Mental Disabilities

• Sadly, while physical disabilities are compensated quickly, the same cannot always be said about a veteran with mental illness. Physical wounds are much easier to identify, diagnose and treat, while mental disabilities are more difficult. It takes time to prove that a veteran is suffering from a mental illness brought about directly as a result of being in the department, which is the critical component for filing for VA benefit for mental disability.
  
  

VA Definition of Mental Illness

• To be eligible for mental disability benefits through the VA, the disability has to be within the purview of the VA's definition of mental disability. The Department of Veterans' Affairs, in its 1999 VHA Program Guide section 1103.3, provides a definition of Disabled Veterans with a Mental Illness. In conjunction with the Policy and Forecasting Office and MHSHG at VHA Headquarters, it defines mentally ill Veterans as those who are, or have experienced within one year, a disorder that meets criteria set forth by the American Psychiatric Association (AMA)'s diagnostic manual of disorders. This manual, called the DSM-IV for short, is a comprehensive list of accepted mental disorders along with symptoms and diagnostic information.
  
  

Filing for Claims

• To file claims for VA benefits for mental disability or illness, you must first fill out a certified copy of DD214, the document that proves that you were present in a war zone at some point of time and that you served in a wing of the Armed Services. Then, you must go to a VA hospital to meet with a counselor and/or physician to discuss your illness and potential benefits. From there, you will be directed to an appropriate Vet Center, which has counselors and psychologists who specialize in assessing the mental needs of veterans. These counselors will diagnose the illness and estimate the severity. Once the counselors diagnose you with a mental illness, the office will help fill out the appropriate paperwork to get disability benefits and will refer you to the appropriate mental illness program. The extent of disability benefits you receive depends on the assessment of the severity of the illness by the counselors. Benefits could range anywhere between zero and 100 percent of the benefits being sought.