A ProPublica investigation published March 12, 2026 found that hundreds of mental health professionals have left the Department of Veterans Affairs since President Trump returned to office, and that some veterans can wait as long as six months for therapy. In January the department had around 500 fewer psychologists and psychiatrists than a year earlier, about 4% of its psychologists and 6% of its psychiatrists, and its cohort of social workers, some of whom are licensed therapists, declined by nearly 700 over the year. VA data showed the agency adding psychologists every quarter until Trump's return, after which departures outpaced hires in all four quarters of 2025.
Front-line mental health workers were largely exempted from the administration's job cuts, but hundreds left anyway. In an internal exit survey obtained by ProPublica, departing staff described understaffing, burnout and care they considered unethical; one wrote, “Mental Health is understaffed, burned out, and there is not enough mental health care for the Veterans who need the services.” Former staff interviewed by ProPublica cited heavier workloads, new restrictions on telehealth that pushed therapists back into offices, and administration policies on diversity and LGBTQ+ care. Many vacated positions went unfilled during a yearlong hiring freeze lifted in January.
In early February, more than half of VA hospitals and clinics reported wait times for new one-on-one mental health patients longer than the VA's 20-day goal, according to ProPublica's analysis of the agency's published data. VA Secretary Doug Collins told senators the average wait for new mental health patients was under 20 days, while another VA official acknowledged waits at some facilities “beyond what our expectations and standards would be.” A VA spokesperson accused ProPublica of “cherry picking issues that are limited to a handful of sites and in many cases were worse under the Biden Administration,” and cited more than 15.5 million direct mental health appointments in fiscal 2025, up 4%.
Update (October 2, 2026): In August, more than 60 House Democrats, led by Rep. Judy Chu, wrote to Collins citing the investigation and demanding data on the provider shortage and wait times; ProPublica reported that VA head counts of psychologists and psychiatrists continued to decline. In September, a VA Office of Inspector General survey report found facilities reporting 4,712 severe occupational staffing shortages for fiscal 2026, the most in seven years, with psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers among the top five clinical shortage occupations. The VA said the survey reflects positions that are hard to fill, not actual vacancies.
Correction (October 2, 2026): The previous title said 700 therapists quit; the record shows the social worker cohort fell by nearly 700 and the VA had around 500 fewer psychologists and psychiatrists. The entry also said one California clinic lost 7 of its 12 providers and that the national average wait reached 35+ days; neither figure appears in the reporting, and both were removed. A paragraph linking the departures to Iran war casualties was removed because no source supports it.