Veteran Mental Health is Family Mental Health

Honoring the Hidden Battles of Both Service Members and Their Spouses

May: Mental Health Awareness Month | Brain Treatment Center Ashburn

When we talk about military service, we often picture the individual in uniform. But those who serve don’t do it alone — their families serve beside them, often in silence.

At Brain Treatment Center Ashburn, we believe mental health care must reflect that reality.

The Weight of Service

Veterans face mental health challenges at rates significantly higher than the civilian population. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:

• Between 11–30% of veterans experience PTSD, depending on their era of service.

• Veterans are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than non-veteran adults (VA, 2022).

• Nearly 1 in 4 veterans report symptoms of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during or after service.

• About 1 in 3 returning service members seek mental health care, but only a fraction receive adequate treatment.

These numbers don’t exist in isolation. The impact of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and brain injury often spills into the family system, creating ripples of distress that affect spouses, children, and caregivers.

The Spouse’s Burden

Spouses of veterans carry an invisible load. The emotional toll of caring for someone with combat-related PTSD or TBI is immense — and frequently overlooked.

• Studies show that spouses of veterans with PTSD are significantly more likely to experience secondary traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and even symptoms of PTSD themselves (National Center for PTSD, 2020).

• Emotional withdrawal, irritability, insomnia, and dysregulation in the veteran often lead to strained marriages and caregiver fatigue.

• Spouses are also more likely to delay their own care, prioritizing their partner’s health while silently struggling.

The family’s nervous system becomes entangled in the stress response. Without proper care, this cycle can erode even the most committed relationships.

A Whole-Person, Neuroscience-Informed Approach

At Brain Treatment Center Ashburn, we offer a model that recognizes the biological, psychological, and relationalimpacts of trauma. We serve both veterans and their families with the following services:

🧠 MeRT (Magnetic EEG-Guided Resonance Therapy):

A non-invasive, individualized form of magnetic stimulation that restores communication in the brain, often improving symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and TBI.

🧬 Functional Medicine & Neuroinflammation Support:

We address root causes like chronic inflammation, gut-brain disruption, neurotoxic load, hormonal imbalances, and methylation issues that impact mental and emotional health.

🧘‍♀️ Trauma-Informed Occupational Therapy & Somatic Support:

Through nervous system regulation, brain-body integration, and sensorimotor interventions, we help patients and spouses reconnect with safety in their bodies.

💞 Family-Centered Care:

Our work doesn’t stop with the veteran. We advocate for care access for spouses, partners, and caregivers — including upcoming counseling services and integrative mental health options for military families.

You Are Not Alone

Whether you’re a combat veteran facing invisible wounds or a spouse carrying them silently at home, your story matters — and healing is possible.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, we invite you to take the first step toward restoration.

We are a veteran-founded organization, we bill Tricare and VACCN, and we are a clinic grounded in neuroscience, compassion, and community.

Because when one person serves, the whole family serves. And the whole family deserves healing.

📍 Serving Northern Virginia and the broader military community

Call today. We can't wait to help. 703-857-2560