{"id":199422,"date":"2026-03-12T05:33:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/?p=199422"},"modified":"2026-03-12T05:33:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:33:45","slug":"how-trump-is-failing-veterans-who-need-mental-health-care-propublica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/?p=199422","title":{"rendered":"How Trump Is Failing Veterans Who Need Mental Health Care \u2014 ProPublica"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-reporting-highlights\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reporting Highlights<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Mental Health Staff Losses:<\/strong> Hundreds of mental health professionals left the Department of Veterans Affairs since President Donald Trump took office.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Veterans Left Adrift:<\/strong> Veterans are facing an array of problems: They can\u2019t get the VA to call them back, they see trusted therapists leave and they can wait as long as six months for therapy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Providers Feel the Strain:<\/strong> Mental health workers told ProPublica they left their jobs because of increased work loads, ethical concerns and new policies that they say undermined care.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-propublica-reporting-highlights__disclaimer\">These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>As Jason Beaman recounts his long slog searching for mental health therapy last year, he sounds defeated.<\/p>\n<p>The first therapist assigned to him by the Department of Veterans Affairs told him at their initial meeting that she was leaving the agency. A few months later, his second therapist told him she was also leaving. An appointment with a third counselor was canceled with no explanation.<\/p>\n<p>These were huge setbacks for the 54-year-old veteran of the Navy and Army Reserve. Nearly a decade ago, a spiral of depression and anxiety left him homeless and living on the streets of Spokane, Washington. A VA social worker threw him a lifeline, helping him apply for benefits, find housing and get into therapy.<\/p>\n<p>He still needs mental health care, he and his physician say. But bouncing from therapist to therapist has left him exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just quit. I don\u2019t want to mess with the therapist anymore,\u201d Beaman said. He spends much of his time now alone playing video games or walking with his dogs.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium bb--size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"940\" width=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752\" alt=\"A seated man, wearing a blue checkered shirt and blue jeans, ruffles the fur of a dog\u2019s neck.\" class=\"wp-image-68444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,960 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=819,1024 819w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1229,1536 1229w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1638,2048 1638w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1079 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,528 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,690 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,698 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,659 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,940 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1436 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1280,1600 1280w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,500 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1000 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1500 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2000 1600w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260204-Rasmussen-VACuts-018_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2500 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Beaman, a veteran of two military branches, gave up searching for a new therapist after attempting to meet regularly with several different providers after his move to Nebreska. He eventually met with a therapist in January, after months of false starts.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After President Donald Trump returned to office last year, his administration announced plans to overhaul the VA, one of the largest health care systems in the country, to deliver \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scrippsnews.com\/us-news\/military\/secretary-doug-collins-outlines-a-plan-for-streamlining-care-at-veterans-affairs#:~:text=Collins%20says%20his%20long%20term,broadcast%2C%20rewritten%2C%20or%20redistributed.\">the highest quality care<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis administration is finally going to give the veterans what they want,\u201d VA Secretary Doug Collins said last March, as the department announced tens of thousands of job cuts.<\/p>\n<p>But in interview after interview, veterans across the country told ProPublica that one year into the second Trump administration it\u2019s become more difficult to get treatment, as hundreds of therapists and social workers have left the VA. Many of them have not been replaced.<\/p>\n<p>While front-line mental health care workers were largely exempted from the job cuts, hundreds chose to leave anyway. Some cited disagreements with new administration policies, including several targeting the LGBTQ+ community, while others, facing diminished ranks, said they simply could no longer provide proper care.<\/p>\n<section class=\"wp-block-propublica-series-timeline\">\n<\/section>\n<p>In January, the department had around 500 fewer psychologists and psychiatrists than it had at the same time last year, ProPublica found.<\/p>\n<p>Although the losses represent a relatively small number \u2014 about 4% of psychologists and 6% of psychiatrists \u2014 they are notable for an agency that has long struggled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/how-veterans-affairs-fails-mental-health-patients\">with inadequate mental health staffing<\/a>. For years, administrators have listed psychologists in particular among their most \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vaoig.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/2024-08\/vaoig-24-00803-222.pdf\">severe staffing shortages<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mental health is not the only area where the VA has lost medical staff. The agency has eliminated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/03\/us\/politics\/veterans-affairs-nurses-doctors-cut.html?unlocked_article_code=1.QVA.CX_u.YQOi8V3z_qzj&amp;smid=url-share\">more than 14,000<\/a> vacant health care positions across the system, according to data first reported by The New York Times.<\/p>\n<p>Data published by the VA going back to May 2023 shows that the agency was adding psychologists every quarter until Trump\u2019s return to the White House. Then, the trend flipped, with departures outpacing hires in all four quarters of last year.<\/p>\n<p>Compounding the losses, the agency\u2019s cohort of social workers, some of whom are licensed therapists who provide mental health counseling, declined by nearly 700 staffers over the year.<\/p>\n<p>To better understand the departures and their impact on veterans\u2019 care, ProPublica interviewed dozens of former and current VA staffers as well as patients.<\/p>\n<p>ProPublica also examined a previously unreported internal employee exit survey, which included hundreds of responses from mental health care workers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMental Health is understaffed, burned out, and there is not enough mental health care for the Veterans who need the services,\u201d wrote one New York-based former employee, according to the records.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSupport is no longer there to provide ethical and good care for these Veterans,\u201d wrote a second, based in Indiana. \u201cScheduling issues are incredibly high due to poor staff hiring and retainment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet another wrote that the number of new patients seeking help at their Kansas facility was far too high, making it \u201cunethical to accept more veterans in our clinics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many of those vacated positions have gone unfilled due to a yearlong hiring freeze, which was only lifted in January.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-lead-in\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-after-hiring-spree-under-biden-va-lost-mental-health-staff-when-trump-returned-to-office\">After Hiring Spree Under Biden, VA Lost Mental Health Staff When Trump Returned to Office<\/h3>\n<p>The losses under the new administration amount to 4% of the agency\u2019s psychologists, 6% of psychiatrists and 3% of social workers.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-propublica-html\">\n\t<iframe title=\"Mental Health Providers Staffing Drop\" aria-label=\"Grouped column chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-tCDQi\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/tCDQi\/2\/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"380\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><figcaption class=\"attribution\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"attribution__caption\">Note: Quarters are labeled by calendar, not fiscal, year. Source: VA workforce dashboard, internal data.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Echoing the exit survey, many who remain on staff describe crushing workloads as they struggle to fill the gaps. Those reached by ProPublica, who agreed to speak only under the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said that as staffing losses mount, they\u2019ve seen their patient loads increase, while administrators shorten their appointments and pack more and more clients into group therapy sessions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was always bad,\u201d said one VA psychologist, referring to staffing at a facility in Arizona. \u201cAnd now it\u2019s at a breaking point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The therapist described being stretched so thin that schedulers replaced some one-on-one sessions with online group sessions that included as many as 35 veterans. The therapist said despite that they were still overloaded with individual sessions and had to limit each one to as little as 16 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>The VA declined ProPublica\u2019s request to interview an official familiar with its mental health programs. In an email, VA spokesperson Peter Kasperowicz accused ProPublica of attempting to mislead the public by \u201ccherry picking issues that are limited to a handful of sites and in many cases were worse under the Biden Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He argued that the agency\u2019s performance around mental health has improved since Trump took office, citing more than 15.5 million direct mental health care appointments in the most recent fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025), a 4% increase from the previous fiscal year. He did not say whether those additional appointments were for individual therapy. Kasperowicz also noted that the administration has opened 25 new health care clinics.<\/p>\n<p>After ProPublica shared its findings and the names of veterans who would appear in this story, the agency reached out to several to inquire about their care and offer help. The veterans told ProPublica they remained skeptical that the VA would consistently respond to their mental health needs.<\/p>\n<p>As the ranks of mental health care providers at the VA have shrunk, the department has proposed shifting billions of dollars into community care, a program in which veterans obtain health care via private physicians and other providers. But the program has been stretched thin amid the loss of administrative staff and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.veteranspolicy.org\/journalism-and-commentary\/press-release\/vhpi-releases-comprehensive-national-analysis-on-private-care-gaps\">ongoing issues<\/a> finding private therapists, ProPublica found, with veterans encountering longer delays as they seek help.<\/p>\n<p>In December, patients waited an average of around 25 days just to receive a confirmed appointment date, nearly four times the VA\u2019s stated goal for scheduling community care.<\/p>\n<p>Collins has disputed assertions that there\u2019s a systemwide problem with access to mental health care. \u201cAnd if you need emergency care, or are in a crisis situation, you have immediate care,\u201d he told a Senate committee in January.<\/p>\n<p>He said the VA\u2019s average wait time for new patients seeking mental health care appointments was less than 20 days, the number it has set as its goal. But other VA officials have acknowledged problems with access.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are wait times at some facilities that are beyond what our expectations and standards would be,\u201d Dr. Ilse Wiechers, assistant undersecretary for health for patient care services, told senators at a separate hearing.<\/p>\n<p>ProPublica\u2019s analysis found that wait times fluctuate dramatically, and fast access to care can depend on location. For example, the small clinic near Beaman\u2019s home in rural Nebraska, with its comparatively small staff, saw appointment wait times for new mental health clients climb as high as 60 days in December and drop to 20 days in February, according to the VA figures.<\/p>\n<p>But a closer look at the entire VA system reveals that a large number of facilities are struggling. In early February, more than half of its hospitals and clinics reported one-on-one mental health appointment wait times for new patients that were longer, and in some cases far longer, than the VA\u2019s 20-day goal, according to a ProPublica analysis of data published on the agency\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<p>In late December, Beaman said he received an email from the VA saying he\u2019d been approved for additional therapy. He was able to meet with a therapist in January \u2014 after about six months of waiting and going more than a year without a session. In the interim, he said, he relied on prescription medications, video games and his therapy dogs to keep him steady. Still, his anxiety worsened, he said, and now he often feels so uncomfortable around others that he rarely leaves his home except to walk his dogs while wearing headphones so no one speaks to him.<\/p>\n<p>Kasperowicz, the VA spokesperson, wrote in his email to ProPublica that Beaman had \u201cmore than a dozen mental health visits at VA between late 2024 to mid-2025 through the Cheyenne VA clinic\u201d in Wyoming, which is about an hour-and-a-half trip for Beaman. Kasperowicz declined, however, to say whether those appointments involved the one-on-one mental health counseling Beaman had requested. Beaman said he only had two sessions for one-on-one therapy in 2025 \u2014 meetings that were truncated because of the therapists\u2019 impending departures.<\/p>\n<p>Kasperowicz also said that one of Beaman\u2019s appointments didn\u2019t occur because he had \u201cmoved.\u201d Beaman, however, said he has lived at only one address in Nebraska.<\/p>\n<p>Experts warn that the exodus of mental health care providers from the VA has hurt the agency\u2019s ability to meet veterans\u2019 unique needs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVA psychologists are best in class,\u201d said Russell Lemle, former chief psychologist for the San Francisco VA Health Care System and a senior policy analyst at the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute. \u201cThey have research and training and decades-long experience\u201d working with veterans.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you lose them, the veterans are the ones who pay the price,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-full bb--size-medium bb--size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"2048\" width=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?w=2560\" alt=\"A pink plastic figurine of a soldier pointing a firearm rests on a green marble table.\" class=\"wp-image-69161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=300,240 300w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=768,614 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1024,819 1024w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1536,1229 1536w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2048,1638 2048w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=863,690 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=422,338 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=552,442 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=558,446 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=527,422 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=752,602 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1149,919 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=2000,1600 2000w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=400,320 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=800,640 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1200,960 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-054_maxHeight_3000_maxWidth_3000.jpg?resize=1600,1280 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Michelle Phillips, a Navy veteran, received a pink toy soldier at a Department of Veterans Affairs event.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cIt Could Mean Life or Death\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Michelle Phillips, 56, a Navy veteran from Ohio, saw her therapist in remote sessions once a week for two years for her PTSD. Then, in December, Phillips\u2019 therapist told her that she was quitting the VA because of Trump\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n<p>The change, Phillips said, \u201ccould mean life or death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Years of depression have led Phillips to isolate. Inside her small home about an hour outside of Columbus, the city where she enlisted in 1988, the walls are filled with reminders of brighter times \u2014 photos of family members and military paraphernalia from her time in the service. Her only real company is an aging dog, and she almost never leaves.<\/p>\n<p>Her virtual therapy sessions were \u201cthe only contact that I had coming in my home to talk to me every week,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I would sit and just wait for that appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Phillips said the counselor requested that the VA continue her one-on-one remote counseling with a new therapist \u2014 which totaled about four hours per month. The agency initially offered her virtual group therapy, an option that her previous therapist dismissed as inappropriate. In the third week of January, the VA told Phillips she could have an appointment for one-on-one sessions in March. She later declined the appointment because she didn\u2019t want to face starting over with a new therapist.<\/p>\n<p>Phillips, who is disabled and doesn\u2019t work, said she will try to pay for one-on-one therapy out of pocket with the same therapist who left the VA but will likely only be able to afford one, possibly two, sessions a month.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped bb--size-large wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"940\" width=\"752\" data-id=\"69160\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752\" alt=\"A woman with long hair, wearing a blue shirt, sits on a dark, leather sofa in a living room with wood-panneled walls.\" class=\"wp-image-69160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,960 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=819,1024 819w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1229,1536 1229w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1638,2048 1638w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1079 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,528 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,690 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,698 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,659 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,940 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1436 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1280,1600 1280w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,500 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1000 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1500 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2000 1600w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-047_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2500 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"940\" width=\"752\" data-id=\"68446\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752\" alt=\"A glowing iPad screen sits on a small glass kitchen table near a window covered with a gold-colored curtain and wood-panneled walls.\" class=\"wp-image-68446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,960 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=819,1024 819w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1229,1536 1229w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1638,2048 1638w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1079 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,528 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,690 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,698 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,659 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,940 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1436 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1280,1600 1280w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,500 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1000 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1500 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2000 1600w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260209-Rasmussen-VACuts-052_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2500 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><\/figure><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Phillips was sent an iPad by the VA for her remote therapy sessions. It sits unused since Phillips\u2019 VA therapist told her that she was quitting.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>James Jones said his close connection to his VA therapist, who was trained in combat trauma, helped him control his PTSD-fueled episodes of anger and alcohol abuse. Now the 54-year-old Gulf War veteran, who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, has seen his care cut in half after his therapist told him colleagues had quit and he had to pick up the load.<\/p>\n<p>His sessions went from an hour every week to half an hour every two weeks. \u201cI can tell it\u2019s rushed,\u201d said Jones, a maintenance mechanic with the National Park Service. \u201cI\u2019m not able to work through something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Others have found it difficult to establish care in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>Last summer, George Retes, 26, who left the Army in 2022 after serving for four years, was driving to work in Camarillo, California, when he was suddenly caught between immigration agents and protesters. Retes said the agents broke his car window, pepper-sprayed him and detained him for days. The incident, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will\">ProPublica detailed last fall<\/a>, left him shaken and exacerbated the PTSD that was first sparked after he faced missile attacks in Iraq, Retes said. (The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to ProPublica\u2019s questions about Retes.)<\/p>\n<p>Following his release, Retes found himself withdrawing from the world. \u201cI wasn\u2019t texting anyone or talking to anyone,\u201d he said. \u201cNot even my kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A few weeks after being arrested, Retes sought help from the VA clinic in Ventura, California, where staffers told him they\u2019d be in touch for an appointment. But Retes said he never heard back, even after he called to follow up. His incident with Immigration and Customs Enforcement was in July. Retes is still waiting.<\/p>\n<p>According to data on the VA\u2019s website, new patients seeking individual therapy at the Ventura clinic had to wait an average of two and a half months in early February.<\/p>\n<p>The VA said it could not discuss Jones\u2019 or Retes\u2019 accounts because the veterans declined to waive their privacy rights.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Strains on the System<\/h3>\n<p>The VA overhaul has also taken a toll on mental health providers, many of whom quit after spending years at the agency.<\/p>\n<p>Natalie McCarthy worked as a social worker and mental health therapist for a decade before quitting the VA in May. Like many others working in mental health, she did all of her work remotely; from her Ohio home she saw vets mostly from the Washington, D.C., area.<\/p>\n<p>But McCarthy and her colleagues faced pressure to return to agency offices after the VA issued new restrictions on telehealth workers. She was uneasy about the prospect of having to conduct sessions in makeshift spaces like conference rooms filled with other counselors \u2014 a situation that raised widespread ethical concerns over the legally mandated privacy for medical conversations.<\/p>\n<p>Complicating matters, McCarthy said, were Trump\u2019s orders eliminating diversity and equity initiatives within the federal government. She said she began to worry that therapists would no longer be able to discuss the subject of race with their patients or document patients\u2019 thoughts on the topic in their session notes. So she quit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was angry that veterans were in that position,\u201d said McCarthy, who started her own practice. \u201cI was angry that I was in that position. It just felt like an unnecessary thing to have to navigate.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium bb--size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"940\" width=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752\" alt=\"A woman wearing a maroon button-up shirt and blue pants sits in an office chair near a desk with a laptop and notepad.\" class=\"wp-image-68448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,960 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=819,1024 819w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1229,1536 1229w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1638,2048 1638w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1079 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,528 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,690 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,698 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,659 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,940 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1436 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1280,1600 1280w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,500 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1000 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1500 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2000 1600w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260211-Rasmussen-VACuts-061_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2500 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Psychologist Mary Brinkmeyer quit working with the VA last February after her superiors began enforcing the Trump administration\u2019s anti-diversity agenda.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Psychologist Mary Brinkmeyer found herself in a similar situation. She started at a VA facility in metropolitan Norfolk, Virginia, in 2022 after seeing a posting for an LGBTQ+ care coordinator, which oversees support programs for LGBTQ+ veterans and helps navigate their care. She quit last February after her superiors began enforcing Trump\u2019s anti-diversity orders.<\/p>\n<p>Brinkmeyer said she was told to stop conducting training for physicians and other staff on best practices for caring for LGBTQ+ patients. Then, she said, staff members were ordered to remove all LGBTQ+ paraphernalia from the facility such as rainbow flags, identity-affirming literature and program brochures. Also, an edict was issued directing people to use the bathroom of their gender assigned at birth, Brinkmeyer said.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s when the VA stopped feeling like a welcoming place. \u201cThere was a failure of empathy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The VA did not respond directly to either Brinkmeyer\u2019s or McCarthy\u2019s accounts of how the administration\u2019s policies had impacted the quality of mental health care.<\/p>\n<p>Much like those seeking mental health care directly from the VA, veterans referred to community care are also struggling to secure appointments.<\/p>\n<p>Gwyn Bourlakov, 58, enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1998 and over the following 21 years she was awarded a Bronze Star for her service in the invasion of Iraq, climbed the ranks to become a major and won a Fulbright scholarship to study Russian history.<\/p>\n<p>Today, after a series of professional setbacks, Bourlakov works as a museum security guard. Lingering PTSD from her time in the service, coupled with deep bouts of depression over her current circumstances, have kept her seeking the VA\u2019s help despite long-standing frustrations with its services.<\/p>\n<p>After she began looking for a new therapist last year following a move to Colorado, officials at her local VA clinic in Golden said at her intake appointment that its in-house providers were swamped and could not see new patients for at least six months.<\/p>\n<p>She asked if she could get help through community care, but staffers told her that the system was so overwhelmed that it would be a \u201cnightmare,\u201d she recalled. Veterans living in eastern Colorado waited 57 days on average to get a community care appointment scheduled in December, VA figures show.<\/p>\n<p>Bourlakov said she tried to get help through a separate VA clinic, but when her phone calls went unanswered, she finally gave up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t have time for all of that,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt\u2019s just like shouting into the wind.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium bb--size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"940\" width=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752\" alt=\"A woman with short graying hair, wearing glasses and a checkered shirt, sits on a pink sofa with a cat and blue curtain behind her.\" class=\"wp-image-68449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 2400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,960 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=819,1024 819w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1229,1536 1229w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1638,2048 1638w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1079 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,528 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,690 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,698 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,659 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,940 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,1436 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1280,1600 1280w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,500 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1000 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,1500 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,2000 1600w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260216-Rasmussen-VACuts-076_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,2500 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Gwyn Bourlakov gave up looking for care through the VA after a series of unanswered calls and attempts to find help went nowhere. After inquiries by ProPublica, VA authorities reached back out to offer her assistance.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Following inquiries from ProPublica, VA officials reached out to Bourlakov and other veterans interviewed for this story to offer additional assistance with their mental health care. The calls left several frustrated, saying it shouldn\u2019t take questions from the media for them to get help from the VA.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Though skeptical, Bourlakov decided to move forward. She was contacted by three separate VA representatives in February asking about her health and if she needed help scheduling a therapy appointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The earliest telehealth appointment they offered was not until June, she said. The next available in-person slot was not until July. Bourlakov opted for June.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/veterans-affairs-mental-health-therapists-quit-trump\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Reporting Highlights Mental Health Staff Losses: Hundreds of mental health professionals left the Department of Veterans Affairs since President Donald Trump took office. Veterans Left Adrift: Veterans are facing an array of problems: They can\u2019t get the VA to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":199423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-199422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=199422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/199423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=199422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=199422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tetrabulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=199422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}