Frequently Asked Questions

If no Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic exists in your area, contact your nearest clinic to discuss the possibility of receiving mental health care via CVN Telehealth. As of September 2019, we have 14 clinics in operation and expect to have at least 17 clinics open by the middle of 2020.  The Cohen Veterans Network is rapidly growing across the country and may offer services in your state in the future.

The following resources may also be beneficial:

• Vet Center: Vet Centers across the country provide a broad range of counseling, outreach, and referral services to combat Veterans and their families regardless of discharge status. You can reach their around the clock confidential call center at 1-877-WAR VETS (1.877.927.8387). You can also visit www.vetcenter.va.gov.
• The Veterans Crisis Line: The Veterans Crisis Line connects Veterans in crisis and their families and friends with qualified, caring Department of Veterans Affairs responders through a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text. Veterans and their loved ones can call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1. You can also visit www.veteranscrisisline.net.

• If you are in crisis, our Cohen Clinics will see you immediately.
• Otherwise, 94% of our clients (those who respond to a survey) report they were able to obtain their first appointment as soon as they wanted it.

Each new patient goes through an intake process. The first step is an initial screening that can take place in person or via telephone, depending on the structure and processes of the clinic location. The screening helps the clinic obtain general demographic information, reason for seeking treatment, and other questions related to a patient’s needs. The clinic coordinator will use the intake process to identify the best clinician based on a patient’s unique needs and will schedule an appointment.

Although we make a priority of serving post-9/11 veterans, each Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic will assess all veterans based on their specific needs, and we will make every effort to see pre-9/11 veterans based on clinician availability. Our local clinics will be able to provide potential resources you may be eligible for in order to support your needs.

If you are interested in receiving mental health care from the Cohen Veterans Network, please call or visit your local Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic to schedule an initial appointment.

Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinics provide short- and medium-term outpatient mental health care support but are not intended to be long-term care providers. Clinics will also provide case management services to help connect veterans and their families to additional support like housing programs, long-term care, and acute or emergency care, as necessary.

All Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinics track clients’ data to improve quality of care, clinic processes, and health care operations. Informed consent will be obtained from all clients in advance of any clinic research. All information about veterans and their families is confidential, and a client may opt out of certain self-reported assessments. Read more about the research and findings of Cohen Veterans Network and Cohen Veterans Bioscience.

All information about veterans and their families is confidential and is collected, protected, and stored according to standards set by federal law. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Defense, and other public, private, or government entities do not have access to identifying information about veterans and their families who are treated at Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinics.

• The Cohen Veterans Network is a not-for-profit philanthropic organization. All post-9/11 veterans and their families are eligible for high-quality, accessible treatment at the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinics. There is no cost for the care if you don’t have insurance.
• The clinics collect insurance in order to support the long-term sustainability and growth of the network as it expands. All funds collected from insurance go right back into providing care for clients at our clinics.

Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinics treat veterans and their families for a variety of mental health issues including post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, adjustment issues, anger, grief and loss, family issues, transition challenges, relationship problems, children’s behavioral problems, and other concerns. The Cohen Veterans Network provides evidence-based treatments such as cognitive processing therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, problem solving therapy, couples therapy, and prolonged exposure therapy, as well as connecting them to support and referrals for assistance with issues like unemployment, housing, finances, and education.

We prioritize serving post-9/11 veterans, which we define as any person who has served in the United States Armed Services (including the National Guard and Reserves) after September 11, 2001, regardless of role while in uniform, discharge status, or combat experience. We define family members as parents, siblings, spouses or partners, children, caretakers, and others. Although we make a priority of serving post-9/11 veterans whose period of service included Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and/or Operation New Dawn, each Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic will assess all veterans based on their specific needs and our ability to serve the veteran well.

The Cohen Veterans Network does not accept requests or solicitations for funding. Partner organizations for future clinics will be selected by invitation only. The public may opt to support our clinics. Generous tax-deductible donations to Cohen Veterans Network enable our mental health clinics to make the lives of veterans and military families better.

• As of May 2020 the Cohen Veterans Network has 15 Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinics operating across the country. By the end of the year, that number will increase to 19.
• Over the next several years, CVN will employ lessons learned from the original clinics and anticipates opening 25 outpatient mental health clinics in high-need veteran and military family communities.

Thank you for your interest in supporting veterans and their families. If a Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic is located in your area, please contact your local clinic directly for volunteer opportunities. If no clinic is located in your area, please consider joining our mailing list to learn about new clinic openings, telehealth options and more. You can also help us generate awareness for CVN and the field of mental health by joining the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

We define a veteran as any person who has served in the United States Armed Services (including the National Guard and Reserves), regardless of role while in uniform, discharge status, or combat experience. We define family members as parents, siblings, spouses or partners, children, caretakers, and others.

The Cohen Veterans Network provides state-of-the-art, integrated mental health care to veterans and their families through a national network of clinics. Cohen Veterans Bioscience, is an independent non-profit research institution that partners with Cohen Veterans Network. The Cohen Veterans Bioscience mission is to accelerate the detection and treatment of post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, and related co-morbidities through cutting-edge research. Through this partnership, the organizations provide high-quality treatment and improve the quality of current and future care for veterans and their families.

The Cohen Veterans Network enjoys a complementary relationship with the government agencies, although it receives no funding from the VA and the DoD. Each Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic has a strong working relationship with its local VA to foster the referral of veterans and their families to the clinic. The Cohen Veterans Network does not share any confidential patient information with the VA. No formal relationship exists between the Cohen Veterans Network and the DoD. We comply with federal guidelines set by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

The Cohen Veterans Network is led by Dr. Anthony Hassan, the network’s president & CEO. Dr. Hassan is a retired Army/Air Force officer and an experienced leader in the field of veterans mental health. A board of directors and scientific advisors with expertise in mental health, research, veteran issues, and philanthropy helps guide the Cohen Veterans Network. Read more about the Cohen Veterans Network’s leadership team.

Steven A. Cohen became involved in veterans mental health issues through his service on the Robin Hood Board, where he co-chaired the Robin Hood Foundation’s Veterans Advisory Board as part of Robin Hood’s veterans initiative. His family foundation also has a demonstrated history of supporting veterans and their families. Read more about the history of the Cohen Veterans Network.

Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan deserve high-quality care for the mental wounds of war and are not being adequately served by existing mental health resources. Steven A. Cohen, a Connecticut philanthropist and the proud father of a U.S. Marine who deployed to Afghanistan, created the Cohen Veterans Network to improve the quality of life for recently returned veterans and their families by working to strengthen mental health outcomes and complement existing support. The Cohen Veteran Network’s vision is to ensure that every post-9/11 veteran and family member is able to obtain high-quality, effective mental health care that enables them to lead healthy and happy lives. Read more about the history of the Cohen Veterans Network.