What are the problems with getting approved for disability based on mental conditions? There are several.
Poor treatment notes. One problem is the fact that many mental health treatment treatment specialists keep relatively poor notes. In fact, many will opt to send in a synopsis of their notes to Social Security (either to the disability claims examiner or the disability judge) because the notes themselves provide scant detail and are not helpful to a case.
No record of treatment. Sometimes disability claimants have no record of medical treatment for the condition listed on the disability application. This tends to happen with cases involving depression. Often, it involves a claimant whose family doctor has prescribed an anti-depressant but who has never been seen by a psychiatrist. This means that the claimant will have no substantial mental treatment records to present for their claim.
Noncompliance with prescribed medications. In some instances, the medical records will show that a claimant has been diagnosed with a specific mental impairment and has been prescribed medication, but has not taken the medication. This is a huge problem for mental disability cases because the Social Security Administration (SSA) focuses on what a claimant is able to do despite the limitations of their condition. However, a claimant's limitations cannot be accurately measured if the patient is not taking the medications as prescribed.
Why is medication compliance an issue for some claimants? Sometimes, this is due to the cost of medication. Unfortunately, the Social Security Administration is not usually concerned with whether or not a claimant can afford their medication, but, simply, whether or not they take their medication. But do inform the SSA if this is the reason that you don't take your medication. This is an acceptable nonmedical excuse for failing to take medication. If the SSA can find free medication for you, however, this will no longer be an excuse.
Duration. Some Social Security disability and SSI disability claims are denied on the basis of duration, meaning that a disability examiner or disability judge has concluded that the condition has not lasted for a year or cannot be projected to last for a year. This is problematic for a claim based on a mental condition (and physical conditions such as lupus, as well) that has a tendency to exacerbate and get better with regularity. Bipolar disorder is a good example of this phenomenon. To learn more, see our explanation of episodes of decompensation.
