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Sometimes, when you experience a traumatic event — a car accident, an IED blast, military sexual trauma, or the death of a fellow Service member — that moment can continue to bother you weeks, months, and even years later.

That can mean reliving the event: constantly replaying it in your head. It can mean avoiding places or things that remind you of the experience. It can also mean nightmares, sleeplessness, or anxiety. You might feel numb or, conversely, feel hyperaware of your surroundings.

The symptoms and effects of posttraumatic stress disorder, commonly known as PTSD, can disrupt your everyday life. People with PTSD sometimes withdraw from their family members and friends. They can find it hard to concentrate, startle easily, and lose interest in things they used to care about. Some may try to dull their feelings by misusing alcohol or drugs.

If you think you might have PTSD, there are resources to help you recover. Even if your symptoms come and go — or surfaced months or years after the traumatic event — effective treatments are available. Call us at 661-267-1026 to explore and to learn about treatment options, self-help tools, and more.

The Federal Way Vet Center has licensed clinicians standing by to provide counseling services for couples, spouses, children, and partners. 

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 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1
• Chat online
• Text 838255

We understand that navigating the variety of resources can be a challenge. The Las Cruces 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 Las Cruces Vet Center can also connect you to Veterans Service Organizations in your community.

At the Las Cruces Vet Center, we offer flexibility by offering a variety of appointment modalities to meet your individual needs to include in-person, video, and phone appointments. Ask how we can complement your in-person care with virtual services. 

To complement our counseling services, the Las Cruces Vet Center partners with entities such as: 

• Las Cruces VA Clinic 
• New Mexico Department of Veterans Services 
• Local Veteran/Service Member support organizations
• Local military installations
• National Guard and Reserve units

At the Las Cruces Vet Center, we can connect you with the VA HUD-VASH program or other community resources.

At the Las Cruces 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 Las Cruces 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 Las Cruces Vet Center can also connect you to Veterans Service Organizations in your community.

At the Las Cruces Vet Center, we offer individual and group counseling.

Care at our Center includes:

• Anger management
• Stress management
• Activity engagement

Evidence-based therapies such as:

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)
• Gottmann Method