Practice Test Geeks(CVA) Certified Veterans Advocate Practice Test
← All CVA Flashcard Decks

Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Care for Veterans Flashcards

7 cards from real CVA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Care for Veterans flashcards as text

  1. A veteran develops major depressive disorder as a direct result of service-connected PTSD. Under VA regulations, how is this secondary condition handled?

    Answer: It can be service-connected as secondary to the PTSD under 38 CFR 3.310

    Under 38 CFR 3.310, a disability that is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury shall be service connected, allowing secondary conditions like depression to be connected through PTSD.

  2. Which tool does the VA commonly use to screen veterans for PTSD during Primary Care visits?

    Answer: PC-PTSD-5 (Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5)

    The PC-PTSD-5 is VA's standard five-item screening tool used in primary care settings to identify veterans who may have PTSD and require further evaluation.

  3. What is the relationship between Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and PTSD for VA rating purposes?

    Answer: TBI and PTSD are rated separately under different diagnostic codes and can both be service connected

    TBI is rated under Diagnostic Code 8045 under the neurological section while PTSD is rated under DC 9411, and both can be separately rated as co-existing conditions.

  4. Under the VA MISSION Act of 2018, veterans with mental health conditions may access community care when which condition is met?

    Answer: VA cannot provide the care within a designated access standard or the veteran and VA agree community care is in their best interest

    The MISSION Act established access standards (typically 30 minutes or 20 days for mental health) and veterans are eligible for community care when VA cannot meet those standards or when both the veteran and VA provider agree it is in the veteran's best interest.

  5. What is required for a veteran's private mental health provider to write an effective nexus letter connecting a mental health condition to military service?

    Answer: A clear statement of the diagnosis, a description of the in-service stressor or event, and a medical opinion with supporting rationale linking the two

    An effective nexus letter must include the diagnosis, identification of the specific in-service event or stressor, and a reasoned medical opinion (at least 'as likely as not') with supporting rationale connecting the two.

  6. Which VA evidence-based psychotherapy is considered a first-line treatment for PTSD and involves directly discussing traumatic events to change how veterans think about their trauma?

    Answer: Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

    Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is one of VA's primary evidence-based treatments for PTSD, focusing on identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts (stuck points) related to the trauma.

  7. A veteran with service-connected PTSD rated at 70% is unable to maintain substantially gainful employment due to that condition alone. What additional VA benefit should an advocate explore?

    Answer: Individual Unemployability (TDIU)

    TDIU (Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability) allows a veteran whose service-connected disability prevents gainful employment to be compensated at the 100% rate even without a 100% schedular rating.