Will therapy DQ a candidate?
- Thread starter Mom2021
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His mental health comes first. The challenge with a mental health practitioner, even in an informal discussion, if they are reimbursed, will generally create a record with a diagnosis code for insurance coverage purposes.
Perhaps there is a school counselor or someone from your faith practice who might be a good fit?
That said, many here on SAF have gone though the process of providing AMI, additional medical information, during the DoDMERB process, and eventually emerged cleared/waivered on the other side.
If your son has not gone to the DoDMERB home page and read through every link in the left-hand menu, I recommend it. There are parts of it directed to parents too.
I believe the link below is for the most current DOD Accession Standards.
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Thunderbolt462
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Yes, it could very well DQ him. However, as Capt MJ said, if it comes down to your child's mental health or serving in the military, pick mental health every time. With that being said, seeking therapy prior to DoDMERB is more than likely going to require some additional work on your child's part to get qualified at the very least. If there's an actual diagnosis from the therapist, that battle becomes much harder. I'm not an expert on the process by any means, but someone like Mr. Mullen might be able to fill your child in on the specifics. I can just tell you what has happened to friends of mine in a similar situation when they tried to join.
Interestingly enough, once your child is actually in the military, they offer a ton of options for mental health care that won't affect their medical clearance. The big hurtle always seems to be from seeking help prior to serving. I'm in a career field with some of the strictest medical standards, and I was able to utilize those resources at the encouragement of the medical folks and my command and have no issues with being able to continue doing my job. I have friends in other less-stringent career fields that have even required extensive therapy and medication as a result of traumatic experiences and they've been allowed to continue serving as well. I'm pretty optimistic for the future of mental health care in the military, if it's any encouragement.