PTSD/Law Enforcement Disqual/Re-evaluation

[Scotthen]

I am a Va therapist that has written a letter like this for someone applying to Border Patrol Position. He had history of PTSD and Alcoholism. My view of things was that any enforcement agency will have some PTSD like symptoms among it's employees and that an individual that has engaged in treatment with improvement would be an asset.

In the VA the complaint is that we usually under diagnosis PTSD, the idea of over diagnosis as a problem is a new one.

Before working at VA I could have quoted the diagnostic criteria but I clearly didn't understand what I was looking at.

Look at the GAF (Global Assessment of Function) part of your diagnosis, it should be beside a Roman Numeral V and be a number. This is an assessment of how your therapist sees you as doing; the lower the number the more impaired; 50-60 means your symptoms make some things hard to do; 60-70 means you have painful symptoms that don't interfere in your function.

You could ask for their work product which is the details of their decison.

Best of luck.

 

[rangerhead]

After much effort, I was able to get to the bottom line.
It is based purely on the VA Rating of 30%, and my counselor clearing me after the fact didn't matter. It basically is a bureaucratic CYA.

So, since I had that rating, I completed treatment... I have decided to go in and get re-evaluated.
I will one day post what the results of those actions were, though it will be a while.

 

[Bluemax111f]

A terrible story I hope this works out. This is the reason why people on the job who really need help will not seek it. No matter what the tambourine bangers tell you, it will hurt future job prospects, promotions, assignments. It happened to me.