Past affecting future?

[Cin]

Hi, ive always worried and wondered about your past mental health issues coming to creep up on you when you apply for a job, especially within psychology. On the surface i have tried to ignore it but deep down it is quite scary to think that any help you seek and any mental health problem you go through is recorded and can be tracked down and dug up later in life probably when you least expect it, and maybe used against you.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Cin, with the possible exception of certain organizations or positions requiring "top secret" security clearance, your medical-psychiatric-psychological information is confidential and cannot be released to anyone without your consent or a court order.

If I were to reveal information about a client without the client's consent (other than via a court order or to protect self or others from imminent and serious physical harm), I would li8kely lose my license and be subject to substantial financial penalties via a lawsuit.

 

[Daniel E.]

Having previous psychological problems seems to be the norm:

Of the many prominent psychotherapists I've interviewed in recent months, only one admitted that he had entered the profession because of personal problems. But most felt this was a common occurrence. In fact, the idea that therapy is a haven for the psychologically wounded is as old as the profession itself. Freud himself asserted that childhood loss was the underlying cause of an adult's desire to help others. And Freud's daughter, Anna, herself a prominent psychoanalyst, once said, "The most sophisticated defense mechanism I ever encountered was becoming a psychotherapist." So it's only appropriate that John Fromson, M.D., director of a Massachusetts program for impaired physicians, describes the mental health field as one in which "the odd care for the id." He chuckled as he said this, but, as Freud claimed, humor is often a mask for disturbing truths.

...

A number of surveys, conducted by Guy and others, reveal some worrisome statistics about therapists' lives and well-being. At least three out of four therapists have experienced major distress within the past three years, the principal cause being relationship problems. More than 60 percent may have suffered a clinically significant depression at some point in their lives, and nearly half admitted that in the weeks following a personal crisis they're unable to deliver quality care.

Psychology Today: Why shrinks have so many problems (Jul/Aug 97)

 

[Cin]

Thank you both for your replies,,my mind on that topic has settled after reading this. Hopefully my pursuit for a career in psychology will not be dragged down with any of the problems im having now. Past will be past.

 

[delta sierra]

Cin, with the possible exception of certain organizations or positions requiring "top secret" security clearance, your medical-psychiatric-psychological information is confidential and cannot be released to anyone without your consent or a court order.

What about a "Level II" or "Secret" security clearance? "Top Secret" of course being a "Level I". I have filled out security forms for "Secret" Clearance for a new position, but I am trying to start counselling right now with a Psychologist for a couple of issues I have. Will they be able to access this information? Note though that I have not yet begun seeing someone, and the forms have been in for a couple of weeks. This is one of the reasons I've waited to see someone though.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I don't know enough about the different levels of security to be able to comment on Level 1 vs. Level 2.

I do know that in my career I have been run through security checks several times regarding confidential and secret information. They all involved criminal checks of myself and my family but no medical checks beyond the standard physical examinations.

On the other hand, I've never worked for CSIS or military intelligence or anything that "top secret" -- I've no idea what their security checks would look like other than assuming they'd be deeper.

 

[delta sierra]

Unfortunately the security check is performed by CSIS, although the position is not with CSIS, it is sort of another Gov't agency. I'm hoping my security clearance will not be jeapordized by seeing a psychologist.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

The only answer I can give you, Delta, is that it probably depends on (1) the level of security clearance required and (2) the specific agency you're working for.

Remember too that many people see psychologists for all sorts of reasons, including conflicts with children or worries about how they're doing in school, etc. Unless specific information is released by the psychologist, which would not happen without your signed consent, the mere fact that you are seeing one wouldn't provide much information.

Have you yet met with the psychologist? If so, discuss this with him/her...