Volume 2: It's OK To Not Be OK

That first step toward accessing mental health care can be difficult for a vet (or really anyone)- what would be your advice to a veteran who is on the fence about it, having trouble making that first call?

The process of getting help from a large health care system like the VA can be challenging. 

It’s also common for some veterans to think that they are not deserving of help, or that some other veteran or civilian is more deserving- which can lead to giving up. 

Every veteran is deserving of mental health care. Sometimes, talking with a friend or family member who has been in therapy can help demystify the process. And for some people, saying out loud that you are ‘on the fence’ can help you better understand what the reluctance to be in therapy is about. 

Sometimes veterans are concerned that if they go into therapy that they'll only talk about bad things that have happened in their life (worrying that they will start crying and not stop), which can lead to avoiding going to therapy. After all who wants to just talk about bad things?

Therapy doesn’t have to be talking about only bad things that have happened in your life. It can also be about personal goals, relationships in your life, work or career goals as well as talking about events that occurred in the past, some of which may have troubled you. 

Keith Armstrong LCSW is a recently-retired Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), who worked with veterans for 38 years, and served as a mentor and contributor to the Heart and Armor team since 2013.  He is the co-author of the acclaimed book “Courage After Fire: Coping Strategies for Troops Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and Their Families.”