ABOUT VAMC MANCHESTER – PORTSMOUTH CBOC
Located on the Pease Air National Guard Base in Portsmouth, N.H., the VAMC Manchester CBOC (Community Based Outpatient Clinic) offers a variety of outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment options to veterans who served in the active military, naval, or air service.
While all veterans are encouraged to enroll, most must have served for 24 continuous months or for their full period of active duty in order to be eligible. Detox services are not offered on-site, however, staff will help clients with referrals.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
The treatment approach at this facility takes into account a variety of factors particular to veterans. Intensive outpatient (IOP), traditional outpatient (OP), and opioid replacement therapy are offered through VAMC Manchester.
VAMC Manchester’s recovery program is based on many different treatment modalities that address substance use and co-occurring disorders. Treatment is offered in the form of individual psychotherapy, group therapy, and medication management. Evidence-based, goal-oriented therapies used at this facility include dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), motivational enhancement therapy (MET), prolonged exposure therapy (PE), and a variety of cognitive behavioral therapies to address depression, sleep, chronic pain, and related issues.
A range of specialized group therapy options are offered in topics such as anger management, better sleep, women’s wellness, stress reduction, anxiety management, PTSD skills, and Seeking Safety.
VAMC encourages family involvement and offers family and marriage counseling to help couples recover from the damage of substance abuse and co-occurring disorders.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
The facility’s staff includes psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and a psycho-pharmacologist, as well as clinical social workers, psychologists, and a licensed marriage and family therapist.
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
While there are currently no alumni reviews for this facility, feedback from two anonymous loved ones polled by Best-rehabs.com at the time of this writing was generally negative. The two loved ones rated the benefit of this program and their likeliness of recommending it two and three out of five stars and overall treatment effectiveness one and three out of five stars.
A spouse of a loved one who entered treatment for addiction gave VAMC a rating of one out of five stars for the quality of addiction treatment, but rated the staff’s qualifications a mediocre three stars. “No effort to involve family… not the correct type of facility for pain addiction,” the anonymous loved one wrote.
FINANCING
According to the facility’s website, veterans who do not receive VA disability or pension payments must complete a financial assessment at the time of enrollment to determine if they qualify for free VA health care. Veterans with private health insurance may use their coverage to supplement their VA benefits.