Browse blogs written by security clearance psychologists who specialize in coaching, treatment & evaluations
- Lack of Mental Health Candor Can Derail a Security Clearance
Guideline E and the Importance of Accurately Reporting Your Mental Health History In the world of security clearances, honesty is more than a virtue—it’s a core requirement. Many applicants worry that disclosing a history of mental health treatment will result in disqualification. But ironically, it’s often not the condition itself that jeopardizes a clearance—it’s the… Read more: Lack of Mental Health Candor Can Derail a Security Clearance - Is Your Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis Correct?
Make Sure Your Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis Is Real Before You Lose Your Security Clearance Bipolar and related disorders are serious mental health conditions that can affect a person’s mood, behavior, and—most relevant to the national security world—judgment, reliability, and impulse control. Because of this, individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder are often subject to… Read more: Is Your Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis Correct? - When Does Drinking Become a Guideline G Problem?
Thinking about drinking this Veteran’s Day? Alcohol use is ubiquitous in American culture. In most cases, enjoying a drink at the end of a workday or sharing a bottle of wine at a celebration is socially accepted and legally permissible. But in the security clearance world, Guideline G (Alcohol Consumption) exists because excessive or irresponsible… Read more: When Does Drinking Become a Guideline G Problem? - Need a Psychological Evaluation to Get a Security Clearance?
Psychological Evaluations Occur Often During Security Clearance Investigations: Here Are the Three Most Common Reasons The security clearance approval process is long, even under the best circumstances. Though the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) has made significant strides in reducing delays—bringing Top Secret processing times down from an average of over 500 days in… Read more: Need a Psychological Evaluation to Get a Security Clearance? - Disclose Your Mental Health History & Keep Your Clearance
For many federal employees, military service members, and government contractors, access to classified information is an essential requirement of the job. If you are not successfully cleared through a background investigation, you simply cannot hold the position. That makes it natural to worry about whether a mental health condition—or a history of treatment—could jeopardize your… Read more: Disclose Your Mental Health History & Keep Your Clearance