To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Fixing Mental Health Services for Veterans
With the wars coming to an end, the VA has experienced a backlog in Mental Health Services. We the signers of this petition believe fixing the Mental Health Services at the VA should be a priority. Fixing the Mental Health Services at the VA in six easy steps:
1. Double the number of counselors which will increase access to therapy in general.
2. Hire licensed behavior analysts to increase access to specialized PTSD related exposure therapies; behavioral activation coaches for depression; and Community Reinforcement for Addictions.
3. Allow psychologists to prescribe medication. Psychologists prescribe in the military and allowing them to prescribe in the VA will increase access to medication.
4. Triple the number of disability evaluations conducted by contracting sources. In this time of crisis, veterans wait time to determine their disability can be drastically decreased by decreasing the evaluation bottleneck. More private psychologists and psychiatrists doing the evaluations will drop the backlog.
5. Modernize and build at least four new VA hospitals in the next three years.
6. Double the number of peer to peer programs and hold workshops for family members on Community Reinforcement and Family Training approach to help them to guide their love-ones into a successful return adjustment.
1. Double the number of counselors which will increase access to therapy in general.
2. Hire licensed behavior analysts to increase access to specialized PTSD related exposure therapies; behavioral activation coaches for depression; and Community Reinforcement for Addictions.
3. Allow psychologists to prescribe medication. Psychologists prescribe in the military and allowing them to prescribe in the VA will increase access to medication.
4. Triple the number of disability evaluations conducted by contracting sources. In this time of crisis, veterans wait time to determine their disability can be drastically decreased by decreasing the evaluation bottleneck. More private psychologists and psychiatrists doing the evaluations will drop the backlog.
5. Modernize and build at least four new VA hospitals in the next three years.
6. Double the number of peer to peer programs and hold workshops for family members on Community Reinforcement and Family Training approach to help them to guide their love-ones into a successful return adjustment.
Why is this important?
Backlog at the VA is tragic. Poor adjustment for veterans can lead to a lifetime of problems.