Amid significant federal firings and executive orders, the Department of Veterans Affairs is facing a crisis in mental health care. With the impending loss of 80,000 jobs, both providers and patients express growing concern over deteriorating mental health services. Mental health professionals, wary of potential repercussions, are alarmed by directives to eliminate support for LGBTQ patients and are taking subversive actions to continue providing care. The culture within the VA has shifted towards a climate of fear, further alienating marginalized patients and compromising the integrity of mental health care services.
In the wake of federal firings and executive orders, providers and patients at the Department of Veterans Affairs say mental health and mental health care are suffering.
Therapists in other locations reported similar concern that these patients already in a marginalized population are being singled out and targeted for discrimination.
We're kind of skirting around that; some people have put up art in their office that says 'Love is love,' or a rainbow. So we're all kind of being subversive.
Employees at the VA have received emails encouraging them to report colleagues who are violating the new ban on diversity, equity and inclusion.
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