more linkspam: the mental health and abuse edition

[nilchance]

- Meds compliance and the problem clinician: "The biggest obstacle to patients staying on their meds is doctors who don't listen."
- Being mentally ill in the mental health field: I had never heard of Fitness to Practice rules, but that explains a lot about the field, if the people most likely to be empathetic practitioners are barred from practicing.

Comments

[embroiderama]

I love your linkspam, thanks!

[jdsgirlbev.livejournal.com]

Gah. No one can mess you up as badly as a bad therapist/psychiatrist.

[batdina.livejournal.com]

there were a couple of laugh out loud not-funny moments in the pieces from Persephone. Made me think you might want to take a look at a book called Agnes's Jacket. I read it a couple of months ago and it changed the way I think about meds forever.

[azephirin.livejournal.com]

There are fitness-to-practice rules for lawyers as well, and Maryland's is one of the (numerous) reasons I didn't take the bar in this state. The question is phrased on the bar application: Do you have any condition or impairment (such as substance abuse, alcohol abuse, or a mental, emotional, nervous, or behavioral disorder or condition) that in any way currently affects, or, if untreated or not otherwise actively managed, could affect your ability to practice law in a competent and professional manner? In this question "currently" means recently enough that the condition could reasonably have an impact on your ability to function as a lawyer. "Actively managed" means that you receive the appropriate therapy, participate in supervised monitoring and/or a recognized peer support program, or utilize other appropriate support systems to cope with your condition or impairment. If you answer yes, it's a near-certainty that you'll have to submit documentation from a psychiatrist saying that you're sane enough to practice. A friend of mine takes medication for ADD, and she had to submit ridiculously extensive documentation despite the fact that she got through college, several jobs, and law school without issue. Another friend (in another state) was prohibited from taking the bar exam at all because an insurance snafu meant that she couldn't get to a psychiatrist in time to get a certification that she was fit to practice.

And apparently the legal field is LESS absurd about this than the mental health field.

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

I recently went through the character and fitness rigamarole with the state bar here in Michigan. I was pulled before a hearing committee simply for admitting that I had ever had mental health issues. I also stupidly admitted to having stress and anxiety issues at the time. Because, you know, it's so outrageous to feel stressed out and anxious when you're finishing law school, preparing for the bar, and coping with a chronic illness on top of all of that.

If Michigan's questions had been posed the way Maryland's are I don't think I ever would've gotten that certification. Because heaven forbid that anyone entering a professional field ever be honest about the reality of mental health issues.