How Telebehavioral Health Improves Mental Health Access for Rural Veterans
- May 1
- 3 min read
Travel to reach a primary care provider can be costly and burdensome in rural communities. Telebehavioral healthcare offers a practical solution to improve access for veterans.
The Mental Health Gap for Rural Veterans
Coming home from service can be its own kind of mission. Many veterans return carrying real weight: PTSD, depression, anxiety, and experiences that can be difficult to put into words.
For veterans living in rural communities, accessing care adds another layer of challenge. There are nearly 8 million veterans living in rural areas across the country, and for many of them, access to mental health services is significantly limited (U.S. GAO, 2024b). Distance, limited providers, and the cost and time associated with travel can turn a necessary appointment into an ordeal. For some veterans, that burden becomes a reason not to seek care at all.
Data from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that in 2021, rural veterans utilized outpatient intensive mental health services at a substantially lower rate than their urban counterparts (U.S. GAO, 2024a). This disparity reflects not a lack of need, but ongoing barriers to access.
What Makes Veteran Mental Health so Unique?
Veterans may face a range of mental health challenges, often occurring together. PTSD can co-occur with depression and substance use, increasing symptom severity and impacting work, relationships, sleep, daily functioning, and physical health.
Layered on top of this is the culture of military service.
Military service instills values of toughness, self-reliance, and prioritizing the mission before personal needs. While these values serve an important purpose during service, they can make it more difficult to seek help afterward. Research estimates that approximately 60% of military personnel who experience mental health concerns do not seek care, even though many could benefit from professional treatment. Stigma remains one of the most frequently reported barriers (Sharp et al., 2015).
Common concerns include fear of being treated differently by leadership and worry that seeking help could negatively impact one’s career (Sharp et al., 2015). These concerns often persist beyond active duty. In rural communities—where privacy can feel limited and social networks are tight-knit—the fear of being seen or judged can further compound hesitation to seek care.
Seeking Care Is Not a Weakness
For veterans who have spent years in a culture that discouraged vulnerability, shifting that mindset takes time. However, both research and lived experience are clear: treatment works, and access to care has improved.
Telebehavioral health through ValorMynd offers a way to begin that process from wherever you are—securely, privately, and with providers who understand the unique experiences of military service.
If you’re ready to take that first step, you can learn more about our Services and how we support veterans and their families.
At ValorMynd, our mission is to provide Texas veterans and their families with the high-quality mental health care they deserve. We understand military life, and we make this experience and connection the foundation of every service we offer.
Learn more about our Services, and sign up for our Newsletter for updates.
VA Mental Health: Additional Action Needed to Assess Rural Veterans’ Access to Intensive Care. U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2023, February 9). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-105544
VA Health Care: Office of Rural Health Efforts and Recommendations for Improvement. U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2024, January 11). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-107245
Sharp, M.-L., Fear, N. T., Rona, R. J., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., Jones, N., & Goodwin, L. (2015, January 16). Stigma as a barrier to seeking health care among military personnel with mental health problems. U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25595168/
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