Your VA Therapist Is Leaving. So Is the Next One. Here’s Why.

A ProPublica investigation found 500 fewer VA psychologists and psychiatrists and nearly 700 fewer social workers since Trump took office. Veterans are losing their therapists. At Hampton VA Medical Center, the staff left behind carry the weight — and the union is fighting for them.

At a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facility in Arizona, a psychologist is seeing patients in 16-minute appointments. Group therapy sessions have been expanded to 35 veterans at a time. One veteran in Nebraska saw his fourth therapist exit before he gave up on mental health care entirely.

This is not an isolated story. It is the national picture.

A ProPublica investigation published in March 2026 documented what is happening inside the VA’s mental health system after a year of the second Trump administration: 500 fewer psychologists and psychiatrists compared to January 2025. Nearly 700 fewer social workers. More than half of VA hospitals and clinics reporting individual mental health appointment wait times that exceed the agency’s own 20-day goal.

At Hampton VA Medical Center, our members are carrying that weight right now.

What the Investigation Found

ProPublica — one of the nation’s most respected investigative news organizations — interviewed dozens of current and former VA staff and patients, and examined a previously unreported internal employee exit survey. What they found was a system under severe and accelerating strain.

  • ✅ 500 fewer psychologists and psychiatrists VA-wide since Trump took office (January 2026 vs. January 2025)
  • ✅ ~700 fewer social workers — many of whom provide direct mental health counseling
  • ✅ 14,000+ vacant health care positions eliminated system-wide
  • ✅ More than half of VA hospitals and clinics exceeding the 20-day new patient appointment goal
  • ✅ Community care scheduling averaging 25 days just for a confirmed appointment date — four times the VA’s stated goal

The VA had been adding psychologists every quarter from May 2023 until Trump returned to office. Then the trend reversed — departures have outpaced hires every quarter since.

Why are they leaving? Staff cited burnout, policy disagreements, and a belief they could no longer provide ethical care. From the internal exit survey:

“Mental Health is understaffed, burned out, and there is not enough mental health care for the Veterans who need the services.”

“Support is no longer there to provide ethical and good care for these Veterans. Scheduling issues are incredibly high due to poor staff hiring and retention.”

“The number of new patients seeking help is far too high, making it unethical to accept more veterans in our clinics.”

A hiring freeze — in place for a full year — was only lifted in January. Many vacated positions remain unfilled. The VA declined ProPublica’s request for an interview with an official familiar with its mental health programs.

What This Means for Hampton VAMC

Hampton VA Medical Center serves veterans across Hampton Roads — one of the highest concentrations of military and veteran families in the country. Our bargaining unit includes 136 mental health staff and 76 social workers. These are your colleagues. Some of them are the same people veterans depend on to manage crises, process trauma, and stay alive.

When 700 social workers leave the VA system nationwide, the ones who remain inherit their caseloads. When psychologists and psychiatrists exit faster than they’re hired, appointment slots shrink, group sessions balloon, and individual time is cut to minutes.

At Hampton VAMC, management has already begun directing providers to absorb patients from absent colleagues — a unilateral overbooking policy communicated verbally in huddles, with no written standard, no union notice, and no bargaining. That is not a coincidence. It is what happens when a staffing crisis is met with silence from leadership and suppression of the workers’ voice.

The union filed a formal grievance over the overbooking directive. Because that is what the union is for.

What You Can Do

  1. If you are a Hampton VAMC employee experiencing unsustainable workload increases, mandatory overtime, or unilateral changes to your clinic assignments: contact AFGE Local 2328. That is a grievable issue. Reach us at [email protected] or call (757) 750-9086.
  2. If you are a veteran experiencing long wait times or losing your assigned therapist: you have the right to advocate for your care. Contact your congressional representative — Rep. Bobby Scott (Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District) and Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner need to hear from Hampton Roads veterans directly.
  3. Join the union. Every member strengthens our ability to grieve, bargain, and push back against policies that harm both workers and veterans. Join here →
  4. Share this. Your coworkers who are carrying these impossible caseloads deserve to know someone is paying attention.

Sources

In solidarity, AFGE Local 2328 — Representing the employees of Hampton VA Medical Center

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