EDUCATION LIBRARY
Understand the clinical questions behind the VA claim process.
Plain-language guides explain exams, evidence, mental health questions, and common report types. Start where you are. You do not have to learn everything at once.
NEW GUIDE
01 / START WHERE YOU ARE
Which statement sounds most like you?
Your answer points to a useful place to begin. It does not choose a service or decide what your claim needs.
I may file a mental health claim
Learn what clinical facts may need to be shown.
See how the evidence fits
My claim is underway
Understand claim exams, DBQs, and medical opinions.
Start with the C&P exam
I am already service connected
Learn about current severity, work effects, and secondary conditions.
See common clinical questions
I disagree with a VA decision
Start by naming what the current record shows and what remains unclear.
Learn about records reviews
02 / START HERE
A short path through the basics.
New to the process? Read these in order. Each guide builds on the one before it.
03 / CLAIMS EDUCATION
Exams, evidence, and medical opinions.
Learn what each part does, what question it may answer, and how it fits with the rest of the record.
NEW OFFICIAL-OVERSIGHT GUIDE
What do government audits actually say about C&P exams?
Separate meaningful system findings from overstatement—and prepare for accuracy without rehearsing.
NEW RECORD-LITERACY GUIDE
What does the record say—and what does it not establish?
Read DD Form 214s, assignments, evaluations, discipline, health forms, and firsthand statements across time.
01
What is a nexus letter?
A nexus letter answers one medical relationship question. It does not decide the claim.
Read the guide
02
Mental health C&P exams
The examiner gathers clinical facts. VA—not the examiner—decides the claim.
Read the guide
03
Template nexus letters
A strong opinion may use a set format, but its facts and reasoning must be personal.
Read the guide
04
Mental health and TDIU
A diagnosis alone does not show work limits. The report must explain what symptoms do at work.
Read the guide
05
Prepare without rehearsing
Prepare the facts, not a performance.
Read the guide
06
Direct mental health claims
The key question is when the condition began and whether the full evidence supports a link to service.
Read the guide
07
Secondary mental health claims
A possible link is not enough. The opinion must explain how the link fits this veteran’s history.
Read the guide
08
Compare common report terms
Start with the question that needs an answer. Then choose the right exam or report.
Read the guide
09
Markers for personal assault or MST
A marker may support the timeline. One marker does not prove an assault, and no marker does not mean the assault did not happen.
Read the guide
10
How to gather your records
Start early, ask for the right record set, and keep the files in a clear order. You do not need to send the same page many times.
Read the guide
11
What official audits say about C&P exams
The audits show recurring system weaknesses. They do not show that every exam is poor or that every examiner acts in bad faith.
Read the guide
04 / AREAS OF FOCUS
Start with the kind of question your claim raises.
These guides explain what each area means, what a psychologist reviews, and what facts may help make the question clear.
PTSD
Trauma, symptoms, and the link between them
Explore this area
Military Sexual Trauma
MST, markers, and trauma-informed review
Explore this area
Depression & Anxiety
Onset, causes, symptoms, and daily effects
Explore this area
Secondary Conditions
Whether another condition caused or worsened it
Explore this area
Diagnostic Clarification
Sorting out symptoms that may overlap
Explore this area
Current Severity & Functioning
What has changed and how life is affected now
Explore this area
Occupational Functioning
How symptoms affect basic work tasks
Explore this area
Records & Prior Opinions
What the file shows, misses, or leaves unclear
Explore this area
05 / MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION
Symptoms, diagnoses, and daily effects.
Use short examples to see why timing, symptom patterns, and real-life effects matter.
01
Mental health conditions guide
A symptom list can help you learn. It cannot diagnose you. Diagnosis depends on the full pattern, timeline, causes, and daily effects.
Read the guide
02
Suicide risk and getting help
Stay calm and ask directly. Listen without judging. The next step depends on whether the thoughts are brief, getting stronger, or tied to a plan and intent.
Read the guide
03
Firearms, privacy, and emergency laws
A safety talk, an emergency mental health hold, and a red flag order are different things. None happens automatically because a veteran reports a troubling thought.
Read the guide
04
Insomnia, PTSD, and depression
The first job is to define the sleep problem. Then the clinician can study what may be causing or worsening it.
Read the guide
05
Moral injury and PTSD
Moral injury names an experience. PTSD names a clinical condition.
Read the guide
06
PTSD and the DBQ
The form organizes facts. The examiner gives those facts clinical meaning.
Read the guide
06 / THINK LIKE AN EXAMINER
Turn a broad concern into a clear clinical question.
A diagnosis is only one part of the picture. A clinician also looks at the timeline, other possible causes, and what symptoms change in daily life.
07 / NEXT STEPS
Use the next step that fits.
Keep learning, check what may be missing, or ask Dr. Bell a question.
Official veteran resources
Find crisis help, treatment, and records guidance.
Claims Readiness Check
Answer four private questions and print a reading plan. Nothing is saved or sent.
Free 15-minute consultation
Ask Dr. Bell whether VA Nexus Psych may fit your needs.