I’m not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing, but the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) — the agency responsible for the health and well-being of our veterans in the U.S. — has purchased 50 new mobile counseling centers (38-foot custom motor coaches).

“Our widespread distribution of this fleet from coast to coast marks a new chapter in VA’s innovation to reach rural and underserved veterans with high-quality readjustment counseling,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake.

Each vehicle will be assigned to one of VA’s existing Vet Centers, enabling the center to improve access to counseling by bringing services closer to veterans.

The 38-foot motor coaches, which have spaces for confidential counseling, will carry Vet Center counselors and outreach workers to events and activities to reach veterans in broad geographic areas, supplementing VA’s 232 current Vet Centers, which are scheduled to increase to 271 facilities by the end of 2009.

I think that, in theory, such outreach is a good thing.

But I also wonder if “access to a Vet center” (which are pretty accessible, as there are hundreds throughout the country) is one of the main reasons vets don’t seek out counseling services now.

From what I’m told by soldiers and other vets, the main reason is not lack of access, but rather fear of recrimination and having such treatment appear on their service record, negatively affecting their future promotion potential.

Wouldn’t such money be better spent in hiring more psychologists and other counselors? Wouldn’t it be better spent in fixing the broken mentality of vets being afraid to access these kinds of services in the first place?

Vet Centers, operated by VA’s Readjustment Counseling Service, provide non-medical readjustment counseling in easily accessible, consumer-oriented facilities, addressing the social and economic dimensions of post-war needs. This includes psychological counseling for traumatic military-related experiences and family counseling when needed for the veteran’s readjustment. [...]

The vehicles will also be used to visit events typically staffed by local Vet Center staff, including homeless “stand downs,” veteran community events, county fairs, and unit reunions at sites ranging from Native American reservations to colleges.

Again, it’s hard to argue with the intent here. But I do wonder at our focus on technology sometimes, when good ole fashioned “feet on the ground” is what’s needed.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 26 Oct 2008
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.