Social Security Disability - Mental Impairment Qualifications
The social security administration lists a number of mental impairments in its impairment listing manual, also known as the "blue book". The book contains the following listed impairments for which it includes the disability criteria needed for approval: 1. Autism and other developmental disorders, 2. Disorders involving substance addiction, 3. Personality disorders, 4. Psychosomatic conditions (somatoform), 5. Conditions involving anxiety, such as panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorder, 6. Mental Retardation, 7. Depression and Bipolar Disorder, 8. Psychotic conditions, including schizophrenia, and 9. Organic conditions, including traumatic brain injury.
Obviously, not every mental condition is listed in the impairment listing manual. Can you get approved for either SSDI (social security disability insurance) benefits or SSI disability benefits if your particular condition is not listed? Yes, you can be approved for benefits the way most claims are approved, which is through a medical vocational allowance. This is a system by which a claimant's medical records are analyzed to A) determine what their physical and mental limitations are and B) determine whether or not they can return to their past work or do some form of other work.
What are the problems with getting approved for disability based on mental conditions? There are several. One 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 examiner or the disability judge) because the notes themselves provide scant detail and, in essence, are not helpful to a case.
Other problems involving mental disability cases include the following:
1. The claimant having no record of 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, of course, means that the claimant will have no substantial mental treatment records to present for their claim.
2. Non-compliance 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 focuses on what a claimant is able to do (i.e. ability to work) despite the limitations of their condition. However, a claimant's limitations cannot be accurately measured if they are not taking the medications they have been 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 concerned with whether or not a claimant can afford their medication, but, simply, whether or not they take their medication.
3. 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. However, 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 remiss (get better and worse with regularity). Bipolar disorder is a good example of this phenomenon.
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Obviously, not every mental condition is listed in the impairment listing manual. Can you get approved for either SSDI (social security disability insurance) benefits or SSI disability benefits if your particular condition is not listed? Yes, you can be approved for benefits the way most claims are approved, which is through a medical vocational allowance. This is a system by which a claimant's medical records are analyzed to A) determine what their physical and mental limitations are and B) determine whether or not they can return to their past work or do some form of other work.
What are the problems with getting approved for disability based on mental conditions? There are several. One 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 examiner or the disability judge) because the notes themselves provide scant detail and, in essence, are not helpful to a case.
Other problems involving mental disability cases include the following:
1. The claimant having no record of 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, of course, means that the claimant will have no substantial mental treatment records to present for their claim.
2. Non-compliance 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 focuses on what a claimant is able to do (i.e. ability to work) despite the limitations of their condition. However, a claimant's limitations cannot be accurately measured if they are not taking the medications they have been 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 concerned with whether or not a claimant can afford their medication, but, simply, whether or not they take their medication.
3. 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. However, 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 remiss (get better and worse with regularity). Bipolar disorder is a good example of this phenomenon.
Return to:
Additional Entries
Disability Requirements and filing as soon as you are eligible
How to qualify for disability benefits
How to file for disability
How can I get disability 2
How to get on disability
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