Silver Spring Vet Center
We have several PTSD groups from different military eras.
Your Vet Center counselor can coordinate family and or couples counseling with you as needed for the care of the Veteran.
At the Silver Spring Vet Center, we offer individual and group counseling for all eligible Veterans, service members, and their families.
Our Groups include:
- Vietnam PTSD groups
- Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom groups
- Operation New Dawn group
- We are currently in the process of creating a women Veteran support group
Vet Center counselors must refer all group members.
Your Vet Center counselor can connect you to outpatient, or inpatient substance abuse treatment centers in the community or within the VA medical system, such as the DC VA Medical Center and or the Martinsburg VA Medical Center to coordinate further care.
The Silver Spring Vet Center can explain to you where to register for:
- VA medical benefits
- Claims for VA service-connected disability
- VA education benefits
We can connect you to VA resources such as the DC VA Medical Center and the Montgomery County Community Based Outpatient Clinic.
We can also connect you with community resources such as the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs, the Wounded Warrior Project, Serving Together Project and to Veteran community based organizations and activities, such as
- Guitars 4 Vets
- Guitar for Vets will provide 10 one on one lessons, live or virtually.
- Heroes on The Water
- To provide wellness and community to our heroes and their families through kayak fishing and the outdoors.
- Team RWB
- Our chapters and the Team RWB App deliver virtual and local, consistent, and inclusive opportunities for veterans and the community to connect through physical and social activity.
- Salute Military Golf Association (SMGA)
- The SMGA’s mission is to provide rehabilitative golf programs, experiences, and family inclusive golf opportunities for post 9/11 wounded war veterans in an effort to improve the quality of life for these American heroes.
- Wounded Warrior Project
- Through a range of programs and services, we’re transforming the way America’s injured veterans are empowered, employed, and engaged in our communities.
- The Vet Center coordinates social outings for Veterans and their families. For example, a group attended two local Minor League Baseball games, such as Frederick Key and Bowie Baysox.
- Other activities at the Vet Center support camaraderie such as: cookouts, holiday celebrations, guest speakers and more.
For more information on community resources contact the Vet Center at 301-589-1073.
- We participate in local outreach and educational events to include Post-Deployment Health Reassessment's (PDHRA), community activities and events, etc.
- We provide educational presentations on Vet Center services to community and government organizations.
- We work closely with the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs, Montgomery County Commission on Veterans Affairs, and other groups such as Serving Together Project.
- If you would like to have the Silver Spring Vet Center provide a presentation or support your outreach event, call the Vet Center at 301-589-1073.
The Silver Spring Vet Center is offering a monthly Lunch & Learn on the third Thursday of the month at 1PM on a wide range of topics. Topic include, but not limited to: Military Sexual Trauma(MST), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD), Substance Abuse, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Grief, Moral Injury and more.
To learn more contact the Silver Spring Vet Center at 301-589-1073.
Below is an example of an organizations we work with to provide Equine Therapy and other activities for Veterans and their families.
Below is examples of an organizations we work with to provide therapeutic activities for Veterans and their families.
- Guitars 4 Vets
- Guitar for Vets will provide 10 one on one lessons, live or virtually.
- Heroes on The Water
- To provide wellness and community to our heroes and their families through kayak fishing and the outdoors.
- Team RWB
- Our chapters and the Team RWB App deliver virtual and local, consistent, and inclusive opportunities for veterans and the community to connect through physical and social activity.
- Salute Military Golf Association (SMGA)
- The SMGA’s mission is to provide rehabilitative golf programs, experiences, and family inclusive golf opportunities for post 9/11 wounded war veterans in an effort to improve the quality of life for these American heroes.
- Wounded Warrior Project
- Through a range of programs and services, we’re transforming the way America’s injured veterans are empowered, employed, and engaged in our communities.
- The Vet Center coordinates social outings for Veterans and their families. For example, a group attended two local Minor League Baseball games, such as Frederick Key and Bowie Baysox.
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.