North Orange County Vet Center
The Vet Center offers couples and family counseling to assist eligible Veterans and service members.
Our clinicians are trained in Evidenced Based Practices, such as Emotional Focused Therapy and the Gottman Method. Please call our office for further detail.
The Vet Center has an excellent working relationship with the Long Beach VA Medical Center and routinely receives and sends referrals to our local medical facility and Community Base Outpatient Clinics. The Substance Abuse Treatment Program located at the Long Beach VA can be reached at 562-826-5610. Please feel free to call our office for community based referrals.
The Vet Center is proud to provide support for our Gold Star families that are suffering through the tragic loss of a loved one who died during active duty.
Please call our office to schedule an appointment.
The Vet Center can provide referrals to homeless Veteran programs in our area. A key resource for Veterans homelessness in Orange County is the VA's Community Resource and Referral Center located at 888 W Santa Ana Blvd Suite 150, Santa Ana, CA 92701. They are the gateway for homeless Veterans accessing resources in Orange County and can be reached at (714) 434-4600.
At the North Orange County Vet Center we provide services for Veterans by Veterans. If you’re struggling with issues like PTSD, depression, grief, anger, or trauma, we offer counseling and other support. We can provide individual, couples, family and group counseling. We also provide referral services to appropriate resources in our community.
Care at our center includes:
- One-on-one counseling sessions targeted at your individual needs
- Couples counseling to address post military readjustment issues that are affecting relationships and families
- Group counseling for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, Vietnam Veterans; female Veterans, and more
Our clinicians are trained in a variety of evidence-based therapies such as:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Emotionally Focused Therapy
- Gottmann Method
- Motivational Interviewing
The Vet Center is proud to assist our brothers and sisters who experienced military sexual trauma. Please call our office to schedule an appointment.
Visit the National Center for PTSD to learn more.
The Vet Center is honored to support our Veterans and service men and women who are struggling with Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a delayed and often chronic reaction experienced by normal people exposed to abnormally intense amounts of stress, like the stress encountered in war zones, natural disasters, and other catastrophic situations. If you feel your military experiences may have resulted in PTSD, please call our office for an appointment to explore treatment options. You can also visit the National Center for PTSD to learn more.
Care at our center includes:
- One-on-one counseling sessions targeted at your individual needs
- Couples counseling to address post military readjustment issues that are affecting relationships and families
- Group counseling for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, Vietnam Veterans; female Veterans, and more
We use a variety of evidence-based therapies to address issues associated with PTSD such as:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Motivational Interviewing
At the North Orange County 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.
The Vet Center is proud to offer non-traditional therapy groups, such as yoga, mindfulness, art therapy, hiking groups and other activity groups. These groups are time limited and change frequently, please call for more information.
*Note due to Covid-19 restrictions group options have been scaled back or transitioned to a virtual format.
If you are need of immediate assistance after hours, please contact the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-3255 and Press 1 to be connected to a qualified VA responder. They are available 24 hours, 7 days a week. This service is free, anonymous, confidential, and is available to anyone. You do not have to be registered with the VA or enrolled in VA health care.
Veterans looking for assistance within the VA Hospital in Long Beach can call the Urgent Mental Health Clinic at 1-562-826-8000, ext. 12304 on Monday through Friday, 7:00 am - 5:00 pm or visit VA Long Beach Mental Health to learn more.
The Vet Center stands as a willing partner in the community to assist Veteran service organizations in providing services to Veterans. We have partnered with local colleges, community base non-profits, National Guard and Reserve units and active duty installations. Please call our office to learn more.
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.