Some VA therapists and patients say their treatment sessions are being limited, raising alarm

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNN Politics

PUBLISHED Oct 21, 2025, 6:00 AM ET


An edge comes to Michael’s voice when he speaks about his time serving in Afghanistan and his struggles living with post-traumatic stress disorder. A hardened Marine veteran, Michael — who asked to use the pseudonym to speak candidly about sensitive health issues — describes in tones that are measured but laced with irritation what he saw in conflict: vehicles being blown up, children being exploited, cellphones that could trigger unexpected detonations.

Though he left the armed forces years ago, he still has flashbacks. To this day, he is “trying to figure out how to stop the nightmares,” he said. It took him years to find a trusted VA therapist, who gave him a lifeline after he struggled with addiction and was hospitalized following multiple suicide attempts, he said. But recently, Michael’s one-on-one sessions with the provider were suddenly terminated.

Some Veterans Affairs hospitals, including the one where Michael gets his care, have stepped up enforcement of a policy in recent years that limits the number of long-term therapy sessions available to individuals, according to half a dozen mental health providers and VA patients at locations across the country who spoke to CNN. Under the policy, put in place under earlier administrations, patients initially get a certain number of one-on-one therapy sessions, which can vary between four and 24 sessions, depending on the type of treatment.

Mental health care providers at four facilities have told CNN that, whereas in the past they had discretion to extend the number of sessions based on their assessments of their patients, the VA is now pressing them to stop one-on-one sessions at the end of the allotted series, and more broadly reduce the number of patients who get this long-term care — without consideration for whether this is clinically appropriate. The providers asked not to be named for fear of retribution.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/politics/va-therapists-treatment-sessions-limited

[Mme. Defarge]

1. A friend of mine who was a VA therapist

decided to leave for that very reason and open up a private practice.

[3825-87867]

2. Not just VA

My doctor of many, many years now is scheduling all appointments in 20 minute sessions. Same with my wife's gyn.
Both have been bought by Wall Street Vulltures.
Remember in 2010 when the right claimed that having Medical like Canada would require 6 moths or more to make an appointment? Guess what? it's happening now in the Disunited States. Good thing Lieberman voted against Healthcare for All!
Suffer in hell, you bastard.

[SWBTATTReg]

3. From a doctor friend of mine, who's passed on, he told us that one of his biggest gripes while working at the VA (here

in STLMO), was that he was very limited in the amount of time he could spend w/ each patient. If I'm not mistaken, it was on the order of 15 minutes or so, not near enough time to spend on some patients who had more ailments etc. to deal w/. He was frustrated, one of the reasons (his high blood pressure) he left the VA.

A shame, considering these people gave their lives in service to this Country.