Sensitive experiences and MST-related claims
You decide what to share. Pause, skip, or return later; keep care separate from compensation, use only the detail needed for the task, and use official VA care, form, evidence, and crisis resources.
Overview
You decide what to share You can pause, skip a question, take a break, or return later. Do not force yourself to enter graphic detail. Use only the information needed for the task, and use a private setting when reviewing sensitive records. Military sexual trauma can affect people of any identity. A claim task, a health-care conversation, and a crisis conversation serve different purposes. Claim Raven and Pathfinder are educational software; they are not treatment, confidential crisis care, representation, or a decision about whether to file.
Choose the task before discussing the experience
Keep care, crisis response, and compensation separate. Need Purpose Where to start Care Address physical or mental health needs with a qualified provider. Contact a VA medical facility and ask for its Veterans Health Administration MST coordinator, or use another care source you trust. Immediate crisis support Connect with trained responders when you may be in danger or unable to stay safe. Dial 988 then press 1, text 838255, or use the Veterans Crisis Line chat. Call 911 for immediate danger. Disability compensation Submit or review a claim under the current VA process. Use current VA claim, evidence, form, and decision-review instructions; care eligibility does not decide compensation eligibility. Evidence organization Preserve and label records, firsthand statements, dates, and known gaps. Use Pathfinder only for the detail you choose to record; it does not decide whether evidence proves the claim. VA MST-related care is separate from a claim VA says it provides free treatment for physical or mental health conditions related to MST without requiring a prior report, proof that the MST occurred, or a VA disability rating. Every VA medical facility has a VHA MST coordinator. Access to care does not itself establish eligibility for disability compensation.
Use a low-detail first pass
Name the task For example: locate a record, note an approximate period, identify a witness, review a form question, or contact an official coordinator. Use the least detail that works A neutral label such as sensitive service event, counseling record, transfer request, or witness statement may be enough to organize the next step. Separate source from memory Label what comes from a record, what you personally remember, what another person observed, and what remains uncertain. Stop when distress rises Save or leave the task only as the current product actually allows. Move to care or crisis support when that is the need. Do not rely on a deletion or non-retention promise This guide does not promise that a particular entry will not be saved or can be deleted. Do not enter unnecessary graphic detail, identifying information about another person, passwords, access codes, or unrelated private records.
Organize evidence without deciding what it proves
VA's MST compensation page describes direct and indirect evidence that may be submitted, including records or statements and evidence of changes after an experience. The absence of a contemporaneous report does not end the evidence inquiry. But an indirect record does not automatically prove the event, a diagnosis, service connection, severity, or an outcome. Synthetic organizational labels only; review the original source before using it. Source label What to record What not to assume Service or personnel record Date or range, custodian, document title, page, and the exact entry. That an assignment or performance change proves why it happened. Health or counseling record Provider or facility, date, record type, and documented observation. That treatment automatically establishes compensation eligibility or causation. Firsthand statement Who observed what, how they know, and the approximate period. That a witness can supply a complex medical conclusion outside their knowledge. Personal recollection What you remember, what is approximate, and what you do not remember. That uncertainty must be replaced with an exact date or graphic account.
Use VA Form 21-0781 as the current instructions direct
VA Form 21-0781 is the current statement form for claimed mental-health disorders due to in-service traumatic events. VA says the form is optional and it covers more than MST. VA discontinued the former Form 21-0781a in 2024. Confirm the current revision and filing instructions immediately before use. Read the complete current form before deciding what to enter. Use approximate information when that is all you know; do not invent precision. Keep a copy of the completed form and proof of submission. Do not assume the form is required for every person, every condition, or every MST-related task. Do not treat Pathfinder as the official form or as confirmation that VA received it.
Use Pathfinder with control
In Service Details, record only the service context you choose to include; it is not an MST determination. In Conversation with Raven, you decide what to share and can skip or take a break. In Evidence Builder, organize a source or bounded task without declaring the evidence sufficient, credible, or legally adequate. Review generated or summarized text and correct or remove unsupported language using only controls the product actually provides. Use official care and crisis channels outside Claim Raven when the need is health or immediate safety. For immediate help For 24/7 Veterans Crisis Line support, dial 988 then press 1, text 838255, or use the official chat. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room for immediate danger. These are official crisis services; Claim Raven is not a crisis provider and does not make their confidentiality promises on their behalf.
If the task becomes hard to continue
If the task becomes hard to continue I do not want to describe the experience here. Identify whether any detail is necessary for this task. Use a neutral label or skip. Choose a private, trusted care or support setting if you want to discuss more. Do not force disclosure into Pathfinder. Return only if and when you choose. I need care, not a claim task. Pause the claim work. Contact a VA medical facility and ask for the VHA MST coordinator. Use another qualified care source you trust. Care does not require completing a Claim Raven task or filing a compensation claim. I am not safe right now. Dial 988 then press 1 or text 838255. Use the official Veterans Crisis Line chat. Call 911 for immediate danger. Stop the claims task and use immediate crisis or emergency support. I found a record that may relate to the experience. Preserve the original. Record source, date, page, and exact contents. Keep any interpretation separate. Organize the source without saying the record automatically proves the event or claim. Pause or skip whenever needed. Use official care or crisis services for health and safety, and return to a bounded claim task only when you choose.
Official sources
Official sources VA: Military sexual trauma and disability compensation https://www.va.gov/resources/military-sexual-trauma-and-disability-compensation/ VA health care: Military sexual trauma https://www.va.gov/health-care/health-needs-conditions/military-sexual-trauma/ VA Form 21-0781: Statement in Support of Claimed Mental Health Disorder(s) Due to an In-Service Traumatic Event(s) https://www.va.gov/forms/21-0781/ VA: Evidence needed for a disability claim https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/evidence-needed/ Veterans Crisis Line https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/
Related guidance
Related guidance Veterans Crisis Line /help-center/get-support/static-veterans-crisis-line Tell your story in plain language /help-center/statements-and-scribe/static-tell-your-story-in-plain-language Organize evidence and preserve originals /help-center/claims-and-appeals/static-evidence-organization Read broad mental-health claim guidance /claims-guide/mental-health
More information
Return only when you choose Use the smallest necessary detail, keep sources and uncertainty visible, and pause or skip whenever the task is not the right place for you. Return to Pathfinder /guided-program