ABOUT CHATTANOOGA VA CLINIC
The Chattanooga VA Clinic is an outpatient center operated by the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Located in southeastern Chattanooga, the center offers outpatient support for mental health alongside primary care, dental, cardiology, and other services.
Services are available to residents of 21 counties in Tennessee, North Georgia, and Northwest Alabama. Eligibility extends to active duty service members, veterans, and their families.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
At present, there is very little information available about addiction treatment services available at the VA’s Chattanooga outpatient clinic. An alum polled by Best-rehabs.com reported that they had received very effective treatment at the center, including excellent treatment for co-occurring disorders. In addition, the Handbook of Military Social Work, notes that across all VA facilities, the most common method of treating addiction is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), along with education and support. However, there is not, at present, any detailed information published by the Chattanooga facility about its preferred modalities or treatment tracks.
The Tennessee Valley Healthcare System more broadly provides both intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) and low-intensity outpatient programming for addiction, including medication-assisted treatment, relapse-prevention programming, up to 12 months’ aftercare, and other dedicated addiction services, but these provisions appeared to be available only in Nashville and Murfreesboro at the time of this writing.
In addition to substance abuse services, Tennessee’s VA is equipped to provide support for individuals experiencing homelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other psychiatric and psychological disorders. Some services are available remotely through a telehealth program.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
Addiction treatment is provided by a multidisciplinary team. There is currently no further information provided by the facility regarding its treatment staff, however, the single individual polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the facility five out of five stars for its staff’s level of training and experience.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
Best-rehabs.com has not yet received any reviews directly from alumni of this facility, and secondary sites yielded mixed feedback at the time of this writing: a 3.6-star average rating based on 19 reviews left on Google.
Of these 19 reviews, only one directly referenced the facility’s mental health care provisions. “I love my Psychiatrist, counselor and talk therapist,” T.H. wrote, though he added frustrations with the facility’s bureaucratic practices. Otherwise, comments on the facility as a whole, rather than the mental health services alone, painted a picture of some unhelpful staff but some very caring staff, with sometimes excessive wait times.
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
The single loved one polled by Best-rehabs.com to date would strongly recommend the Chattanooga VA Clinic. “Effective. Any military can get help they need,” the anonymous reviewer wrote, giving the facility five stars for its treatment effectiveness and ability to treat co-occurring disorders, four stars for its counseling options, and three stars for its holistic offerings and family participation.
FINANCING
Many VA services are provided free of charge to VA-enrolled individuals, however, some clients may be required to pay a co-pay for certain services. The single individual polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the Chattanooga VA Clinic four out of five stars for its affordability.