Is there a significant downside to seeking insurance coverage for mental health therapy for teen?

[Anonymous]

My sister is a psychiatrist and when I was getting therapy over twenty years ago she suggested I pay out of pocket for this reason. So that the therapist would not have to come up with a diagnosis.

She knew I would be applying for the bar and for jobs that would need a top secret security clearance.

This was over twenty years ago and maybe people are less discriminatory now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your friend has a point-

There are certain careers and clearances that could impact.

I had a friend who admitted to using cocaine to his investigators, passed two polys, and got a clearance. If he can do it, anyone can.

Half of the people I know with clearances see therapists for anxiety or depression - with some of their jobs, mental health support is almost expected. OP, absolutely use insurance. That's what it's for, and no, in the off chance that she goes into a line of work that requires a clearance, nobody will use it against her if she is honest about when and why she saw a therapist. The honesty is the important part - if you hide things, they can be used against you. If you don't hide anything, there's no risk.

I can't think of other careers where this would be an issue, would love if someone could enlighten me. Even my psychiatrist SIL has generalized anxiety disorder and is on meds. She's disclosed this to her licensing board, it's all good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since when can future employers pull private health records? I don't even think current employers can. A lot of parents can't even access their teen's records.

That’s what her friend seems to think. Either she thinks every kid will be working for the government or every future employers will have access to their records. I don’t understand.

What about HIPAA? These posts are bizarre.

Certain employers can ask you to waive HIPAA.

[Anonymous]

The only thing I think it could impact is a military career. You will fail the military physical if you have any history of ADHD/anxiety/depression from elementary age on and they will pull medical claims.

Then you will need to get a medical waiver and in general obtaining one of these requires that one is off medication or therapy for 12-24 months depending on military branch and has never had any classroom accommodations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your friend has a point-

There are certain careers and clearances that could impact.

I had a friend who admitted to using cocaine to his investigators, passed two polys, and got a clearance. If he can do it, anyone can.

Half of the people I know with clearances see therapists for anxiety or depression - with some of their jobs, mental health support is almost expected. OP, absolutely use insurance. That's what it's for, and no, in the off chance that she goes into a line of work that requires a clearance, nobody will use it against her if she is honest about when and why she saw a therapist. The honesty is the important part - if you hide things, they can be used against you. If you don't hide anything, there's no risk.

I can't think of other careers where this would be an issue, would love if someone could enlighten me. Even my psychiatrist SIL has generalized anxiety disorder and is on meds. She's disclosed this to her licensing board, it's all good.

This. It's always the cover-up that gets you, not the actual thing

[Anonymous]

I'm really surprised no one has mentioned medical licensure. In most states, it's only current treatment that's an issue, and it's getting better. But there are still states where any history of treatment or diagnosis could be can issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister is a psychiatrist and when I was getting therapy over twenty years ago she suggested I pay out of pocket for this reason. So that the therapist would not have to come up with a diagnosis.

She knew I would be applying for the bar and for jobs that would need a top secret security clearance.

This was over twenty years ago and maybe people are less discriminatory now.

Unfortunately, I think discriminating behaviors are close to the same now. Some people hide it better than others, but with the current political climate a lot of bigots are coming out of the woodwork and there’s no predicting what the future will hold for our kids. I think your sister did you a big favor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your friend has a point-

There are certain careers and clearances that could impact.

I had a friend who admitted to using cocaine to his investigators, passed two polys, and got a clearance. If he can do it, anyone can.

Half of the people I know with clearances see therapists for anxiety or depression - with some of their jobs, mental health support is almost expected. OP, absolutely use insurance. That's what it's for, and no, in the off chance that she goes into a line of work that requires a clearance, nobody will use it against her if she is honest about when and why she saw a therapist. The honesty is the important part - if you hide things, they can be used against you. If you don't hide anything, there's no risk.

I can't think of other careers where this would be an issue, would love if someone could enlighten me. Even my psychiatrist SIL has generalized anxiety disorder and is on meds. She's disclosed this to her licensing board, it's all good.

Past drug use that your honest about is usually not a deal breaker. That is not comparable to having a mental illness diagnosis on your file, which are considered chronic lifelong problems. That is taken very seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your friend has a point-

There are certain careers and clearances that could impact.

No. This is largely wrong. As to federal security clearances, being compliant with treatment generally mitigates any security concern. Moreover, I'm hard pressed, given the state of federal service, to suggest that a parent make a decision now as to health care coverage for a teen who is years away from the job market.

There used to be a stigma that, for example, attorneys who had sought mental health treatment (i.e., therapy) were not fit to practice law. That's long been debunked and treatment is the standard. Indeed, like with the clearance process, seeking treatment mitigates most fitness concerns.

Maybe prior to the ACA when pre-existing conditions limited future coverage, I would have held back that info but then that would have been fraud.

[Anonymous]

There appears to be two separate sets of concerns. First is career and second is insurance.

I think career is a non-issue and should not be considered.

Insurance? Who knows. That might be a valid concern.

[Anonymous]

How disgusting that you would keep perpetuating the feeling of shame and taboo around treatment for mental health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only thing I think it could impact is a military career. You will fail the military physical if you have any history of ADHD/anxiety/depression from elementary age on and they will pull medical claims.

Then you will need to get a medical waiver and in general obtaining one of these requires that one is off medication or therapy for 12-24 months depending on military branch and has never had any classroom accommodations.

This is the same with my DS who has dyslexia and an IEP. We would never contemplate not getting him the help he needs because he might have to apply for a medical waiver if he decides to join the military.

He would still crush the ASVAB and can do pull ups, which apparently is a problem with modern recruits.

On the other hand, he can’t really tell left from right so if they deny him the waiver, fair enough.