Mental Health Policy

In order to respect the privacy of our victims, VVF has developed a mental health policy that verifies treatment is related to the crime without having to view the counselor’s notes. The counselor must submit a completed Mental Health Treatment Request indicating that treatment is related to the crime incident along with a professional treatment plan.

Counseling must be provided by a medical doctor, clinical psychologist, clinical social worker, or professional counselor licensed pursuant to Title 54.1, Chapters 35 through 37, Code of Virginia, or by a clinical nurse specialist who renders mental health services, pursuant to Title 54.1, Chapter 30, Code of Virginia. Individuals receiving treatment outside of the Commonwealth must be served by a provider licensed in the state or country where services are rendered.

In order to consider counseling expenses reasonable and appropriate, the Fund expects treatment rendered to be crime-centered and time-specific. The Fund considers reimbursement for those disorders as specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V as Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders. The Fund will only consider payment for treatment that has been empirically proven to be effective for trauma victims.

Outpatient mental health counseling shall be limited to forty (40) sessions per claim, beginning on the date of the first counseling session. Sessions exclusively for the purposes of medication management will be counted in the 40-session limit and will be considered in conjunction with mental health treatment.

Consideration will be given upon the practitioner’s completion of the Mental Health Treatment Request.

In cases of exigent circumstances; however, there shall be a contingency to allow for the approval of more than forty (40) sessions per claim. Approval in these circumstances must be granted by the Fund’s Director.

Mental health counseling for parents/family of minor child victims is allowable as long as the counseling is focused on the victim and the crime incident. Court-ordered counseling for parents or family members will not be considered.

For counseling purposes, a minor child who is a witness of violence involving a caretaker is considered as a primary victim. Their presence at the scene must be confirmed by a law-enforcement agency.

Inpatient mental health counseling shall be considered upon receipt of the practitioner’s notes.