Veterans Day | November 11, 2026
On this Veterans Day, we honor the service and sacrifice of those who have served our country and recognize our ongoing responsibility to support their well-being. Veterans deserve timely, accessible, high-quality mental health care, yet too many continue to face barriers to receiving the care they need and have earned.
For me, Veterans Day is also an opportunity to reflect on whether we are fulfilling our commitments to those who have served. After spending nearly two decades working within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and continuing to work with veterans as a psychologist and through Heroic Hearts Project, I have seen both the extraordinary dedication of VA mental health professionals and the consequences when our systems fall short.
A Troubling Trend in VA Mental Health Staffing
Recent workforce data raise serious concerns about the VA's capacity to meet veterans' mental health needs.
Between January 2025 and January 2026, the VA lost approximately 500 psychologists and psychiatrists and nearly 700 social workers. These reductions occurred within a healthcare system that was already struggling with significant staffing shortages.
According to the VA Office of Inspector General, 57% of VA medical facilities reported severe psychologist staffing shortages in 2025. That figure increased to 58% in 2026. Psychiatry and social work also remained among the clinical occupations most frequently identified as experiencing severe shortages.
Across all occupations, reported severe staffing shortages increased from 4,434 in fiscal year 2025 to 4,712 in fiscal year 2026.
These figures do not tell us precisely how many veterans experienced delayed or disrupted care. But they provide compelling reasons for concern about access, continuity, and the capacity of an already strained system.
Why Access and Continuity Matter
For veterans living with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance use disorders, moral injury, or difficulties adjusting to civilian life, accessing mental health care can already be challenging.
Seeking help may require overcoming stigma, navigating complicated healthcare systems, finding an appropriate provider, and establishing trust. Long waits for appointments, frequent provider turnover, and disruptions in treatment can create additional obstacles.
Effective mental health treatment depends on more than simply getting an appointment. It requires continuity, a strong therapeutic relationship, and access to clinicians who understand military culture and the distinctive experiences of veterans.
The VA has historically played a leading role in developing, evaluating, and disseminating evidence-based mental health treatments. Protecting that expertise and the workforce that delivers these services should be a national priority.
Veterans Deserve More Than a Single Path to Healing
Veterans are not a homogeneous population, and no single treatment approach will meet everyone's needs.
Some benefit from established evidence-based psychotherapies, including cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure, and cognitive behavioral approaches. Others benefit from medication, peer support, family involvement, or community-based services.
Emerging approaches, including psychedelic-assisted therapies, are also generating interest and research, although their evidence base, regulatory status, and accessibility vary considerably.
Through my work with Heroic Hearts Project, I have witnessed the importance of creating supportive environments where veterans can explore healing, connection, meaning, and personal growth.
Expanding treatment options should complement—not replace—our commitment to accessible, high-quality conventional mental health services.
Moving Beyond Gratitude to Action
Honoring veterans requires more than expressions of appreciation once a year.
It means investing in the professionals who serve them, addressing workforce shortages, reducing unnecessary barriers to care, and ensuring that veterans can access effective treatment when they need it.
It also means listening to veterans themselves, recognizing their strengths and resilience, and involving them in decisions about the services intended to support them.
On this Veterans Day, I am grateful to the veterans who have entrusted me with their stories and to the dedicated professionals and peer supporters who work alongside them.
Our gratitude should be reflected not only in what we say to veterans, but in the care, resources, and opportunities for healing we make available to them.
They deserve nothing less.
Sources
VA Office of Inspector General. (2025). OIG Determination of Veterans Health Administration's Severe Occupational Staffing Shortages, Fiscal Year 2025. https://www.vaoig.gov/reports/national-healthcare-review/oig-determination-veterans-health-administrations-severe-1
VA Office of Inspector General. (2026). OIG Report of Veterans Health Administration's Responses on Severe Occupational Staffing Shortages, Fiscal Year 2026. https://www.vaoig.gov/reports/national-healthcare-review/oig-report-veterans-health-administrations-responses-severe
Coleman, V., Sanders, T., Jacobs, J., & Umansky, E. (2026, March 12). Veterans who depend on mental health care keep losing their therapists under Trump. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/veterans-affairs-mental-health-therapists-quit-trump
