Veteran & Military
Rehab Program

Q: Can I get care through a provider like FHE if the VA cannot see me?

In many cases, yes. The VA MISSION Act allows eligible veterans to receive care from approved community providers when the VA cannot offer the services they need or a VA facility is too far away. Whether this path is available depends on your specific eligibility, which our team can help you check.

Care built for those who served

CALL: 833-596-3502

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FHE Health is proud to support service members and Veterans from every branch. Branch emblems are shown to honor those we serve and do not imply endorsement by any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces or the Department of Defense.

Many who served carry the cost of that service home. Sometimes it shows up as trauma, depression or anxiety. Sometimes as drinking or drug use that started as a way to cope. Often it is both at once. You do not need to have seen combat, or hit a crisis point, to deserve help. If you served and you are struggling, FHE Health treats both sides of what you are carrying, the mental health and the substance use, together. If you have military insurance, we can very likely help you use it.

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Shatterproof FHE Health – Military & Veterans • Why Service Raises Risk • Common Challenges • What We Treat • How We Treat It • Using Your Benefits • Common Roadblocks

Shatterproof FHE Health for Military & Veterans

Military identification tags representing veterans entering treatment at FHE Health

Are you a first responder?

Shatterproof FHE Health is our specialized program for First Responders, pairing trauma-focused therapy and neuroscience-based care with a peer community of others who served.

“The people who understand service best are often the ones who lived it.”

For First Responders

FHE Health has extensive experience working with those who served in the military. Our Shatterproof FHE Health program uses evidence-based therapies, medical care and wellness programming to address Veterans’ physical, mental, neurological, social, emotional and spiritual needs, across medically supervised detox, residential care, partial hospitalization, outpatient services and aftercare. Shatterproof FHE Health is the right fit for many Veterans, though not every situation. Your treatment team sets the right level of care after an evaluation, and every Veteran we work with receives the same specialized, trauma-informed approach.

And if you cannot travel to us for any reason, our team of trained professionals has resources across the country to help you find care. Part of our team comes from military and first-responder backgrounds, and that shapes how care is delivered here. About 1 in 5 Veterans who served in a combat zone had a mental illness in the past year, a significantly higher rate than Veterans who did not, according to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

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Why service can lead to mental health and substance use struggles

Flags at Shatterproof Building Military service creates experiences that differ sharply from civilian life. Combat exposure, repeated deployments, physical injuries, chronic pain, grief and the return to civilian life can all contribute to mental health conditions and substance use. For many Veterans the two are tangled together, and treating one without the other rarely holds.

Overlapping conditions are common across the country. About 8.1% of U.S. adults, roughly 21.2 million people, had both a mental illness and a substance use disorder in the past year, according to the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Among Veterans, that overlap runs considerably higher.

In a study of more than 4.4 million Veterans in VA primary care, about a quarter had at least one of five mental illnesses, and the conditions frequently overlapped, according to research published in the American Journal of Public Health. Among Veterans with a substance use disorder, 37.8% also had depression, 24.6% had PTSD, and roughly one in eight had an anxiety disorder or a serious mental illness.

37.8% of Veterans with an SUD also have depression

The pattern holds the other way too. Among Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and were diagnosed with a substance use disorder, 82% to 93% were also diagnosed with at least one co-occurring mental health condition, and fewer than 1% had a substance use disorder with no co-occurring condition at all, according to a peer-reviewed review. For Veterans, substance use almost never travels alone. That is why every treatment plan at FHE Health is built to address both.

82% to 93% of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with an SUD also have a co-occurring mental health condition

Common mental health challenges Veterans may experience

Mental health conditions can affect Veterans differently depending on combat exposure, the transition to civilian life, physical health, support systems and co-occurring substance use. Recognizing these signs early can help Veterans and their families seek support sooner.

Mental health condition	Symptoms & potential daily impact
PTSD	Flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, emotional distress or avoidance after traumatic experiences, which may interfere with sleep, relationships, work and emotional regulation.
Depression	Persistent sadness, hopelessness, fatigue, loss of motivation or social withdrawal, which may affect daily functioning, self-care, employment and overall quality of life.
Anxiety disorders	Excessive worry, panic, irritability, restlessness or trouble concentrating, which may contribute to disrupted sleep, physical tension and elevated stress.
Substance use disorders	Some Veterans use alcohol or drugs to cope with trauma, chronic pain or stress, which may worsen mental health and raise the risk of addiction and isolation.
Sleep disorders	Insomnia, nightmares, restless sleep or chronic fatigue, which may affect mood, concentration, stress tolerance and physical health.
Crisis symptoms	Hopelessness, emotional numbness, isolation or thoughts of self-harm during periods of severe distress. If this is you or someone you love, call or text 988 and press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line.

What we treat

Care at FHE Health is built around the whole person, not a single diagnosis. Veterans come to us for mental health conditions, substance use, and most often both. Those with a substance use disorder are three to four times more likely to also receive a PTSD or depression diagnosis, according to the same peer-reviewed review, so our teams treat these side by side.

Mental health

Substance use

Treatment often begins with medically supervised detox

For many Veterans, care starts with detox. Withdrawal from alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines and other substances can range from uncomfortable to dangerous, so our licensed medical team provides around-the-clock monitoring and symptom management in a safe, comfortable setting. From there, we help you move directly into the right level of ongoing care.

Learn about medical detox

How we treat it: the therapies behind our care

The service-related trauma many Veterans carry responds best to treatment built for it. Alongside individual and group therapy, Veterans in our care have access to:

Intensive EMDR for trauma processing
qEEG brain mapping to identify areas of dysfunction
Neurofeedback training

Brain stimulation therapy
Trauma-focused care at our trauma treatment center
A peer community of fellow Veterans and Service Members.

Two deserve a closer look, because they are where Veterans tell us the difference is felt.

Intensive EMDR

Many Veterans have significant trauma exposure and see real benefit from EMDR. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is an evidence-based trauma therapy backed by more than 30 years of research. Our intensive format uses longer sessions to accelerate that work, so many Veterans reach symptom relief and memory reconsolidation faster than standard scheduling allows.

Neuroscience-based treatment

Veteran reflecting during neuroscience-based care at FHE Health FHE Health’s use of the latest brain technologies to treat PTSD and other conditions is rare among behavioral health providers nationwide, and Veterans use these neuroscience-based treatments alongside other therapies. After admission, each patient receives a neuroimaging scan that identifies areas of dysfunction tied to PTSD and other symptoms. Seeing evidence of their condition on a scan helps many Veterans let go of shame and self-stigmatization: they can see they have a verifiable medical condition. The imaging then lets us target impaired areas of the brain with cutting-edge technologies that relieve PTSD symptoms and restore brain health.

Using your benefits: Tricare and VA Community Care

Cost is one of the most common reasons Veterans put off treatment, and one of the easiest to resolve. Most Veterans are well covered: more than 90% have health insurance, and among those enrolled in VA coverage, more than 75% carry another source as well, according to research in JAMA Network Open. That coverage beyond the VA is often what opens the door to a specialized provider like FHE Health.

There are two common paths into treatment at FHE Health for Veterans and military families, and private insurance is a third. Whichever applies to you, a quick call is the fastest way to find out what your coverage allows.

Tricare

Tricare is the health insurance program for military service members, Veterans and their families, and FHE Health accepts it. Tricare typically covers multiple levels of care, including:

Detox services
Withdrawal medication
Medication-assisted treatment
Residential treatment
Outpatient treatment
Partial hospitalization services

VA Community Care Network

FHE Health is a credentialed VA Community Care Network (VA CCN) provider for mental health and substance use. When the VA cannot provide your care, see you within its access standards, or a facility is too far for regular treatment, eligible Veterans can receive care from an approved provider like FHE Health, with the VA covering authorized treatment. Community care always begins with the VA; you cannot self-refer. Learn more about how VA Community Care works at FHE Health, or let our admissions team verify your benefits and coordinate the process.

Other insurance

Not every Veteran or military family fits Tricare or VA Community Care, and that does not mean treatment is out of reach. Many Veterans and their families carry private insurance as well, and FHE Health works with most major plans. Benefits can be hard to untangle on your own, so don’t rule yourself out. Our admissions team can verify your coverage and explain your options in one quick, confidential call.

Map of VA Community Care Network regional service areas across the United States

The VA Community Care Network is organized into regional areas that span the country.

A note for family members: CHAMPVA is a health benefits program for the spouses and children of certain Veterans. If you carry CHAMPVA or other coverage and aren’t sure what it includes, our admissions team can review your benefits and help you understand your options.

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Common roadblocks to seeking help

Deciding to seek help is a big step, and it can be filled with roadblocks. Here are the concerns Veterans raise most, and the reality behind each.

How will seeking treatment affect my future?

Many Veterans put off help indefinitely, assuming that as long as they can function, nothing bad will come of it. But seeking treatment will not damage your status or future employment. The military, like most employers, respects the willingness to face a problem and address it. Completing a program at a respected center will not put you at a disadvantage; leaving a condition untreated is far more likely to jeopardize those opportunities.

How much will treatment cost?

Treatment carries a cost, and many Veterans worry it is out of reach. But an untreated condition is costly too, in money, health and missed opportunities. Between Tricare, VA Community Care and other coverage, treatment is often far more affordable than Veterans expect, and our team can walk you through exactly what your benefits cover.

Can I handle this on my own?

Many Veterans believe they should overcome this alone, but that rarely works. Withdrawal can range from uncomfortable to dangerous, and treating substance use without addressing the mental health conditions underneath it makes relapse far more likely. These conditions are genuinely hard to move through alone.

What if drinking or using is the only thing that helps?

For Veterans living with PTSD, depression or anxiety, alcohol or drugs can become the way they cope, and giving that up can feel harder than living with it. This is where a supportive treatment community matters, offering healthier ways to handle painful experiences, built alongside people who understand.

Veteran talking with a counselor during a therapy session at FHE Health