Military Psych Questions

[IWillSurvive]

I am interested in talking to a recruiter about the process of becoming a military psychologist. I think it sounds like an exciting experience, good training, and great benefits. I am concerned, however, about the qualifying process. I'm wondering from someone with experience what I can expect from the process, beginning with meeting with a recruiter up to the qualification decision. I haven't yet talked to a recruiter because I am concerned about not passing the medical. I have one health issue that I think can be resolved by the time I actually go through the process (through fitness), but I have also heard that having taken SSRI's or having any type of anxiety diagnosis is a no go? Does this mean at any point in life? How regularly are waivers given for this type of thing? I know you have to disclose or bad things can happen. I am just kind of wondering how strict all of this is and if resolved issues are still considered disqualifying. Seems like a great opportunity--hoping it could work out for me!

Also, do the chances of becoming commissioned lessen after the internship year or is someone just as likely to get commissioned if they apply after licensure (without the military base internship)?

Thank you!

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[Justanothergrad]

A few threads down is one about the HPSP, which might contain some useful information given your interests. Unfortunately thats the only insight I have.

 

[IWillSurvive]

Thank you, yes I have been browsing through some of the posts below and they seem to be a bit older. I know the military situation has changed alot since some of them were posted. Hoping to find someone who has been through the process recently. Thanks for the suggestion though!

 

[voyeurofthemind]

I applied for a fellowship position and still received a great deal of attention and work on my behalf from my recruiter even when I was upfront about health history. I was not granted a waiver for mental health history (relatively benign and resolved). I chose to be honest with all of my health history up front since a core tenant a being a military officer is integrity. Also, you will also need to complete an application for a security clearance which request you disclose any mental health treatment (aside treatment for PTSD or family / relationship therapy) and I certainly wasn't willing to lie on something like that.

The initial process was me calling a recruiter, them emailing me a health history screening form and some other document, sending a copy of my vita, and completing a security clearance application online. Recruiter met with me in person about 2 weeks later to put together my packet since I needed a waiver so I included some of my medical records. They sent it up to the medical command and I heard back a few days later "a waiver was not granted for commissioning." Dead in that water at that point. But from what I understand, if one had been granted I would have then been authorized to take a physical after which I would have had to complete a motivational statement and then schedule an interview. I was shooting for Navy and Dr. Erik Getka is the director of the program (extremely nice guy and tried to do what he could with the lack of waiver news but I think even he was limited by BUMED which is the medical command that has authority to grant waivers).

I imagine with the draw down now compared to troop force ten years ago they are much more stringent on granting waivers. The whole waiver process is nebulous. I had a 80% certainty that given the need to attract healthcare professionals, my health history would have been waived. I would tell you to give it a shot and hope for the best for a waiver. It's disappointing as I come from a long line of military officers and wanted a unique experience for the beginning of my career while also serving my country, alas, it seems it wasn't to be my path. Good luck! Hope this answers some questions.

 

[IWillSurvive]

I applied for a fellowship position and still received a great deal of attention and work on my behalf from my recruiter even when I was upfront about health history. I was not granted a waiver for mental health history (relatively benign and resolved). I chose to be honest with all of my health history up front since a core tenant a being a military officer is integrity. Also, you will also need to complete an application for a security clearance which request you disclose any mental health treatment (aside treatment for PTSD or family / relationship therapy) and I certainly wasn't willing to lie on something like that.

The initial process was me calling a recruiter, them emailing me a health history screening form and some other document, sending a copy of my vita, and completing a security clearance application online. Recruiter met with me in person about 2 weeks later to put together my packet since I needed a waiver so I included some of my medical records. They sent it up to the medical command and I heard back a few days later "a waiver was not granted for commissioning." Dead in that water at that point. But from what I understand, if one had been granted I would have then been authorized to take a physical after which I would have had to complete a motivational statement and then schedule an interview. I was shooting for Navy and Dr. Erik Getka is the director of the program (extremely nice guy and tried to do what he could with the lack of waiver news but I think even he was limited by BUMED which is the medical command that has authority to grant waivers).

I imagine with the draw down now compared to troop force ten years ago they are much more stringent on granting waivers. The whole waiver process is nebulous. I had a 80% certainty that given the need to attract healthcare professionals, my health history would have been waived. I would tell you to give it a shot and hope for the best for a waiver. It's disappointing as I come from a long line of military officers and wanted a unique experience for the beginning of my career while also serving my country, alas, it seems it wasn't to be my path. Good luck! Hope this answers some questions.

I really appreciate your response. It is disappointing to hear that a waiver wasn't granted even for benign resolved issues. It seems that there is so much variation with this. From everything I have read, some people get waivers, some don't, which is super confusing. I agree--I thought they would be a bit more forgiving on this with the need for psychologists, but I guess not. I wonder once you get declined for a medical waiver through one branch--does that transfer to all branches? Or are these completely separate processes?

 

[voyeurofthemind]

As I understand it waiver decisions do not transfer to other branches. Just because you were declined by Navy does not mean you cannot make an application to an Army program and apply for a waiver from that branch.

 

[forcefive17]

I am interested in talking to a recruiter about the process of becoming a military psychologist. I think it sounds like an exciting experience, good training, and great benefits. I am concerned, however, about the qualifying process. I'm wondering from someone with experience what I can expect from the process, beginning with meeting with a recruiter up to the qualification decision. I haven't yet talked to a recruiter because I am concerned about not passing the medical. I have one health issue that I think can be resolved by the time I actually go through the process (through fitness), but I have also heard that having taken SSRI's or having any type of anxiety diagnosis is a no go? Does this mean at any point in life? How regularly are waivers given for this type of thing? I know you have to disclose or bad things can happen. I am just kind of wondering how strict all of this is and if resolved issues are still considered disqualifying. Seems like a great opportunity--hoping it could work out for me!

Also, do the chances of becoming commissioned lessen after the internship year or is someone just as likely to get commissioned if they apply after licensure (without the military base internship)?

Thank you!

Kind of a loaded question, but I'll try to answer to the best of my ability. Regarding the chances of becoming a commissioned officer, I think that this is on an individual basis and is influenced by the breadth/depth of your clinical training, practica experiences, and internship experience (must be APA-accred.). Voyeurofthemind summed up the experience pretty nicely. You'll contact a recruiter, be given a 50-page plus form to fill out about legal, medical, credit, residency, education, and work history. Once this is filled out, your recruiter will begin your packet and if there are no disqualifying conditions you will be set for an appointment at a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). If there are any conditions that are considered disqualifying, you will disclose them on the aforementioned form and probably be asked to provide documentation from a physician, psychiatrist, surgeon, etc. which states what the condition is and if the condition will affect your ability to be an officer in the military. I think for mental health, they'll attempt to see if the condition will compromise your judgment, but this is just a guess. I also think (but again, I don't know as I don't process security clearances) if you are able to provide proof that your issues are resolved it should be a non-issue. I vaguely remember reading something about consulting a mental health provider within the last 7 years. If that is what it says, and your issue has been resolved prior to 7 years ago, it shouldn't be a problem. Again, this is probably a case-by-case thing and you won't be able to get a final answer until you actually go through the process.
One word of wisdom is never lie on your forms. As Voyeurofthemind stated, being an officer in the military is all about integrity. This type of behavior is not tolerated and will be met with fines, prison time, etc. if found out.

 

[USArmyHPSP]

This is for the Army, but it should give you a baseline for the other Services. Chapter 2 covers the standards of fitness for accessioning.

http://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/pdf/r40_501.pdf

 

[Cnguyen2582]

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