Rockford Vet Center
We work closely with and refer to VA and community providers for addiction support, including these:
We offer the following evidence-based treatments:
- Emotionally Focused Therapy. This helps individuals and couples deal with problematic emotional states and interpersonal relationships.
- Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy. This approach uses a variety of strategies to promote greater emotional acceptance as well as concrete change.
Our team works with local providers to collaborate and support Veterans and service members in our community.
Some of our partnerships include the following:
- YMCA
- Veterans Drop-In Center
- National Guard, Reserve, and active-duty units
We offer counseling and other support, such as the following:
- Bereavement counseling for 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.
- Grief counseling
- Contact information to the Veterans Benefits Administration and National Cemetery regarding possible burial and survival benefits
We offer individual and group counseling. We also provide referral services to appropriate resources in our community.
Our services include the following:
- One-on-one hour-long counseling sessions targeted at your individual goals
- Group counseling for post-9/11 Veterans and Vietnam Veterans; see our spotlight about additional groups
We use evidence-based therapies such as these:
- Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Our counselors use a trauma-informed care approach to provide therapy and supportive services to those who have experienced MST.
We offer individual and group counseling. See our spotlight about our groups.
Evidence-based therapies are available, such as these:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Our personnel are knowledgeable on a wide range of federal and state benefits for Veterans and their families, including guidance regarding VA compensation and pension claims, retirement benefits, and survivor benefits.
Our primary focus is your safety. If you feel hopeless, suicidal, or in need of crisis care, let your counselor know. We can work together to help you feel safer and more optimistic about your future. Should you need the Veterans Crisis Line, in addition to calling them, you can also reach them via confidential chat by texting 838255.
Together we’ll work to help you stay safe and improve your world.
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 such as:
- How to get VA medical benefits and register for care
- Where to go to file claims and other forms
- How to learn more about VA education benefits
- How to get housing and home loans
- How to learn more about VA burial benefits
We can connect you to Veterans Service Organizations in your community.
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.