Insensitive, out-of-touch? FAA's recent mental health post on Instagram

Palmpilot said:
In order to answer that, I would need to know how DSM5 defines mild alcohol-use disorder.

In any case, if a case were classified as mild, couldn't the FAA still consider that disqualifying if they felt it was warranted?
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It's like NASA saying we are sticking with the geocentric model of the solar system just because we don't want to deal with the idea of the Earth moving.

Shouldn't the FAA strive to base its decisions and policies on the current state of the science rather than an outdated understanding of it?
 
Lindberg said:
Are you under the impression that I've done something wrong? Could you believe that I've neither reported these visits on the medxpress form nor improperly omitted them, simply because I'm not required to disclose them?
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I donno, I just wouldn't talk about it online.
 
Lindberg said:
Why not? I'm trying to counter the OWTs that are rampant online. No one feels shy about spreading those; why should I be shy about spreading the truth? Much has been written to dispel these myths, but it seems around here, most are more interested in complaining about the FAA.

https://aviatorshq.com/can-pilots-see-a-therapist-psychologist/
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The problem with the information in your link is that for most people seeking a psychologist/therapist will mean getting a diagnosis 100% of the time if they are using insurance. Which means its reportable.
 
Principal said:
The problem with the information in your link is that for most people seeking a psychologist/therapist will mean getting a diagnosis 100% of the time if they are using insurance. Which means its reportable.
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Sort of like getting a PTSD or other sort of disability award when leaving military service, which has also bitten more than one potential pilot.
 
Lindberg said:
Why not? I'm trying to counter the OWTs that are rampant online. No one feels shy about spreading those; why should I be shy about spreading the truth? Much has been written to dispel these myths, but it seems around here, most are more interested in complaining about the FAA.

https://aviatorshq.com/can-pilots-see-a-therapist-psychologist/
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From that link:

Medical-Form.jpg


That page references a 2006 version of the instructions. The current instructions on the FAA's MedXpress page are confusing on this point. They have similar language in Appendix A, page b, but pages 28-29 omit it:

"List visits for counseling only if related to a personal substance abuse or psychiatric condition." -Appendix A, page b

vs

"-You are required to enter ALL visits to any health professionals (such as a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, psychologist, psychiatrist, chiropractor, clinical social worker, or substance abuse specialist, including an EAP employer-sponsored specialist) for treatment, examination, or medical/mental evaluation.
-Multiple visits to one health professional for the same condition may be aggregated on one line (you may use the most recent date in the date field).
-You do not need to enter routine dental and eye examinations or periodic FAA medical examinations and visits to health professionals related to an Authorization for Special Issuance." -pages 28-29
​
https://medxpress.faa.gov/MedXpress/Content/Docs/MedXPressUsersGuide.pdf

:dunno:
 
Palmpilot said:
From that link:

Medical-Form.jpg


That page references a 2006 version of the instructions. The current instructions on the FAA's MedXpress page are confusing on this point. They have similar language in Appendix A, page b, but pages 28-29 omit it:

"List visits for counseling only if related to a personal substance abuse or psychiatric condition." -Appendix A, page b

vs

"-You are required to enter ALL visits to any health professionals (such as a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, psychologist, psychiatrist, chiropractor, clinical social worker, or substance abuse specialist, including an EAP employer-sponsored specialist) for treatment, examination, or medical/mental evaluation.
-Multiple visits to one health professional for the same condition may be aggregated on one line (you may use the most recent date in the date field).
-You do not need to enter routine dental and eye examinations or periodic FAA medical examinations and visits to health professionals related to an Authorization for Special Issuance." -pages 28-29
​
https://medxpress.faa.gov/MedXpress/Content/Docs/MedXPressUsersGuide.pdf

:dunno:
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I'm not sure what is confusing. The Medxpress users guide has this language: "19. VISITS TO HEALTH PROFESSIONAL WITHIN LAST 3 YEARS – List all visits in the last 3 years to a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, psychologist, clinical social worker, or substance abuse specialist for treatment, examination, or medical/mental evaluation. List visits for counseling only if related to a personal substance abuse or psychiatric condition. . . ."
 
Principal said:
The problem with the information in your link is that for most people seeking a psychologist/therapist will mean getting a diagnosis 100% of the time if they are using insurance. Which means its reportable.
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Could you elaborate a bit on what you believe the issue with that is because I am not sure I understand.

I don't have a problem with the FAA wanting to know that you've been diagnosed with a mental condition. If that diagnosis is "acute stress," then you shouldn't have a problem, but if it's "bipolar disorder," then more scrutiny is warranted. If your concern is that a psychologist might give you a diagnosis of bipolar disorder you don't actually have, that's the fault of the psychologist, not the FAA, and if the psychologist does it for the purpose of getting insurance reimbursement, that's fraud. Regardless, the question here didn't seem to be about insurance, but whether the FAA punishes pilots for getting counseling. You can certainly pay cash if you're worried about getting an incorrect insurance-motivated diagnosis, use a company EAP program, talk to a priest, or avail yourself of multiple other counseling options that don't involve insurance. The fact remains that counseling in the absence of substance abuse or a diagnosed mental condition is not reportable.
 
Lindberg said:
I'm not sure what is confusing. The Medxpress users guide has this language: "19. VISITS TO HEALTH PROFESSIONAL WITHIN LAST 3 YEARS – List all visits in the last 3 years to a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, psychologist, clinical social worker, or substance abuse specialist for treatment, examination, or medical/mental evaluation. List visits for counseling only if related to a personal substance abuse or psychiatric condition. . . ."
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The instructions I quoted from pages 28 to 29 of that user guide omit the exception (which you and I both quoted), and they put "ALL" in all-caps, implying that they wanted to emphasize that they mean "all" visits. The exception only appears in the appendix. The fact that the current user guide has two conflicting versions of the instructions for Item 19 creates doubt in my mind as to what their intent really is.

Maybe the fact that the exception appears in one of the two versions of the instructions in the current user guide would be enough to either prevent or challenge an enforcement action, but I don't know enough about legal issues to have an informed opinion on that.
 
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