Wichita 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. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Tue. 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- Wed. 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 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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First-time visitor? Give us a call and let’s discuss any questions you might have. Please call 316-265-0889 to schedule an appointment with one of our counselors.
We’re currently offering in-person appointments, telephone appointments, and virtual appointments.
Making an appointment
After your initial contact with us, we’ll schedule an appointment for you to meet with the Vet Center Director. Our director will discuss your needs and concerns with you. We will then schedule your first appointment with a counselor within 2 to 10 business days.
Anyone in crisis will have their needs addressed immediately.
Contacting us
You can call us anytime during our posted hours of operation. If you need to call outside of those times, on weekends, or holidays, the Vet Center Call Center is available 24/7 at 877-927-8387. Calling our main line after hours will automatically send you to the Vet Center Call Center.
Canceling or rescheduling an appointment
If you know you’ll miss an appointment, please notify us as soon as possible so we can reschedule your appointment and make that time available for another Veteran or service member.
You can access us through Wichita City Transit’s Bus #12, on Seneca and McLean Boulevard.
Check Wichita Transit’s schedule, routes, and stops
Wichita City Transit system offers a Veterans Ride Free program. This program allows all Veterans with appropriate identification to ride any route in the Wichita Transit system—including the bus or Q-line—free of charge.
Wichita Transit’s fixed-route bus service is ADA-accessible. All buses include a wheelchair lift or ramp, and drivers announce major bus stops and street intersections. If the fixed-route system is inaccessible to you, you may be eligible for Paratransit.
We have a large well-lit parking lot in front of our building. We’re located at the cross section of Seneca and McLean Boulevard. There are accessible parking spaces in front of our building. Our entry is also wheelchair accessible. We have plenty of parking.
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’ll 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 work with you to establish your eligibility and answer any questions you might have.
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.
Featured Vet Center groups
- Vietnam Veterans Tuesday group
- Dodge City Vietnam Veterans group
- Warrior guide group
- Book club group
- Creative expressions group
Please call us at 316-265-0889 for additional groups.
Connecting with other Veterans
Connection, camaraderie, and community. We connect our clients to services, provide camaraderie in groups and create community with trust, respect, and comfort a safe and healing environment. We offer virtual or in-person groups.
Counseling services
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We offer couples and family counseling to support you as you work toward meeting your goals.
We understand the benefits of including family members in treatment. We have a marriage and family counselor who specializes in helping familyies function at their best. All of our counselors are trained in helping families.
We offer the following types of counseling:
- Individual
- Couples
- Spouses
- Children
- Family
- Significant others
If someone close to you has died or you’re adjusting to a difficult life change, we’re here to support you.
We offer bereavement counseling to family members who experienced the death of a loved one while on active duty, including members of the Reserve and the National Guard, regardless of the time of death. We also offer services to family members of a Veteran or service member who was receiving Vet Center services at the time of their death.
There is no cost for counseling. Contact us at 316-265-0889.
If you or a loved one are in—or may be in—a potentially abusive or violent relationship, we can help.
We offer support and community referrals, including referral to the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center’s Intimate Partner Violence Coordinator 316-685-2221, ext. 58043.
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 individual, group, family, and couples counseling services for a variety of mental health concerns.
Our evidence-based practices include, but are not limited to:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Motivational Interviewing (MI)
- Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
- Brainspotting
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
We’re also able to connect you with local resources for additional support (as needed) to meet your readjustment goals.
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.
Contact us at 316-265-0889 and ask to speak with someone about MST-related counseling. You can ask to speak with a provider of a specific gender if that would make you feel more comfortable. We can also connect you with the local VA Medical Center MST coordinator if needed.
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 or motivation, or just feeling unlike yourself following a major event or critical incident, we can help. We’ll teach you tools to manage your symptoms to get back on track. Asking for help takes courage and we provide a private, comfortable setting with expert counselors to help you take that next step. Our counselors are specifically trained in helping individuals heal from trauma.
We commonly address the following concerns:
- Anxiety and stress reactions
- Depression and lack of motivation
- Sleep difficulties, nightmares, including sleep problems caused by shift work
- Anger, aggressive behavior, and reckless behaviors
- Difficulties adjusting to civilian life following a deployment or activation
We offer treatments such as these:
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
- Brainspotting
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 that completing military service can come with a variety of new challenges. Navigating the VA system and other benefits alone can be overwhelming. We can help connect you to VA and community resources that will support you in achieving your goals.
We can provide basic information about:
- Enrollment in VA health care benefits
- Filing a military-related disability claim
- Connection to employment opportunities
- VA education benefits
- Connection to local, state, and federal benefits and services
- Connection to local Veterans Service Officer (VSO) for claims/benefits support
- Connection to Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs
- VA burial benefits
We can also connect you to other Veteran Service Organizations in the community. Should you need additional information about another topic, please reach out to us so that we can support you in your transition from military service.
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 offer therapeutic groups and activities including:
- Yoga
- Mindfulness
- Meditation
- Creative expression
- Painting
- Drawing
- Creative writing
Give us a call for more information or to join our therapeutic activities or groups.
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’re dedicated to meeting your needs. For questions, please call us at 316-265-0889. We can help connect you with the Women Health Program Manager at our local VA Hospital.
You may also reach out to the Women Veterans Call Center for more information regarding your health care at 855-829-6636.
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’re here to help. We can provide counseling and support and if needed, connect you to the Substance Use Disorder Clinic (SUDC) Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center, Building 5 A, in Wichita. You can also reach the SUDC by phone at 316-685-2221, ext. 58020 or 316-685-2221, ext. 57885.
If you’re homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, we can help you connect with resources in your community.
The Vet Center along with the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center and community resources help Veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless due to financial hardship, unemployment, addiction, depression, or personal transition.
Even if you don’t qualify for VA health care, you may qualify for non-VA resources in our community. Please contact us for additional information at 316-265-0889 for VA or community referrals.
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 top priority is preventing suicide among all Veterans and service members—including those who do not and may never, seek care within the VA health care system. As a Veteran, you can play a role in fulfilling this mission, and we can equip you with tools to build networks of support among community-based organizations, Veterans Service Organizations, health care providers, and other members of your community that strengthen protective factors for Veterans.
We can help connect you to VA and community resources that will support you in achieving your goals.
Please contact us for additional information at 316-265-0889 for VA or community referrals. We can connect you to resources to help you apply and manage your VA benefits and services, including:
- Health care
- Disability
- Pension
- Service member benefits
- Family member benefits
- Careers and employment
- Housing assistance
- Life insurance
- Education and training
- Records
- Burials and memorials
Additional community services we can connect you with are:
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're committed to functioning as a focal point where Veterans, service members, and community partners can connect and engage.
We support local Veterans and service members through partnerships with local universities, businesses, military installations, local law enforcement, and National Guard Armories. We also provide referrals to Veteran Service Organizations in the community.
Please call 316-265-0889 if you or your organization is interested in learning more about all the ways to partner with us.
We sponsor and host recreational and social events to help Veterans meet and connect. A few examples include our Vietnam Veteran ceremony, cook-offs, and movie night. Veterans can meet with representatives from Kansas Commission on Veterans' Affairs here at the Vet Center. We can also connect you to other Veteran Service Organizations in the community.
We offer secure and confidential individual and group counseling through telehealth. You can schedule a phone or video appointment for Vet Center services.
We want to make counseling convenient for you. We use virtual platforms such as WebEx and VA Video Connect. You can join individual or group counseling by grabbing your smartphone or laptop, having an internet connection, and finding a private location.
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:
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The Veteran or service member died while serving on active duty, or
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The Veteran was using Vet Center services at the time of their death, or
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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.