Chico Vet Center
At the Chico Vet Center, we offer individual and group counseling; and will tailor your counseling experience to make you comfortable.
The Chico Vet Center offers the following groups for PTSD:
- PTSD Processing (Discuss/learn skills to cope with symptoms related to post-traumatic stress)
- OIF/OEF PTSD Coping (Learn and discuss different methods of coping with post-traumatic stress)
Specialty care includes:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Self/Group Hypnosis
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT)
Military sexual trauma can happen to both men and women. If you experienced sexual assault or harassment during military service - no matter when you served – we provide counseling and treatment.
Specialty care includes:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
The Chico Vet Center understands 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
- Understanding your VA education benefits
- Housing and home loans
- Education and referral for VA burial benefits
The Chico Vet Center can also connect you to Veterans Service Organizations in your community.
Bereavement counseling is assistance and support to people with emotional and psychological stress after the death of a loved one. Bereavement counseling includes a broad range of transition services, including outreach, counseling, and referral services to family members.
Our Vet Center offers bereavement counseling to any family members of Armed Forces personnel who died in the service of their country. Also eligible are family members of Reservists and National Guardsmen who die while on duty.
At the Chico Vet Center, we offer individual and group counseling. These counseling services can be conducted in-person, telephonically, or virtually. We also provide referral services to appropriate resources in our community.
The Chico Vet Center offers the following groups:
- Anger Management (Learn psychological and physiological theories behind anger and to explore anger management techniques)
- Here and Now (Socialization and Veteran support)
- PTSD Processing (Discuss/learn skills to cope with symptoms related to post-traumatic stress)
- OIF/OEF PTSD Coping (Learn and discuss different methods of coping with post-traumatic stress)
- Morning Joe Processing (Offers Veterans an opportunity to process any topic they wish, provided the topic is relevant to their readjustment)
- Spouses (Spouses of Veterans support group)
Specialty care includes:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Self/Group Hypnosis
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT)
The Chico Vet Center has clinicians who can provide services such as:
- Individual counseling for couples, spouses, children and significant others
- Couples counseling
The Chico Vet Center offers the following group(s) related to couples and family:
- Spouses (Spouses of Veterans support group)
Whether you are experiencing or using intimate partner violence or are concerned about someone else, there are things you can do to enhance safety, emotional well-being, and physical well-being. For more information or assistance, contact our Vet Center.
Emergency assistance: National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800−799−7233 (SAFE) or TTY 800−787−3224.
We also refer to community resources such as Catalyst, a certified provider of crisis intervention services for victims of domestic violence and their children in Butte County.
At the Chico Vet Center, we work to bridge mental health care with every other aspect of Veterans’ lives.
You can expect your counselor to help you highlight the connection between mental health and various aspects of self-care (e.g. food and drink, working your body, surroundings, spirit and soul, personal development, recharging, and relationships).
The Chico Vet Center offers the following groups for creativity and self-care:
- Poetry (Provides a opportunity and encouragement for a creative outlet for coping and processing)
- Walk n' Talk (Provides a opportunity for free-form conversation related to readjustment while also encouraging good health through exercise)
Are you a Veteran in crisis or concerned about one?
Find support anytime day or night
If these symptoms lead to thoughts of death or suicide, it’s important you talk to someone right away. The Veterans Crisis Line offers free, confidential support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
- Call 800-273-8255 and Press 1
- Chat online
- Text 838255
We offer supportive evidence-based therapies and referrals (as needed) to support your goals.
Ask your Counselor if Telehealth services are appropriate and available in effort to aide in your readjustment goals.
We understand that navigating the variety of resources can be a challenge. The Chico Vet Center can help educate you on topics such as:
- How to get VA medical benefits and register for care
- Where to go to file claims and other forms
- Understanding your VA education benefits
- Housing and home loans
- Education and referral for VA burial benefits
The Chico Vet Center can also connect you to Veterans Service Organizations in your community.
To assist bringing Vet Center information and services to eligible Veterans, the Chico Vet Center engages with various community organizations:
- Chico VA outpatient clinic
- Local Veteran/Service Member support organizations (Veterans of Foreign Wars, AmVets, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, and Vietnam Veterans of America)
- National Guard and Reserve units (649th Engineer Company)
- Local Civilian Veteran-Friendly Organizations (Butte County Veterans Continuum of Care and Tehama County Veterans Collaborative)
At the Chico Vet Center, we can connect you with the VA HUD-VASH program, V.E.C.T.O.R.S. transitional housing, or other community resources to assist you with emergency, temporary, and permanent housing options. Also, the Chico Vet Center is a proud partner of the annual Butte County Veteran Stand Down.
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.