About the VA Mental Health Group

Mission

The Office of Mental Health Services mission is to maintain and improve the health and well-being of veterans through excellence in health care, social services, education, and research.

Intended Audience

The Office of Mental Health Services internet site is intended to serve veterans, their family members, mental health clinicians, VA staff, affiliated mental health associations and the community.

Overview

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) provides specialty inpatient and outpatient mental health services at its  medical centers and community-based outpatient clinics. In addition, readjustment counseling services are available for veterans and their families at  Vet Centers across the nation. All mental health care provided by VHA supports recovery, striving to enable a person with mental health problems to live a meaningful life in their community and achieve full potential.

Mental health services are available in specialty clinics, primary care clinics, nursing homes, and residential care facilities where veterans receive health care. Specialized programs, such as mental health intensive case management, day centers, work programs and psychosocial rehabilitation are provided for those with serious mental health problems. The list of services and programs that Mental Health supports include:

• Inpatient Care
• Residential Care
• Outpatient Mental Health Care
• Homeless Programs
• Programs for Incarcerated Veterans
• Specialized PTSD Services
• Military Sexual Trauma
• Psychosocial Rehabilitation & Recovery Services
• Substance Use Disorders
• Suicide Programs
• Geriatrics
• Violence Prevention
• Evidence Based Psychotheapy Programs
• Mental Health Disaster Response/Post Deployment Activities

Chief Officers for Mental Health

• Ira R. Katz, MD, PhD, Deputy Chief Patient Care Services Officer for Mental Health
• Antonette Zeiss, PhD, Deputy Chief Consultant
• Vincent Kane, Acting Executive Assistant/VACO MIRECC Liaison
  • Vashtie Reedy, Program Assistant
  • Fred Zimmerman, Budget Analyst
• Brad Karlin, PhD, Director, Psychotherapy Programs
  • Robert Rosenheck, MD, Director, NEPEC
  • Fred Blow, PhD, Director SMITREC
  • Keith Humphreys, PhD, Director PERC
• Kathleen Lysell, PsyhD, Associate Chief Consultant for Informatics
• Paul Smits, MSW, Associate Chief Consultant, Homeless Residential Rehabilitation & Treatment Services
  • Lisa Pape, Director VA Residential Rehabilitation & Treatment Services
    • Jamie Ploppert, Program Manager, PRRTP & CWT/TR
  • James McGuire, Program Manager, Homeless Prevention Incarcerated Veterans Programs
  • Roger Casey, Director VA Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program
  • John Kuhn, Program Manager, Project CHALENG
  • Theresa Hayes, Program Manager, Multifamily Housing
  • Walter Lipscomb, Budget Analyst
• Laurent S. Lehmann, MD, Associate Chief Consultant, Mental Health Disaster Response/Post Deployment Activities/PTSD & Liaison to PTSD Special Committee
  • Robert Green, MD, Director, Clozapine
• Matthew Friedman, MD, Director National Center for PTSD
• William W. Van Stone, MD, Associate Chief Consultant for Psychiatry, Professional Services, Inpatient/Outpatient Services, Liaison to SMI Committee
• Associate Chief Consultant for Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Services--Vacant
  • Dave Carroll, PhD, Director of Recovery Services
  • Tim Smith, PhD, Director of Outpatient Recovery Services
  • Dan O’Brien-Mazza, Director of Peer Support Services
  • Susan McCutcheon, EdD, Director of Family Services, Military Sexual Trauma, and Women’s Mental Health Programs
  • Anthony Campinell, PhD, Director for Therapeutic & Supported Employment Services
    • Ralph Zaccheo, Administrative officer
    • Rick Llee, Rehabilitation Planning Specialist, Compensated Work Therapy &Incentive Therapy
    • Charles McGeough, Program Specialist, Marketing
    • Judy Patten, Program Assistant
• John Allen, PhD, Associate Chief Consultant for Addictive Disorders
  • Robert Dewey,Program Specialist
  • Dan Kivlahan, PhD, Director CESATE, Seattle
  • Jim McKay PhD, Director CESATE, Philadelphia

Contact Us

For more information on VA Mental Health services visit our Contact the VA site.

Our mailing address is:
Mental Health Services
810 Vermont Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20420

For Public Affairs inquiries, please contact Ev Chasen, Chief Communications Officer at 202 461-7070

Please contact us with any technical issues you might have in regarding this website.