The VA Is Cutting Off Veterans' Mental Health Care Mid-Treatment—And Punishing the Providers Who Give a Damn

By Tbird, Founder of HadIt.com
October 21, 2025

A Marine combat veteran—we'll call him Michael—spent years trying to find a VA therapist he could trust. Years. After multiple suicide attempts, addiction, hospitalizations, the whole nine yards, he finally found someone who got it. Someone who understood the nightmares, the flashbacks from Afghanistan, the way PTSD doesn't just go away because you completed 12 sessions of some protocol.

Then the VA cut him off.

Not because he was better. Not because his therapist said he was ready. Because he hit an arbitrary number on some bureaucrat's spreadsheet.

"It feels like they took the training wheels off before I'm ready." — Marine combat veteran

CNN reported today what The War Horse broke back in August: VA hospitals nationwide are enforcing therapy session limits without regard to whether veterans actually need continued care. And providers who push back? They're getting disciplined.

Another Marine, currently in inpatient treatment at Bath VA in New York, told PBS:

"We have also had a lot of scheduled groups that are being canceled simply because we don't have the staff to facilitate them. And so that leaves us veterans to our own devices. A lot of people just isolate in their rooms. And for people who suffer from substance use disorder or mental health issues, isolation is one of the worst things." — Marine in VA inpatient treatment

This is what policy violence looks like when you dress it up as "evidence-based care."

The Lie vs. The Reality

Let's be clear about what the VA is saying versus what's actually happening.

And if you're a provider who objects? Who thinks maybe your patient with complex PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and a history of suicide attempts needs more than 12 weeks of therapy?

You face disciplinary action. Some providers have been told extending care could cost them their privileges to practice at VA facilities. Others now have to justify extensions in writing—a brand new bureaucratic hurdle designed to make them think twice before advocating for their patients.

The War Horse obtained documents showing VA facilities in the Northeast disciplining mental health providers for seeing patients "too long."

"It felt like it was a moral failing on my part, even though it wasn't my fault. It's re-traumatizing for the veteran. It almost feels like I'm a perpetrator of that, having to carry out those orders." — VA mental health provider

Think about that. Therapists—the people who became mental health providers to help people—being forced to abandon patients mid-treatment and feeling like perpetrators of trauma.

Stephen Long, a psychologist at Northport VA Medical Center on Long Island, retired in 2024 partly because he was told to limit one-on-one sessions. Mark Jorges, a psychotherapist at Temple VA in Texas, resigned in May 2025 for the same reason.

One Western VA provider told CNN: "We have been hemorrhaging staff" because of this policy.

So let me connect the dots here: The VA enforces arbitrary session limits → Experienced providers quit in disgust → Staff shortages get worse → Remaining providers have impossible caseloads → More veterans get pushed out → VA uses this to justify more cuts.

It's a death spiral disguised as efficiency.

Policy Enforcement Intensified in 2025

Here's what most people don't understand: The session limit policy isn't new. It was in place under previous administrations.

What changed? Providers report enforcement became significantly more rigid after Doug Collins became VA Secretary in January 2025.

Enforcement without clinical discretion.

Providers say they used to have flexibility. If a veteran needed more sessions, they could extend care based on their clinical assessment. That was the whole point of having trained clinicians making treatment decisions.

Now? They're being told to stop at the end of the allotted sessions—no exceptions, no clinical judgment, just numbers on a spreadsheet.

CNN's reporting confirms that providers at four VA facilities said there's been a "draconian effort to move patients out of individual therapy more quickly since President Donald Trump took office in January and installed Doug Collins as VA secretary."

During his confirmation hearing, Collins promised: "I'm gonna take care of the veterans. That means that we're not gonna balance budgets on the back of veterans' benefits."

So here we are. Do you think he kept his promise?

Here's the Documented Timeline of Staffing Changes in 2025

Throughout all of this, Collins keeps saying the cuts won't affect veteran care.

Veterans and providers say that's b.s.

The Staffing Collapse Making Everything Worse

You can't understand this story without understanding the broader collapse happening at the VA right now.

And this is before the providers started quitting over being forced to abandon their patients.

The Bath VA Marine quoted by PBS described the staffing crisis from the inside: scheduled therapy groups canceled because there's no one to run them, veterans left to isolate in their rooms—exactly the opposite of what mental health treatment requires.

The Death Spiral in Action

When providers leave because they can't ethically do their jobs anymore, who replaces them? Nobody. The positions stay vacant. The remaining providers get bigger caseloads. More veterans fall through the cracks.

And the VA's solution? Push more veterans out of individual therapy and into group sessions that also get canceled for lack of staff.

It's bureaucratic malpractice at industrial scale.

What Veterans Are Actually Living Through

Let's talk about what this looks like in practice.

You're a veteran with complex PTSD. Maybe you've got TBI, chronic pain, military sexual trauma. Maybe you've tried therapy before and it didn't work. Maybe you've been burned by providers who didn't get it. Finally, after years, you find someone who actually helps.

You're making progress. Slowly. Because that's how trauma recovery works—it's not linear, it doesn't follow some evidence-based protocol timeline, and it sure as hell doesn't respect arbitrary session limits.

Then one day your therapist tells you that next week is your last session. Not because you're ready. Not because you're stable. Because you hit the limit.

"But I'm not better yet."

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't have a choice."

Now what? You can try to get back on the waitlist for individual therapy, but you're competing with thousands of other veterans in the same boat. You might wait months. In the meantime, you're told to attend group therapy—if there's space, if it hasn't been canceled for lack of staff.

Or you can try Community Care, assuming your VA will approve it, assuming you can find a civilian provider who takes VA patients, assuming that provider understands military culture and trauma.

That's a lot of assumptions when you're barely holding it together.

For veterans in crisis, these interruptions in care can be deadly. The research is clear: continuity of care matters. Stable therapeutic relationships matter. Disrupting treatment for administrative convenience rather than clinical need is dangerous.

But the VA spokesperson says there are "no limits."

Tell that to Michael. Tell that to the Marine at Bath VA watching his therapy groups get canceled. Tell that to the thousands of veterans being pushed out of treatment right now.

I Know What This Does to Veterans—Because I Lived It

So when I read about therapists being forced to abandon their patients mid-treatment, when I hear about providers quitting because they can't ethically do this anymore, when I see the VA denying it's happening while veterans and providers are screaming that it is—I know exactly what this means.

It means veterans will die.

Not today, maybe. Not all of them. But some. Because mental health treatment isn't like fixing a broken bone—you can't just slap on a cast for six weeks and call it done. Recovery from trauma takes as long as it takes, and cutting people off before they're ready is dangerous.

The VA knows this. The providers know this. The research shows this.

They're doing it anyway.

The "Evidence-Based Care" Bullshit

Let's address the excuse the VA uses to justify all this: "evidence-based care."

Yes, there are evidence-based therapies for PTSD. Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) have strong research backing showing they can be effective in 12-16 sessions for many veterans.

Many. Not all.

The research also shows that complex PTSD—the kind that comes from multiple traumas, military sexual trauma, childhood abuse layered on combat exposure—often requires longer treatment. The evidence also shows that comorbid conditions like TBI, chronic pain, substance use disorders, and depression affect treatment timelines.

You know what else the evidence shows? That rigid adherence to session limits without clinical flexibility leads to worse outcomes, higher dropout rates, and increased risk of crisis.

Evidence-based care means using research to inform clinical decisions. It doesn't mean replacing clinical judgment with spreadsheets. It doesn't mean ignoring patient need because they exceeded an arbitrary number.

When the American Psychological Association—the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the U.S.—starts investigating your interpretation of "evidence-based care," maybe your interpretation is the problem.

The American Psychological Association Is Watching

Speaking of which: The American Psychological Association announced they're investigating these reports.

That's not routine. That's significant.

The APA doesn't usually weigh in on individual healthcare system policies unless something is seriously wrong. Their investigation suggests they're concerned that what's happening at the VA may violate ethical standards for psychological practice.

You know what would happen to a private practice therapist who abandoned patients mid-treatment for non-clinical reasons? They'd face ethics complaints. Possibly lose their license.

But when the VA does it to thousands of veterans at once, they call it "evidence-based care" and deny it's happening.

The APA's involvement gives me some hope that there will be external pressure on the VA to fix this. But investigations take time. In the meantime, veterans are being cut off from care right now.

What You Can Do Right Now

If you're a veteran dealing with therapy cutoffs, here's what you need to know:

If you're a provider dealing with this, please document it. Report it. Share your experiences with the APA's investigation. Your testimony matters. And thank you for trying to do right by your patients despite the pressure to abandon them.

Claims Implications: How Therapy Cuts Affect Your Rating

Here's what you need to know:

Mental health ratings are based on the severity of symptoms and their impact on occupational and social functioning—not on whether you're currently in treatment. Under 38 C.F.R. § 4.126, the VA must consider "the frequency, severity, and duration of psychiatric symptoms" and base the evaluation on "all the evidence of record" rather than just a snapshot at exam time.

But here's the trap:

• Ongoing treatment records matter. While you don't technically need to be in therapy to maintain a rating, consistent treatment records demonstrate ongoing severity and help protect against rating reductions.
• Gap in care = ammunition for VA. If your therapy is cut off and you go months without treatment records, the VA could argue in a future review that you're "doing better" based solely on the absence of documentation—even if you're actually worse.
• Static ratings aren't bulletproof. Even if your rating is marked "static" (no future exams scheduled), the VA can still propose a reduction if they believe your condition has improved. Loss of treatment records makes it harder to fight that.

What to Do

1. Get it in writing. When therapy is terminated, request written documentation of: (a) why care is being ended, (b) your provider's clinical opinion on whether you need continued care, and (c) their assessment of your current symptoms.
2. Document symptoms yourself. Keep a symptom journal. Note nightmares, panic attacks, anger outbursts, inability to work, relationship problems—everything. Date and time each entry.
3. Get lay statements. Have family members, friends, or coworkers write statements describing how your symptoms affect daily life. These carry weight, especially when treatment records are thin.
4. Private treatment if possible. If you can afford it or have other insurance, continue therapy elsewhere. Private treatment records can support your VA rating.
5. File for Community Care. Document every attempt to get care, every authorization delay, every denied request. This creates a paper trail showing you're trying to get treatment but the VA is failing to provide it.

For Claims in Progress or Appeals

• Include a statement explaining the therapy termination wasn't your choice and doesn't reflect improvement
• Provide your provider's opinion (if they'll give it) that you need ongoing care
• Emphasize that symptoms continue or worsened without treatment

Bottom line: Don't let a gap in treatment records be used against you. Document everything. Keep fighting for the care you need. And remember: you're not alone in this.

The Bottom Line

The VA is rationing mental health care.

They're doing it by enforcing arbitrary session limits without clinical justification. They're disciplining providers who advocate for their patients. They're claiming it's "evidence-based care" while the American Psychological Association investigates whether it's ethical.

Veterans are being abandoned mid-treatment. Providers are quitting in disgust. The staffing crisis is getting worse. And VA Secretary Doug Collins keeps insisting everything is fine.

It's not fine.

This is what happens when you treat healthcare like a budget line item instead of a sacred obligation to the people who served. This is what happens when you prioritize efficiency metrics over human beings. This is what happens when bureaucrats override clinicians.

Veterans deserve better than this. They earned better than this.

The question is: What are we going to do about it?

I'll be following this story closely. I'll keep reporting what's happening. I'll keep pushing for accountability.

But I need you to do something too: Don't let this become normal. Don't let the VA gaslight you into thinking arbitrary therapy limits are "evidence-based care." Don't stay quiet when you see this happening.

Speak up. File complaints. Tell your representatives. Support the providers who are trying to do right by you.

And if you're struggling right now—if you're one of the veterans who got cut off mid-treatment—please reach out. You are not alone.

Connect with veteran communities like HadIt.com. Talk to someone who gets it. We've got your back, and we're not letting this become normal.

You're not alone in this fight.