[Editor’s note: This article deals with mental health issues and resources that may help. If you or someone you know is having a mental health crisis, call 988 for the Military and Veteran Crisis Line and press “1”, or text 838255, or chat with a live counselor. For Spanish, press “2”. Civilians can call 988 to reach the National Suicide and Crisis Line.]
Seeking mental health support does not pose a risk to gaining or keeping a national security clearance but experiencing a mental health crisis could. In fact, seeking support can help you resolve underlying mental health issues that could negatively affect you, your family, or your career.
Disqualification for security clearance, based on seeking mental health treatment, is highly unlikely based on data from millions of security investigations at every security level reviewed by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.
“If you feel you could benefit from talking to a mental health professional or using medication, you can do so without fear this will impact your ability to hold a security clearance,” said Michael Priester, who has a doctorate in psychology and is chief of the DCSA behavioral science branch, adjudication and vetting services.
“In our talks with cleared individuals, we encourage them to view seeking behavioral health care like any other form of health care: If you feel you need care, seek it,” Priester said.
“Early intervention is appropriate when you recognize there has been a change in your or someone else’s life that is negatively affecting them,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. John Batka, who has a doctorate in psychology and is deputy chief of the behavioral health clinical management team at the Defense Health Agency. “The purpose of these early interventions is to help make small changes before there are problems with your family, job, or other important areas of your life.”
“As service members, your job is to take care of others,” said retired U.S. Public Health Service Capt. (Dr.) Joshua Morganstein in a 2023 video dispelling the myth that seeking mental health services will impact one’s security clearance. Morganstein, now a civilian, is the deputy director at the Center for Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and professor in the university’s department of psychiatry.
“Oftentimes, you feel like asking for help is maybe a sign of weakness,” Morganstein said. “The truth is that we need you to be well, we need you to be healthy, we need you to take care of yourself.” By taking care of mental health challenges or difficulties, service members can then “take care of others and be mission ready.”
Majority of Revoked or Denied Clearances Based on Other Concerns
DCSA, whose mission is to ensure anyone receiving a Department of Defense security clearance is “reliable, trustworthy, of good conduct and character, and of complete and unswerving loyalty to the United States,” analyzed more than 7.7 million cases reviewed from 2013 to 2023. Barely 1/100th of 1% of cases that resulted in denials or revocations were due to psychological health and additional conditions.
“Our finding continues to indicate the rarity of adverse actions due solely to psychological conditions,” said Priester.
“Our data provide strong support to underscore the point that even if you have a condition that is required to report to security, the chances that you will achieve or maintain eligibility are quite high—especially if you are following medical recommendations for your care,” Priester said.
“Most notably, no cases that led to a denial or revocation were only for seeking behavioral health care,” he said. Of the 1,165 cases that resulted in a denial or revoked clearance, none of the decisions was solely for seeking mental health care but were for one or more other concerns. The data were last updated on April 27, 2024.
Mental Health and Stigma
While stigma associated with mental health help-seeking persists in the military, there have been strides in lessening that stigma.
Research “has found a correlation between perceived stigma and seeking care. Higher levels of stigma seem to reduce the willingness of people to seek care,” Batka said. “Don’t wait too long to address an issue that can result in needing behavioral health resources.”
“People who may need to seek clearance eligibility in the future should seek behavioral health care when needed,” Priester advised.
Priester also believes recent changes to two DOD security clearance forms have lessened the stigma surrounding mental health care, and presentations by DCSA to other organizations are making the reporting requirements clearer. Priester recently gave a presentation to the American Psychological Association to non-government-affiliated mental health professionals.
DOD is consolidating the Standard Form-86 questionnaire—a lengthy and highly detailed national security clearance form—with a new form introduced in November 2023 called the Personnel Vetting Questionnaire. The new form limits questions on psychological and emotional health to hospitalizations and treatments within the past five years, rather than the “Have you ever…” questions included on the old form.
“We often hear from supervisors and security managers that people who report conditions or circumstances that fall under the guidelines are less apprehensive” about their security clearance status, Priester said.
Resources
DCSA offers electronic training to government-affiliated psychologists and psychiatrists conducting specific security-focused evaluations.
The last webinar, Mental Health and National Security Eligibility, was held on May 7, 2024, and is archived on the Center for Development of Security Excellence website. The webinar includes a presentation by Priester on “De-stigmatizing Mental Health Care for Cleared Professionals.”
Please contact dcsa.cdsewebinars@mail.mil with questions or comments.
DCSA FAQs spell out the details of an investigation and subsequent actions. DCSA’s Personnel Security Program establishes the standards, criteria, and guidelines by which personnel security eligibility determinations are based.
Batka said of mental health: “The key is to match the need to the right person.” These include: