| VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS), widely recognized for its innovative treatment and research programs, introduced the Women's Mental Health Center in October 2002. The Center was created in recognition of women veterans and their right for gender-sensitive, high quality mental health care. The Center's mission, to promote the psychological well-being of women veterans, is advanced via provision of individual and group therapy, and delivery of psychoeducational classes and seminars developed in response to the unique needs of the women we serve. |
National Women's Trauma Recovery Program More than a decade ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs opened the National Women's  Trauma Recovery Program (WTRP) as part of the National Center for PTSD at Menlo Park, CA. The WTRP, designed to treat women veterans with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is the first residential program of its kind and is open to women across the country. Many of the women who are referred to the program were sexually assaulted during their military service and suffer what is now referred to as Military Sexual Trauma (MST).The WTRP is intensive 60-day residential program with a strong emphasis on interpersonal skills. The initial two weeks of treatment involve psychological and psychosocial assessments in order to develop comprehensive treatment plans. Women come into the program in classes, or cohorts, and work together to problem-solve, learn effective communication, and better manage their PTSD/MST symptoms.
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