Columbia, MO 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.
Our commitment
- We offer a range of services, from talk therapy to recreational activities. Our team will work with you to identify your goals and make a plan to meet them. We'll help you and your family build meaningful connections to improve your quality of life.
- Our counseling is confidential. We won’t share any information about you or the services you receive without your permission—except in a life-threatening situation. Our records can't be accessed by other VA offices, the Defense Department, military units, or community providers.
- We encourage you to contact us, even if you're not sure you're eligible. We'll find a way to connect you with the help you need.
Locations and contact information
Main Location
Direct line
Hours
- Mon. 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Tue. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 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.
We 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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Accessible parking is available in front of the building. The building is accessible via wheelchair ramp. Additional parking spots are available in front of the building.
We’re on the Orange Bus Route. The closest stop to our center is stop number 4086 located at Smiley Lane and Rangeline Street.
You don’t need to be enrolled in VA health care, have a service-connected disability or receiving any other VA benefits to be seen at the Vet Center. 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, we can help you obtain them or come in and we can work with you to establish your eligibility and answer any questions you might have.
Contacting the Columbia Vet Center
- Please call
to speak with a staff member. They can assist you with scheduling an appointment or answering questions regarding an appropriate referral. - If you call outside of our normal operating hours, the Call Center will answer your call. If you reach them, you may leave a message with their team. They’ll provide a warm hand-off to us, and we’ll contact you right away.
Canceling or rescheduling an appointment:
- If you know you’ll miss an appointment, please call to cancel 24 hours in advance.
- If you have an appointment conflict and need to reschedule, please notify us as soon as possible so we can reschedule your appointment an make that time available for another Veteran or service member.
Visiting
- If you’re a first-time visitor, stop by during our office hours or call
to discuss how we can help. - Many of our services are available on a walk-in basis.
- Non-traditional hours are available by appointment.
In the spotlight
New Vet Centers and Satellite Locations Announced
To improve access to counseling, we are adding three Vet Centers and six satellite locations across the US and its territories. We will continue to expand our program to meet Veteran demand and provide local support to those who served.
Interested in joining a group with other Veterans or service members?
Some of our services include:
- Vietnam group
- OIF/OEF group
- Spousal support group
- Social group
- Women Veterans empowerment group
Call us for more information at 573-814-6206.
Counseling services
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We offer couples and family counseling to support you as you work toward meeting your goals.
Our counselors use various methods of treatment when it comes to couples or family sessions.
We encourage our Veterans and service members to address any personal concerns through individual therapy. This can coincide with family therapy. During individual therapy, counselors may offer opportunities for your partner or other family members to join in the session, 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.
Couples and family therapy can help with:
- Improved communication needs
- Partner distress
- Problem solving skills
- Family transitioning challenges
- Expectations after the deployment
- Family changes during the deployment
- Numbing/avoidance in family interactions
- Sleep disturbances
- Child behavioral concerns
- Family violence/domestic abuse
- Managing stress as a family
- PTSD and the family
If someone close to you has died or you’re adjusting to a difficult life change, we’re here to support you.
We offer counseling and other support, such as:
- Bereavement counseling for families who have lost a loved one during active duty
- Counseling for complicated grief reaction
We can help get you connected to the Veterans Benefits Administration and National Cemetery Administration. And we can help you navigate burial and survivor benefits using the Planning Your Legacy Toolkit.
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.
We proudly celebrate diversity among those we serve. We work closely with the LGTBQ+ Veteran care coordinator at our local VA and can make direct referrals.
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.
We offer unique individual and group therapies to support your needs.
Some of our group therapies include:
- Readjustment Group
- Mindfulness Drop-In Group
- Era-specific groups such as Vietnam and Global War on Terror
- Whole Health
- Women Veteran Groups
- Parenting and relationship support groups
- Seeking Safety
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.
Military sexual trauma (MST) can continue to affect survivors long after the experience. It can also impact different traumas that may have occurred during your lifetime. You can call us at
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.
We recognize that asking for help takes courage. We pride ourselves on being able to offer a safe space to our Veterans and service members.
Our staff is a diverse group, both male and female, with many of the staff being Veterans themselves, or having vast knowledge and/or experience working with Veterans, service members, and military communities. Our counselors are licensed clinical social workers (LCSW), licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT), and licensed clinical professional counselors (LCPC).
We commonly address the following concerns:
- Difficulties adjusting to civilian life following deployment or activation
- Concerns of lack of meaning or purpose
- Unhealthy use of drugs and/or alcohol
- Anxiety and stress reactions
- Depression and lack of motivation
- Helping to address and cope with moral injury
- Sleep difficulties
- Anger, aggressive behavior, as well as reckless behaviors
We offer some of the following evidence-based treatments:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Gottman Therapy for Couples
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Learn more about PTSD 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.
We recognize completing your military service can come with a variety of new challenges. Navigating the VA system along with other benefits you may be entitled to can be extremely overwhelming. We can be the bridge to get you connected with the following services:
- Enrollment in VA health care benefits
- Filing a military-related disability claim
- Connection to employment opportunities
- Using VA education benefits
- Using your VA home loan
- Connecting to state benefits and services
If you have any questions call
Whole health puts you—instead of your illnesses or conditions—at the center of care. We’ll work with you to develop a personalized health plan based on your values, needs, and goals.
We work to bridge mental health care with every other aspect of the Veteran’s life. You can expect your counselor to help you highlight the connection between mental health and various aspects of self-care (e.g. food and drink, working your body, surroundings, spirit and soul, personal development, recharging, and relationships).
Just as there is a “Me” at the center of the circle, there is a “We” that enfolds it. Vet Center's are more than the places where you live, work, and worship. It includes all the people and groups you connect with—those you rely on and those who rely on you.
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 help you get connected to substance use programs, both inpatient and outpatient, with VA. We also work closely with our community partners to help you when you are struggling with addiction, need detox, or want to gain stability.
Unhealthy substance use often goes hand-in-hand with PTSD, depression, or stress. We can help you understand how problematic drinking or drug use might be related to other stressors in your life. We’ll help support you with relapse intervention and prevention. We’ll also help connect you with more intensive or comprehensive substance use treatment programs within VA or in our community, if needed.
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.
Our priority first and foremost is your safety. If you feel hopeless, suicidal, or are in crisis, let your counselor know so we can work together. We want to support you in the moment, and also create a safety plan with you to feel safer and more hopeful about the future.
You can also reach the Veteran Crisis Line via text at 838255 or through confidential chat on the website.
Go to the Veterans Crisis Line website
We can help connect you to VA and community resources that will support you in achieving your goals.
We can help you with the following:
- Understand VA medical benefits and provide guidance on documents needed for enrollment.
- Find a VSO to file claims and other benefits paperwork.
- Connect you to representatives for VA education benefits.
- Overview and referral for VA and state burial benefits.
- Learn more about housing and VA home loans.
We can also assist in connecting you with a local Veteran Service Officer (VSO). Call us at
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.
We work with our local partners and use our resources to advocate for your needs. We collaborate with partners to support our Veteran and service member community.
Some of our partners include:
- Local first responders
- The National Guard, Reserve, and Active Duty units
- College and universities in our local community
- Veterans United
- K9 on the Frontline
- Valley Hope
- YMCA
- Veteran Community Project
- Vet Commission Organizations
- Team Red, White and Blue
- Wounded Warrior Project
If you or your organization would like to learn about working with Veterans and military culture and how you can help support the Veteran community, we can provide individual or education briefings.
Please call
How Vet Centers are different than a medical 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.
You may be eligible for Vet Center services no matter your discharge status or eligibility for VA health care. And we encourage you to contact us, even if you’re not sure if you’re eligible. If we can’t help you, we’ll find someone who can.
If you’re a Veteran or service member (including National Guard and Reserves), you’re eligible if you meet any of these service requirements:
- You served on active duty in any combat theater or area of hostility, or
- You provided mortuary services or direct emergency medical care to treat the casualties of war while on active duty, or
- You were a member of an unmanned aerial vehicle crew that provided direct support to operations in a combat theater or area of hostility, or
- You served on active 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, or
- You’re a current or former member of the Coast Guard who participated in a drug interdiction operation, or
- You’re a current member of the Reserve Component assigned to a military command in a drill status, including active Reserves, and you need to address a behavioral health condition or psychological trauma that is related to your military service
If you’re a Veteran or service member (including National Guard and Reserves), you’re also eligible for Vet Center services if any of these descriptions is true for you:
- You’re a Vietnam Era Veteran who used Vet Center services before January 2, 2013, or
- You experienced military sexual trauma (no matter your gender or service era), or
- You currently use any covered VA educational assistance benefits
What are the covered educational assistance benefits?
- Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty
- Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve
- Post-9/11 GI Bill
- Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E)
- Veterans’ Educational Assistance Program (VEAP)
Remember: You don’t need to be enrolled in VA health care to be eligible for Vet Center services. You don’t need to have a service-connected disability. And you can have any character of discharge.
You can use our counseling and other support services when your participation would support the growth and goals of the Veteran or service member in your family. If the Veteran or service member considers you family, so do we.
You can also use our bereavement services if any of these descriptions is true for your family:
-
The Veteran or service member died while serving on active duty, or
-
The Veteran was using Vet Center services at the time of their death, or
-
The Veteran or service member died by suicide
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.
Call us at
Our confidential call center is staffed by combat Veterans from several eras and family members of Veterans.
You can talk to us about your military experience, issues around transitioning out of military service, or trauma. We’ll help connect you to resources and support at a Vet Center near you.