For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
|
VA hires more psychologists to help veterans
Question: With the apparently increasing need for the Department of Veterans Affairs to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder, how is the VA meeting this need?
Answer: The VA, which has more than 11,000 mental health professionals to care for veterans, has hired more than 800 psychologists in the past three years. The VA has worked with its partners among professional schools and universities to increase the number of psychologists who receive training through VA programs each year, beginning with the 2008-09 training year.
The new positions will include 61 internship and 98 post-doctoral fellowship positions, bringing the national number of training positions in psychology to 620 per year. The recently awarded positions include four new internship training programs and 26 new post-doctoral fellowship programs. In addition, 31 existing internship programs and 17 existing postdoctoral fellowship programs have been expanded. Honolulu is one of the locations where the VA new internship program. For additional information contact the VA Spark M. Matsunaga Clinic at 433-0600.
Q: Under what circumstances is a Coast Guard veteran eligible for enrollment?
A: Individuals who served in the Coast Guard are veterans and are eligible for VA health care benefits in the same manner as any other veteran who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Air Force.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran, call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049 or visit the VA Web site at
www.va.gov/hawaii or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.