Columbus, GA Vet Center
We offer confidential help for Veterans, service members, and their families at no cost in a non-medical setting. Our services include counseling for needs such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the psychological effects of military sexual trauma (MST). We can also connect you with more support in VA and your community.
Locations and contact information
Main Location
Direct line
Hours
- Mon. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Tue. 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Wed. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Thu. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Sat. Closed
- Sun. Closed
Other locations
Vet Centers are community based to be more accessible in areas where you live.
View more Columbus, GA Vet Center locationsWe also have non-traditional hours that change periodically given our community’s needs. Please call us to find out more.
Need help after hours?
Our call center is available 24/7. Call us anytime at 877-927-8387.
Prepare for your visit
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Cost: Free.
We have a well-lit parking lot. Feel free to park in any available space.
Many of our services are available on a walk-in basis.
We welcome walk-ins but appointments are preferred.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays we are open 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
You can reach us at 706-596-7170.
You don’t need to be registered for care at VA, rated for a service connected disability, or receiving any other form of VA benefits. On your first visit, we will look for one or more of the following:
- Discharge documents (such as a DD214)
- Receipt of certain awards
- Deployment orders
- Other documents that show qualifying military service
Request your military service records online
If you don’t have these documents on-hand, come in and we can work with you to establish your eligibility and also answer any questions you might have.
Served by the #7 Macon Rd METRA bus line. The closest bus stop is by the Publix. Visit METRA Transit System for a bus schedule
In the spotlight at Columbus, GA Vet Center
Find connection, find camaraderie, find community
Learn more about the confidential and comfortable environment you’ll find at your local Vet Center.
Upcoming Events
- The Columbus Vet Center is a drop off point for the Toys for Tots.
- Homeless Stand Down Albany, GA Tuesday 15 November 2022 9 am to 2 pm at the Albany Civic Center.
Groups
Groups at the Columbus Vet Center are:
- OIF/OEF Group
- Women Readjustment Group
- Vietnam Veterans Group
- Life After Military
Counseling services
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We offer couples and family counseling to support you as you work toward meeting your goals.
Our counselors specialize in the Gottman Method for couples therapy. Veterans and service members often like this approach because it provides specific tools and a systematic strategy for improving relationships. You may find that addressing any personal concerns through individual therapy helps you get the most out of your couples therapy sessions.
We also offer opportunities for your partner or other family members to join your individual therapy sessions, once or twice. This can provide an opportunity for your family members to learn more about your needs and ways to best support you during your treatment.
We’re here to support you if someone close to you has died or you’re adjusting to a difficult life change.
Our grief and bereavement services are available to family and family members of Veterans and service members who have experienced a death of an active-duty service member or Veteran.
If you're a Veteran who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, or a related identity, we can help you find counseling, support, and referral services to meet your specific needs.
If you’re struggling with issues like PTSD, depression, grief, anger, or trauma, we offer counseling and other support. We’ll work with you to help you achieve your personal goals.
If you’re struggling with communication, not being understood, angry, isolating, and/or wondering why and can’t get the answers, stop by to see us. We’re here for you and want to help you get back on track.
Consider visiting us if you are experiencing:
- Anxiety or stress reactions, such as PTSD
- Depression or lack of motivation
- Sleep difficulties, including sleep problems caused by shift work
- Anger, aggressive behavior, and reckless behaviors
- Difficulties adjusting to civilian life following a deployment or activation
Some of the evidence-based treatments offered:
- Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing and Relapse Prevention
If you experienced sexual assault or harassment during military service, we can help you get the counseling you need. Any Veteran or service member, including members of the National Guard and Reserve forces, who experienced military sexual trauma is eligible to receive counseling. This applies to people of all genders from any service era.
Columbus Vet Center offers individual and group counseling by counselors with specific training related to military sexual trauma care.
If you have symptoms of PTSD after a traumatic event, we can help. We offer assessment and support through private counseling and group therapy. We can also refer you to VA or community counseling for treatment and therapy resources.
If you're feeling on edge and on guard, having trouble with sleep, motivation, or mood, or just feeling unlike yourself following a major event or critical incident, we can teach you tools to manage these problems and get back on track. Asking for help takes courage and we provide the private, comfortable setting with expert counselors to help you take that next step. Learn more about PTSD and your treatment options.
If you’re returning from military service, we’ll help you transition to civilian life. We can connect you with educational and career counseling, mental health services, and other programs and benefits that will support your transition.
Other services such as:
- Enrollment in VA health care
- Filing a military-related disability claim
- Connection to employment opportunities
- Applying for VA education benefits
- Applying for your VA home loan
- Connecting to state benefits and services
- Finding a Veteran mentor with the ETS Sponsorship Program
If you’re a woman Veteran transitioning to civilian life, we can help you find counseling, support, and referral services to meet your specific needs.
We understand the needs of females and their unique experiences. We'll match you with a counselor that fits with your preferences and we can help you connect with VA women's health care if needed.
Referral services
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We can help you overcome substance use problems, from unhealthy alcohol use to life-threatening addiction. We'll connect you to services for your specific needs.
We can easily refer Veterans and service members in need of such services to excellent programs at the Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System - Tuskegee VA in our community for outpatient treatment or residential care.
Call our Veterans Crisis Line at 988 and press 1 to get support anytime day or night. This service is private, free, and available 24/7. Our Vet Center can also connect you with ongoing counseling and services.
We can help connect you to VA and community resources that will support you in achieving your goals.
The Columbus Vet Center can provide basic information about:
- VA medical benefits and care registration
- Connection to a local Veterans Service Officer (VSO) for claims/benefits support
- VA education benefits
- VA burial benefits
Should you need additional information about another topic, please reach out to us so that we can support you in the best way we can.
Other services
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We provide private organizations and community agencies education on our Veteran community and military culture. Together, we build referral networks to expand support for Veterans, service members, and their families.
To ensure we are meeting your needs, we have several community partners that we collaborate with. Our community partners are an extensive resource that is familiar with the military lifestyle and culture. Some of our community partners are:
- Disabled Americans Veterans
- American Legion
- Veterans of Foreign Wars
- Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System Columbus GA
- Fort Benning CBOC
- Dothan AL CBOC
- Alabama Department of Veterans Services
- Georgia Department of Veterans Services
- Dublin, GA VA Health Care
- Game Day for Heroes
How we’re different than a clinic
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Vet Centers are small, non-medical, counseling centers conveniently located in your community. They’re staffed by highly trained counselors and team members dedicated to seeing you through the challenges that come with managing life during and after the military.
Whether you come in for one-on-one counseling or to participate in a group session, at Vet Centers you can form social connections, try new things, and build a support system with people who understand you and want to help you succeed.
Vet Center services are available to you at no cost, regardless of discharge character, and without you needing to be enrolled in VA health care or having a service-connected disability. If you’re a Veteran or service member, including members of the National Guard and Reserve, you can access our services if you:
- Served on active military duty in any combat theater or area of hostility
- Experienced military sexual trauma (regardless of gender or service era)
- Provided mortuary services or direct emergent medical care to treat the casualties of war while serving on active military duty
- Performed as a member of an unmanned aerial vehicle crew that provided direct support to operations in a combat theater or area of hostility
- Accessed care at a Vet Center prior to January 2, 2013, as a Vietnam-Era Veteran
- Served on active military duty in response to a national emergency or major disaster declared by the president, or under orders of the governor or chief executive of a state in response to a disaster or civil disorder in that state.
- Are a current or former member of the Coast Guard who participated in a drug interdiction operation, regardless of the location.
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Are a current member of the Reserve Components assigned to a military command in a drilling status, including active Reserves, who has a behavioral health condition or psychological trauma related to military service that adversely effects quality of life or adjustment to civilian life.
We encourage you to contact us, even if you’re unsure if you meet these criteria. If we can’t help you, we’ll find someone who will.
Our services are also available to family members when their participation would support the growth and goals of the Veteran or active-duty service member. If you consider them family, so do we. We also offer bereavement services to family members of Veterans who were receiving Vet Center services at the time of the Veteran’s death, and to the families of service members who died while serving on active duty.
No. You don’t have to be enrolled in VA health care or have a service-connected disability.
Safe and confidential. Our records can’t be accessed by other VA offices, the DoD, military units, or other community networks and providers without your permission or unless required to avert a life-threatening situation. Here, you can be as open as you want—there’s absolutely no judgment.