Duluth Vet Center
We conduct weekly SMART Recovery meetings every Monday evening to address addictive behaviors. You'll need to talk to a counselor and go through our intake process before attending.
We have counselors who can provide services such as these:
- Individual counseling for spouses, children, and significant others
- Couples (marriage and family therapy) counseling
- Significant others support group
Reach out to us if you or your organization would like to learn more about VA benefits and services, Veteran culture, and how we can collaborate to support the Veteran community.
We can provide individual or group educational briefings, host an exhibit at your organization's events, and establish clinical partnerships with your organizations.
We partner with organizations such as these:
- Veterans Service Organizations, community leaders, and elected representatives
- Military installations and units, including the National Guard and Reserve
- Businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and industries
- Health care systems and providers, members of the clergy, government agencies, and many more
If you're having trouble adjusting after someone close to you has passed away, let us know.
We have bereavement counseling and support available if this describes you:
- Families of Veterans who were receiving Vet Center services at the time of the Veteran's death
- Families of service members who died while serving on active duty
We can also connect you to the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) for assistance with burial and survivor services.
Care at our center includes services such as these:
- One-on-one hour-long counseling sessions targeted at your individual needs
- Group counseling for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, Vietnam Veterans, spouses/significant others, and more
- Referral services to appropriate resources in our community
We use evidence-based therapies such as these:
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
- WebSTAIR (Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation)
- Polyvagal Therapy
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Trauma-informed couples counseling
We have counselors who use a trauma-informed care approach to provide therapy and supportive services to military sexual trauma (MST) survivors. We have male and female counselors available depending on your preference. We can also facilitate enrollment and treatment in VA health care for any physical injuries related to your MST.
Readjusting to civilian life can be challenging. We can help make this transition smoother. We like to say “welcome home” to returning Veterans. We know that home is often a different place to returning Veterans.
We offer individual and group counseling for PTSD. We use evidence-based specialty care for PTSD such as these therapies:
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
- WebSTAIR (Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation)
- Polyvagal Therapy
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Trauma-informed couples counseling
Getting out of the service requires major adjustments. If you're a newly separated service member, we may be able to help you maximize your earned benefits through the Transition and Care Management (formerly OEF/OIF/OND) Program.
Learn more about the benefits available to Post-9/11 Veterans
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline also provides free and confidential text and chat features available 24/7.
Find support and resources from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
We understand that the transition from military to civilian life can be a challenge. We offer a variety of ways to assist you in that process and can help you navigate these tasks:
- How to get VA medical benefits and register for care
- Where to go to file claims and other forms
- Understanding your VA education benefits
- Help with housing and home loans
- Learning about and getting connected to VA burial benefits
- Connecting with local county Veterans Service Officers for local benefits and services
We can facilitate housing and supportive services. We work with these groups:
If you're not feeling well, you're too busy, or you're unable to come to our center for another reason, we can accommodate you with telehealth services.
We partner with and refer to VA’s Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program (IPVAP). They’re committed to helping Veterans, their partners, and VA staff who are impacted by IPV.
Find support from VA’s Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program
Or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or 800-787-3224 (TTY: 711).
We have multiple recreational groups, including these:
- “Resilience,” an 8-week whole health exercise program at the downtown Duluth YMCA that focuses on mental and physical health. This program includes free membership to the YMCA and guided workouts by a professional trainer 3 times a week.
- Guitars 4 Vets, a music therapy group with “jam sessions” once per month. May include lessons. Guitars are available.
- Vet Center Garden (seasonal), an opportunity to use plants to improve health and well-being. You can also get free food!
Call us for more information on any of these activities.
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.