HOW TO PROVE A PSYCHOLOGICAL DISABILITY CASE

The basic mental demands of competitive, remunerative, unskilled work include the abilities (on a sustained basis) to understand, carry out, and remember simple instructions; to respond appropriately to supervision, coworkers, and usual work situations; and to deal with changes in a routine work setting.

To prove that you cannot perform even unskilled work based on a mental impairment, you must show that you can't perform one or more of these basic demands.

Notice that these demands are to be performed "on a sustained basis," which means 8 hours a day, 5 days a week or on an equivalent schedule.

Proving that a claimant is unable to meet these demands on a sustained basis can be challenging.  Since a mental disability is being alleged, it's best to have a specialist's support, in this case, a psychiatrist or licensed psychologist.

It will be necessary for the specialist to examine the claimant, preferably to treat him/her, over a period of time.  In doing so, the doctor will conclude what psychological conditions the person has, their severity and how they respond to treatment.

Claimants who have no treatment by a specialist will have a difficult time proving disability. 

Individuals who get approved for disability payments based on a mental condition are more often those who....

1.  have a treating psychiatrist or psychologist,
2.  are taking medications and/or counseling therapy,
3.  are refractory towards treatment, i.e., are not improving even with treatment, and
4.   have required periods of hospitalization or inpatient treatment.

In attempting to prove disability due to psychological impairment, I always try to get the treating doctor to provide a medical source statement.  This is a detailed checklist of what the patient can and cannot do in terms of work-related functions.
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The Forsythe Firm
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