Coaching Into Care is celebrating 10 years as a national phone service of the VA. We began as a pilot project in 2008 and launched East Coast sites in 2010 as Families at Ease. We changed the name to Coaching Into Care and added a West Coast site in 2011. 

Over the years, 66 people have worked at Coaching Into Care. During the past 10 years, we have received over 30,000 incoming calls from family members and friends of Veterans.

We recently published data in a scientific journal of a sample of our coaching cases to examine the impact of coaching. It indicated that coaching of a concerned family member was associated with an increase in the Veterans they were concerned about seeking mental health treatment. See the paper in the journal Psychiatric Services for details.

CIC was started as a program for family and friends of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans. However, we realized early on that family and friends of Veterans of all eras had needs, so we expanded our services to include Veterans of all eras. We have received calls from all over the world and do our best to help family or friends connect the Veteran they are concerned about to mental health services wherever they are.

Contact Coaching Into Care today for help in talking to a Veteran about getting mental health care: (888) 823-7458.

CIC is not a crisis line but remains at the forefront of suicide prevention and partners with the Veterans Crisis Line. We help family members have difficult conversations about safety and risk and seeking mental health treatment.. 

Last month was Suicide Prevention Month, and the National Veterans Suicide Prevention Annual Report was released. While the report shows that our work to prevent suicide is not done, there are signs of hope in our mission to end Veteran suicide. For instance, in 2019, we saw 399 fewer suicide deaths among Veterans than in 2018. This was a 7.2 percent decline in the suicide rate, which is four times the decline among non-Veterans. We also saw the most significant single-year decline – 13 percent – in suicide rates among women Veterans in 2019.   

Take a moment and Reach Out if you know a Veteran who is struggling. It can save a life. If you need help having that conversation, call us at (888) 823-7458.

Tips for Supporting a Veteran Dealing with Mental Health Concerns 

• Be aware of potential triggers that may aggravate a Veteran’s heightened alertness, such as loud noises on TV, fireworks, a car back-firing, etc. 
• Remind yourself that it’s not about you. Be patient when a Veteran is struggling with feelings, emotions, stress, and so on. 
• Talk about your feelings and encourage the Veteran to share their feelings about what is going on without forcing the issue. 
• Validate the Veteran’s feelings if they are willing to share them by simply listening, rather than offering advice. 
• Try to build in some enjoyable activities with the Veteran in your life on a regular basis. 
• Encourage sticking to schedules and routines. 
• Don’t force a Veteran into social outings. If they agree to go, plan ahead in case they feel uncomfortable and want to leave. 

If you have Mental Health concerns about a Veteran, call Coaching Into Care at (888) 823-7458 or email us at coachingintocare@va.gov.