Many veterans find it meaningful to have their experiences understood and put into clear words. I hope this process feels respectful, clarifying, and supportive.

At the same time, it is important to be clear about my role. When you book a Fieldstone service, my role is to provide an objective evaluation, records review, or medical opinion for your VA claim.

I am not becoming your treating therapist. This service does not include ongoing counseling, treatment planning, or crisis support.

• I can provide objective documentation, clinical analysis, and medical opinions based on the records and information available.
• I can make sure that my work is clear, clinically sound, evidence-based, and written in a way that meets the VA's standards.
• I can give you an honest professional opinion, even when that answer is not the one you were hoping for.
• I cannot guarantee what diagnosis I will make, what level of impairment I will find, whether I will be able to support a positive opinion, or how the VA will decide your claim.

That is because this is an objective forensic service, not a purchased conclusion. That objectivity is what makes the work credible — for the VA reviewing it, and for you as the veteran relying on it.

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Some Fieldstone service plans happen in phases.

This is intentional. In more complex claims, I may need to review records or complete an evaluation before I can know whether the next step is clinically supportable.

For example, a Nexus Letter or IMO may only make sense if the evidence supports a medical connection, aggravation, diagnosis issue, or other opinion the VA can reasonably consider.

If your plan is phased, you pay for one phase at a time. If the first phase does not support moving forward, the process stops there. If it does support moving forward, you can decide whether to continue.

The goal is to protect you from paying for a later step when my earlier work shows that the next step is not likely to be helpful or clinically supportable.

Every Fieldstone service plan includes a Records Review.

50-page base

The base Records Review covers up to 50 pages. If your records packet is longer than 50 pages, additional review is billed in 50-page increments.

This does not mean you should leave out important records. It means you should be thoughtful about what you upload. A smaller, more relevant packet is often more useful than hundreds of pages that do not address the question I need to answer.

Your Navigator result and the Records Guide can help you focus on the records most likely to matter for your situation.

Certification of Readiness

After you upload your records, you will be asked to certify that your records are ready for review. That is simply confirming that this is the complete packet you want me to review. Once you certify readiness, I begin reviewing the records you submitted. Any records added after that point will require an additional Records Review fee.

This step helps keep the review process clear, organized, and fair. It also gives you a chance to pause before review begins and make sure you have uploaded the records you want included.

All Fieldstone evaluations are completed by secure telehealth.

You will need to be in a private location where you can speak openly. You should also use a secure internet connection whenever possible.

The evaluation is not recorded. If we are disconnected, I will try to reconnect through the same platform and then by phone if needed.

Telehealth can make this process easier because you do not have to travel, sit in a waiting room, or complete the evaluation in an unfamiliar office. Choose a place where you can focus, speak freely, and take a break if you need one.

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Many service-connected veterans don't get approved on their first try. Here's what you need to know:

• You have one year from your denial date to file an appeal and keep your original claim date
• New evidence can completely change the outcome of your case
• Better documentation of your symptoms often reveals what the original examiner missed
• Proper nexus evidence can establish the service connection that wasn't clear initially

The question isn't whether you should appeal - it's what additional evidence you need to build a winning case.

Getting a denial letter can be frustrating and confusing. Often, the VA’s language doesn't clearly explain what went wrong or what you can do about it.

"No current diagnosis" - They're saying you don't have a mental disorder that meets DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria. This could mean the examiner missed something, or your symptoms don't yet meet the threshold for a formal diagnosis.

"Not service-connected" - They acknowledge you have a mental disorder but don't see evidence it's related to your military service. This often comes down to documentation and how well the connection was explained.

"Preexisting condition" - They believe you had the condition before military service and that service didn't make it worse. This is where the "presumption of soundness" becomes crucial to your case.

The key thing to understand: A denial is not a final decision. It's the VA's assessment based on the evidence they had at the time.