Depression and employment

[taurusowner]

Would most police departments choose not to hire someone if they has sought counseling for depression?  What if they been prescribed/taken medication for depression?

[AJ Dual]

With HIPAA laws being what they are, how would they ever know unless they ask?

[MillCreek]

The Occupational Health department at my facility does pre-employment physicals.  This is asked about as part of the medical history.  Each department sets its own medical standards for hire.  Although it depends on the specifics, a history of treated depression is not necessarily a bar to being hired. 

[taurusowner]

With HIPAA laws being what they are, how would they ever know unless they ask?

As millcreek noted, many departments do indeed ask questions such as "Have you ever sought psychological counseling for any reason?" right on the initial application.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i don't know about depression specifically   a friend disclosed being a recovering alcoholic and was afraid that it would kill his chances.  the guy in the interview said that it was not a dis-qualifier and hes been a cop almost 10 years.  i believe he also had depression issues but we never discussed that. his interviewer said they'd rather get his rehab done before he was a cop since so many end up going after a few years.  he said being truthful was most important

[MillCreek]

As RD and other active/retired military here probably know, it used to be that being treated for depression and other psychological issues usually meant a quick discharge from active duty.  So a lot of active duty military got treated on the economy and just paid cash to minimize any chance of discovery.  Fortunately this has changed and you can now get treatment.  A lot of people still get treated on the economy so as not to lose any clearances.  

A friend of mine retired as an O-5 after spending his career on Trident subs.  He had been getting treatment for depression on the economy for about the last six years of his military career.  He said that if the Navy had known about it, he would have been beached immediately and lost all of his classification and nuclear clearances.  

[Fjolnirsson]

Depends on the local hiring environment. I know I avoided seeking help for my depression after asking this same question. In the East S.F. Bay of CA, in the late 90s until about 2003(when I left), any little thing like a history of depression was enough to get you overlooked. They had thousands of highly educated and qualified folks seeking each position. They could afford to be choosy. It depends on where you go.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i'd forgotten that  when i went to rehab the 1/2 way house i lived in had a master chief who they put out  and it was his depression they did it for  not the boozing.  glad to hear that changed.  they put out a guy who lived and breathed navy and judging from what some of the guys who served with him said was agood albeit tough boss wgo tool care of what mattered. it was the navys loss and it really hurt him

[taurusowner]

Depends on the local hiring environment. I know I avoided seeking help for my depression after asking this same question. In the East S.F. Bay of CA, in the late 90s until about 2003(when I left), any little thing like a history of depression was enough to get you overlooked. They had thousands of highly educated and qualified folks seeking each position. They could afford to be choosy. It depends on where you go.

That's what I'm afraid of.  I know all the official "non discrimination" regulations say one thing.  But in this job market, where using blue ink on an app when they want black is enough to get your app trashed, I'm afraid answering "Yes" to any of the psych checkboxes will be an automatic DQ.

[Fjolnirsson]

I won't try to dissuade you from pursuing your dream. I will relate my story. My depression handicapped everything I did, and was due in large part to an underlying medical condition. I wish I had gotten help. I regret the decade I more or less lost to depression.

On the other hand, I fought it out by myself, and have climbed out of the hole on my own. That's something I am mighty proud of. I don't recommend it, though.

[Balog]

If you need treatment, you should get it. I was pretty severely depressed after Iraq (although I also have the PTSD thing going on they tell me, so that didn't help) and I'm really glad I got help. If it screws up your shot at the cop shop that would suck: but it's a real, physical problem and ignoring it won't make it go away.

One of my best friends has very bad post-partum depression. It took me forever to talk her repressed east coast ass into getting help, but as I told her "It's no different than getting cancer. It sucks a lot, but ignoring it makes it worse and ruins everything."

Whatever the consequences of treatment, they beat the hell out of the alternative. I'll also observe that hopelessness is kind of a symptom of depression, so consider that all the horrible things you can imagine happening as a result of trying to get help may not be as dire as they seem.

[Grandpa Shooter]

If you need treatment, you should get it. I was pretty severely depressed after Iraq (although I also have the PTSD thing going on they tell me, so that didn't help) and I'm really glad I got help. If it screws up your shot at the cop shop that would suck: but it's a real, physical problem and ignoring it won't make it go away.

One of my best friends has very bad post-partum depression. It took me forever to talk her repressed east coast ass into getting help, but as I told her "It's no different than getting cancer. It sucks a lot, but ignoring it makes it worse and ruins everything."

Whatever the consequences of treatment, they beat the hell out of the alternative. I'll also observe that hopelessness is kind of a symptom of depression, so consider that all the horrible things you can imagine happening as a result of trying to get help may not be as dire as they seem.

Depression, anxiety and PTSD frequently go hand in hand and overlap and intertwine so much it is almost impossible to diagnose or treat them separately.  I spent from 1970 to 2008 living in the hell hole of all three.  It wasn't until my Lady entered my life that I cared enough about life to get help.  Please get help even if you miss the PD opportunity simply because it will open so many other doors for you that you didn't even know existed.

A life is a terrible thing to waste.

[roo_ster]

As RD and other active/retired military here probably know, it used to be that being treated for depression and other psychological issues usually meant a quick discharge from active duty.  So a lot of active duty military got treated on the economy and just paid cash to minimize any chance of discovery.  Fortunately this has changed and you can now get treatment.  A lot of people still get treated on the economy so as not to lose any clearances.  

A friend of mine retired as an O-5 after spending his career on Trident subs.  He had been getting treatment for depression on the economy for about the last six years of his military career.  He said that if the Navy had known about it, he would have been beached immediately and lost all of his classification and nuclear clearances.  

THIS.

If I felt I needed this kind of help, I would definitely get the help.  But, I would suck it up and go cash all the way, with a new set of docs and a mom & pop pharmacy.  I'd also be likely to use a pseudonym.

It will only get worse as health records go electronic and are sucked up by fed.gov.