The Veteran Supported Education Service Treatment Manual: VetSEd

would be a good note to co-sign with the therapist. Encourage the other members of the
Veteran‘s treatment team to co-sign you on notes when the Veteran mentions school or
anything that might impact the Veteran‘s vocational goals or school performance.
Follow-up phone calls and encrypted e-mails to the Veteran‘s other providers about
shared concerns or issues the Veteran is experiencing may also be useful in maintaining
ongoing communication.
The next step to integrating with clinicians is to attend VHA hospital team meetings that
focus on the needs of OIF/OEF/OND clients. Coordinate with the chairperson of this
meeting so that you have an opportunity to ask about people on your caseload, to provide
a brief update on any important issues, and to arrange for individual meetings with
clinicians, as needed. This is also a good place to discuss, in advance, new referrals the
team is thinking of making and related issues.
Exercise
Take two minutes to role play a presentation to a clinical team. The Veteran you serve is
feeling anxious about school and is worried that it may be too stressful. You want some
input from the team on handling his/her worry and you also do not want the team to
encourage the Veteran to change his/her goal.
What information do you need to share with the team to start this conversation?
What questions do you have for the team?
How do you communicate your concern of the Veteran changing his/her goal due to the
worry about stress?
D. Engaging Key People/The Veteran’s Social Support Network
The Veteran‘s social support network can be very important in assisting the Veteran to
successfully identify and pursue an educational goal. Some Veterans may have a variety
of friends and family members available for support and others may no longer have the
same closeness they had before leaving for active duty. In any case, it is important for
the peer VetSEd provider to identify people who can support the Veteran, both
emotionally (providing encouragement, someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to
listen to, celebrate successes and share struggles), as well as practically (providing
transportation occasionally, childcare, a part time job, time to study, etc.)
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