The Role of Mental Health Care in Whole Health at VA

Mental health care providers are a vital part of the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) approach to Whole Health. By prioritizing the mental health of Veterans alongside their physical health in a team-based, collaborative care model, Veterans can receive the care they need to live their best life.

The impact of mental health care for Veterans at VA

With a mental health care career at VA, you can help Veterans improve their quality of life. Veterans often face unique mental health challenges, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is more prevalent among Veterans using VA care. In fact, one study found that 23% of Veterans using VA care had PTSD at some point in their lives, compared to 7% of Veterans who don't use VA for health care. By working within care teams to address mental health concerns alongside physical health concerns, VA mental health care providers can address the full picture of what a Veteran patient is going through.

This often isn't the case when Veterans seek mental health care and physical health care outside the VA system. Isolated providers often can't communicate or collaborate in the same way VA providers do under the Whole Health model.

It's also not uncommon for mental health challenges to prohibit full body healing. Take Army Veteran Jim Bedingfield, for example. After being hit by a car in 2021, it made sense to him that doctors would be focused on his physical recovery-particularly since he previously suffered a serious spinal cord injury while deployed. However, he also lost his daughter to terminal brain cancer in 2021, and VA's Whole Health approach was able to identify the care he needed for both his body and mind.

"I think it's important to realize the ability of the mind. If you can get it to a better place, it will have a positive effect on your body," he shared in this article about his Whole Health journey.

What mental health care careers look like at VA

If you're interested in making a difference in the mental health of Veterans while working within a team-based health care model, VA is the place for you. There are several different avenues for a mental health care career at VA:

• Psychologists: Use evidence-based therapies to help Veterans manage mental health conditions like PTSD or traumatic brain injuries.
• Psychiatrists: Provide critical mental health evaluations and diagnoses, while prescribing treatments such as medicine, talk therapy, or brain stimulation therapies.
• Social Workers: Assess, support, and empower Veterans through case management or crisis intervention support for Veterans and their families.
• Counselors and Therapists: Provide individual, marital, or family counseling.
• Psychiatric Nurses: Work within interdisciplinary teams to provide compassionate mental health care.
• Peer Specialists: Assist fellow Veterans in articulating their goals for recovery and personal wellness, then assisting during treatment and progress.

Work at VA

A mental health care career at VA can be rewarding, collaborative and impactful. If you're All About Veterans and their mental health, consider applying today.