More help could soon be on the way for veterans suffering from mental illnesses like PTSD.

When Brian Anderson came home from 10 years of active military duty he realized he was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“I was seeing my best friend Calvin drive the car next to me and he was killed September 29, 2010,” he said. “I was having images of bullets going through my head, rage coming through the door, and life just was not comfortable.”

To help with the symptoms, Anderson started using alternative therapies like Accelerated Resolution Therapy.

“What it’s trying to do is move those memories that are stuck in short-term memory, those things that are actually causing that post-traumatic stress or those triggers that actually occur, we’re trying to move those from short-term memory to long-term memory,”  said Anderson.

Another alternative therapy for Anderson was his service dog, appropriately named Hero.

These therapies are becoming more common for soldiers but often times aren’t part of their medical coverage. That’s why Congressman Gus Bilirakis is pushing for the COVER Act.

“Ultimately give the veteran the choice, if they want the traditional care that’s fine within the VA, but we want to make sure they have access to these alternative therapies that work, and the VA should pay for it,” said Congressman Bilirakis.

The idea is it would help veterans get treatments not typically covered by the VA like equine therapy, yoga, and other physical therapies. Right now there are centers sprouting up like Andersons new “Veterans Alternative” in Holiday, where many of these therapies are all in one place.

“When you have these kind of people coming into a place where they have someone who understands what they are actually going through, it changes their mindset,”  said Anderson.

Veterans Alternative offers the services for free but Congressman Bilirakis says many times that’s not the case and these kinds of services should be part of the VA’s full treatment regimen for veterans.

The bill would also establish a commission to examine the therapies and their potential benefits. Congressman Bilirakis says he hopes to get the bill passed through the house this month.

Veterans Alternative is holding an event this weekend to help raise funds for the non-profit.