Mental Health Visual Guide Library

19 printable one-page charts that catalogue how VA mental health claims work: the General Rating Formula under 38 CFR 4.130, what occupational and social impairment means at each level, the one-rating rule for multiple mental-health diagnoses, service-connection pathways, C&P exam preparation, and research on the evidence and symptoms that appear in published Board decisions for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.

19 visual guides. 8 research charts refresh weekly from RateMyVSO's analysis of 1,897,000+ published BVA decisions; each chart prints its own sample size and data date. The other 11 state the rating rules or the legal tests and change only when the law does.

How to use this library

Every guide is a single tall image sized for printing or saving to your phone. Select any card to open the full-resolution image, or use the download link under it. The rating and reference charts summarize the published criteria; the research charts report what RateMyVSO measured in published Board decisions, with the population and data date printed on the chart itself.

These charts catalogue published rules and observed Board outcomes. They do not predict any individual claim and are not legal or medical advice. For the full written guidance behind them, start with the mental health hub.

Common Questions

Can I download, print, and share these guides?
Yes. Every guide has a free full-resolution PNG download, sized for printing on letter paper or reading on a phone. Share them freely; please keep the footer attribution intact so readers can find the underlying data.
How current are the research numbers?
The research charts are regenerated every week from the same data files that power this site's live mental health statistics. Each chart prints the generation date of its own data sources in the footer, so you always know exactly when its numbers were produced.
Do these charts predict my claim?
No. They report what happened in published Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions, which are appeals, not initial claims, and are described with their exact sample on each chart. An observed grant share is a description of past decided cases, never a probability for any individual claim.

Related Tools and Guides

Mental Health Hub
The written guidance behind these charts, from diagnosis through rating.
Mental Health Rating Formula
How 38 CFR 4.130 assigns 0, 10, 30, 50, 70, and 100 percent.
PTSD Visual Guides
The companion 18-poster PTSD library, including stressor verification.
BVA Decision Search
Search the published Board decisions these research charts are built from.
Educational use only. These visual guides catalogue published VA rules and observed outcomes in published Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions. They are not legal or medical advice, do not predict any individual claim, and are not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sample sizes and data dates are printed on each chart.