists eligible Veterans in the training of service dogs
- Habitat for Humanity Hillsborough County - Assists eligible Veterans to own their own home
- Crisis Center of Tampa Bay - Assists Veterans and their family members with crisis counseling
- MacDill’s Military and Family Readiness Center - Assists active-duty members with resources and information
- Florida Kid Care - Assists eligible Veterans to get dental insurance for their children
We support Gold Star Families. Our counselors offer grief and bereavement counseling to family members of service members who died while serving on active duty or to family members of Veterans who were receiving services at the time of their death. We can also help you connect with both the Veterans Benefits Administration and National Cemetery Administration.
We offer both individual and group counseling. We employ the following evidence-based therapies at our facility:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
- Trauma Informed Guilt Reduction (TrIGR)
- Gottman Method (for couples)
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (CBCT) for PTSD
We use evidence-based therapies and supportive services to treat those who have experienced military sexual trauma (MST). We have both male and female counselors available to help you based on your preference.
We offer both individual and group counseling. We employ the following evidence-based therapies at our facility:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
- Trauma Informed Guilt Reduction (TrIGR)
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (CBCT) for PTSD
Our team recognizes that completing military service can come with a variety of new challenges. We can provide education and connection for the following areas of concern:
- VA health care benefits
- Employment opportunities
- VA educational benefits
- Federal, state, and local Veteran benefits and services
Our team can connect you with the VA's Homeless Heroes Program. The program's national number is (877) 424-3838.
The following are links to some of our VA connections as well as community stakeholders:
James Haley Veterans Hospital - Assists Veterans to get VA medical benefits and other resources and information
Hillsborough County Veteran Service Office - Assists Veterans, dependents, and survivors to file service-connected claims
VA’s benefits information and questions - Assists Veterans, dependents, and survivors of Veterans with information on an array of VA offices and programs
VA’s Home Loan Guaranty Program - Assists Veterans to understand and get the required document to participate in VA’s Home Loan Guaranty Program
National Cemetery Administration - Assists Veterans and the survivors of Veterans to understand and get the required documents to participate in VA’s burial and memorial benefits
We can also connect you to Veterans Service Organizations, which are located in the Hillsborough County area.
Counseling is centered around the service member or Veteran’s goals in readjusting after service or trauma.
This may differ from couples and family counseling in traditional settings. While the family unit is the focus, the services are driven by the Veteran or active-duty service member. To continue counseling, the Veteran or active-duty service member will need to remain engaged at all times. We offer a number of modalities, psychoeducation, and most importantly support.
You’ll need to complete an intake before scheduling a couples or family counseling session.
Seeking help is a the first step to feeling safer and more optimistic about your future. We're here to help you regain a sense of purpose. We can offer:
- A non-judgmental approach to further understanding your circumstance
- Validation of your feelings and experience
- An opportunity to create safety
- An opportunity to create meaning
- Reminders that you are not alone in this journey
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.