VA - Health Care - Readjustment Counseling (Vet Centers)
Program Description
Readjustment counseling is a wide range of services provided to combat veterans in the effort to make a satisfying transition from military to civilian life. Services include:- Individual counseling
- Group counseling
- Marital and family counseling (as it relates to the veteran's military service)
- Medical referrals
- Assistance in applying for VA benefits
- Employment counseling
- Guidance and referral
- Alcohol/drug assessments
- Information and referral to community resources.
Readjustment counseling is provided at community-based Vet Centers nationwide. In some cases, the Vet Centers can furnish services through other providers closer to a veteran's home.
Bereavement ServicesBereavement counseling is assistance and support to people with emotional and psychological stress after the death of a loved one. It includes a broad range of transition services, including outreach, counseling, and referral services to family members.
Counseling can sometimes be made available in the family's home or anywhere the family feels most comfortable.
General Program Requirements
Readjustment Counseling for Veterans and FamiliesReadjustment counseling services at the Vet Centers are not part of the Medical Benefits Package.
You don't have to apply for health care to get these services.
To qualify for readjustment services in one of VA's 200 community-based Vet Centers, you must have served in a war zone. Here are the qualifying periods and combat theaters:- WORLD WAR II - Three eligible categories
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign-Medal (Dec. 7, 1941, to Nov. 8, 1945)
- Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Medal (Dec. 7, 1941, to Mar. 2, 1946) or
- American Campaign Medal (Dec. 7, 1941, to Mar. 2, 1946)
- AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINES - In oceangoing service during the period of armed conflict, Dec. 7, 1941 to Aug. 15, 1945
- KOREAN WAR - June 27. 1950, to - July 27, 1954 (eligible for the Korean Service Medal)
- VIETNAM WAR - Feb. 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975
- LEBANON - Aug. 25, 1982, to Feb. 26, 1984
- GRENADA - Oct. 23, 1983 to Nov. 21, 1983
- PANAMA - Dec. 20, 1989 to Jan. 31, 1990
- PERSIAN GULF - Aug. 2, 1990, to - a date yet to be determined
- SOMALIA - Sept. 17, 1992 to - a date yet to be determined
- OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR, OPERATION JOINT GUARD, AND OPERATION JOINT FORGE in the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, aboard U.S. Naval vessels operating in the Adriatic Sea, or air spaces above those areas).
- GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM - Veterans who serve or have served in military expeditions to combat terrorism on or after September 11, 2001, and before a date yet to be determined
Campaigns include:- Operation "Enduring Freedom"
- Operation "Iraqi Freedom"
Bereavement Services
Family members (including parents) qualify for bereavement services if a loved one died in the line of duty in active service The death need not be combat-related.
Service may have been in peacetime or wartime.
Family members of persons who died while in reserve or National Guard training also qualify.
