Disclosed family member psych problem in interview

[bulleface87]

Per the title. Messed up and disclosed an addiction of a family member in an interview last week. How does this effect my chances at the program? Interview went alright otherwise.

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[comp1]

I'm kind of more worried about your thought process now than anything you said about your family. What are you imagining the interviewer was/is thinking?

 

[bulleface87]

I'm kind of more worried about your thought process now than anything you said about your family. What are you imagining the interviewer was/is thinking?

Im thinking the interviewer might be thinking, "we cant hire him cause his family member had an addiction problem"

 

[comp1]

Okay, that's a concrete start. I got that part. But WHY would your family history matter to the interviewer one way or the other? Why did you feel like disclosing? I'm trying hard to read your mind here, but are you concerned that they will assume you have a substance use disorder or are predisposed to one? Since you described it as "messed up," I'm assuming you viewed this as a negative, but is there some particular reason you don't think the interviewer instead viewed you as potentially more empathic towards substance abusing patients? I'm just trying to figure out where the issue is.

 

[bulleface87]

Okay, that's a concrete start. I got that part. But WHY would your family history matter to the interviewer one way or the other? Why did you feel like disclosing? I'm trying hard to read your mind here, but are you concerned that they will assume you have a substance use disorder or are predisposed to one? Since you described it as "messed up," I'm assuming you viewed this as a negative, but is there some particular reason you don't think the interviewer instead viewed you as potentially more empathic towards substance abusing patients? I'm just trying to figure out where the issue is.

Ive heard from many that mentioning any psychiatric history in the family is a no no and that it messes up your chances at a program. I didnt intend on disclosing this information, it just happened. Didnt give out personal details or anything btw.

 

[comp1]

Okay, I was just trying to get some self reflection going on. I'll just be frank and direct. This sort of disclosure is a non-issue. However, if the anxiety around it affects future interviews, it could become an issue. So as Elsa said, let it go.

 

[bulleface87]

Okay, I was just trying to get some self reflection going on. I'll just be frank and direct. This sort of disclosure is a non-issue. However, if the anxiety around it affects future interviews, it could become an issue. So as Elsa said, let it go.

I feel better now that you say that. It definitely will not effect my other interviews. I was just concerned whether I knocked myself out of the ranks by disclosing something like this

 

[Stagg737]

Ive heard from many that mentioning any psychiatric history in the family is a no no and that it messes up your chances at a program. I didnt intend on disclosing this information, it just happened. Didnt give out personal details or anything btw.

I feel better now that you say that. It definitely will not effect my other interviews. I was just concerned whether I knocked myself out of the ranks by disclosing something like this

I think you're mixing up the advice to not disclose your own MH problems with disclosure of family members' problems.

Talking about MH problems in family members is the central point of a lot of people's personal statements and can be positive depending on how it's presented. It's easy to spin as "I've seen this up close and it makes me a better candidate because X, Y, and Z." It should be spoken about tactfully, but it's certainly not an automatic red flag.

On the other hand, disclosing your own problems is generally advised against unless it's necessary to explain potential major red flags. It can open up big questions about whether the problem would affect you during residency and beyond or even prevent you from completing training. Plenty of arguments as to whether that's appropriate or not, but realistically it will often be viewed negatively and is better avoided if at all possible.

 

[ObsequiousAplomb]

Agree with what others have said. Various psychiatric diagnoses are rather common. Just about everyone has a 1st or 2nd degree relation with schizophrenia, and if they don't then they definitely are at least very close to someone with it.

Statistically, everyone who is applying for a psychiatric residency has a loved one with a heavily stigmatized disorder. Most people write a personal statement about how that experience affected them. Sometimes it's as easy as saying "the reason I was even aware of psychiatry as a profession before I got to medical school was that my grandpa was depressed when I was a kid and he said ECT saved his life. I thought that was neat, but was so surprised to find out it's stigmatized when I got older. I'd love to be able to provide that service to other people." If you look at any specialty, the personal statements really are all rather formulaic like that. "I was a gymnast and had to stop due to ankle injuries and now I want to do sports medicine," etc.

Yeah, people might read into a statement "my mom died of ovarian cancer" as a reason to NOT be an oncologist...but realistically the worst thing that could happen is that's a conversation that happens during the interview.

If the program cares enough to not rank you and you are neurotic enough to be on here posting this question, the program wasn't a good fit. You would have offended them in the same way later on, and you might have been stuck there.

 

[TexasPhysician]

I’m not sure that there are American families without someone having an addiction at some point within say 2 degrees. It is highly prevalent.

As long as it was tasteful or relevant, I don’t see the issue.

If you disclosed your active addiction or how you are struggling to manage life with your spouse’s addiction absorbing all of your time, you are likely no longer on the rank list.

 

[Styrene]

This is in like half of personal statements. In the right context the right way, it's a positive factor. Sometimes it can be a negative. Without knowing the exact nature of what went on in your interview, it's difficult to say how it might affect you at that program. Odds are it's slightly positive or not relevant, generally. Just my experience.

 

[annoyedpsychiatrist]

yeah it depends on the context. not necessarily a bad thing. It would mainly be weird if the interviewer said "hi" and you opened with "my uncle is an alcoholic". But I can see how a family member with addiction issues could be relevant to the interview. Depends on context. Many people have family members with addiction issues.

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

If you disclosed your active addiction or how you are struggling to manage life with your spouse’s addiction absorbing all of your time, you are likely no longer on the rank list.

I might extend this further, but that's based on what I heard. If you had an alcohol problem, say, in high school and have been sober for a decade or more before residency...even mentioning that sounds like a bad idea and is likely to move you down the rank list. Even if your application otherwise screams addiction psych and you have thousands of hours of volunteer work in the area plus publications.

 

[whopper]

I wouldn't care if you mentioned a family member with addiction. I see a lot of people over-worrying about what they said during an interview. If you told me YOU HAD AN ADDICTION PROBLEM, that'd be different.

But that comment you made about you wearing the electric blue g-string, rhinestone laced mask, and high heels, while wearing a feather boa and dancing in front of the mirror while playing Cher, that was not needed.