Psychological Conditions

AFFECTED PERSONS

“An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans . . . suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.”¹ Nearly two-thirds of these people do not seek treatment; some because of the stigma that is associated with mental health treatment.² Mental health issues can adversely affect an individual’s eligibility for a federal security clearance, but many clearance applicants worry unnecessarily and sometimes choose not to seek treatment due to fears that it could result in the denial or revocation of a clearance.

Guideline I (Psychological Conditions) of the “National Security Adjudicative Guidelines” (NSAG) is one of the least understood criteria for being granted a security clearance. Regarding the standards for eligibility for access to classified information, Executive Order 12968, issued in 1995, states:

“No negative inference concerning the standards in this section may be raised solely on the basis of mental health counseling. . . . However, mental health counseling, where relevant to the adjudication of access to classified information, may justify further inquiry to determine whether the standards of subsection (b) of this section are satisfied, and mental health may be considered where it directly relates to those standards.”

This policy is restated in slightly different words in Guideline I and on the Standard Form 86—SF86 (Questionnaire for National Security Positions).

Of the 170,000 security clearance applications for federal contractor personnel processed each year by the Defense Security Service (DSS) on average only 5 applicants are denied clearances by Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) Administrative Judges because of Psychological Conditions. A July 2009 article at www.Army.mil reported that the US Army Central Clearance Facility’s “adjudicative history indicates that 99.98 percent of cases with psychological concerns obtained/retained their security clearance eligibility.”

SECURITY CONCERN

A past or present mental, emotional, or personality disorder is not by itself a disqualifying condition for a final security clearance. A psychological condition does not have to be formally diagnosed as a disorder to be a security concern. The security concern arises when the possibility of future unreliable or dysfunctional behavior is indicated by either abnormal behavior or the opinion of a qualified mental health practitioner. When a psychological condition (or the side effects of medication) adversely affects a person’s judgment and behavior, such things as disappointment, failure, or perceive injustice or betrayal may cause reactions that are irresponsible, self-destructive, retaliatory, and/or unlawful. This can result in willful or negligent compromise of classified information, violence, sabotage, or espionage.

INVESTIGATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

Section 21 on the SF86 has changed significantly since 2008. Section 21 is now divided into 5 subsections and each subsection asks specific questions about specific treatment and conditions.  Most applicants are no longer required to disclose counseling or treatment for relatively common conditions like anxiety, depression, panic disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. They are required to disclose

1. 1. 1. Diagnoses of psychotic disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, bipolar mood disorder, borderline personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder.
      2. Hospitalization for a mental health condition.
      3. Ordered by a court or administrative agency to consult with a mental health professional.
      4. Declared mentally incompetent by a court or administrative agency.
      5. Have or previously have a mental health condition that substantially adversely affects judgment, reliability, or trustworthiness.

The SF86 includes an “Authorization for the Release of Medical Information.” This form is one of the last pages of the SF86 and authorizes a mental health practitioner to answer 3 questions:

Does the person under investigation have a condition that could impair his or her judgment, reliability or ability to properly safeguard classified national security information?

If so, describe the nature of the condition and the extent and duration of the impairment or treatment.

What is the prognosis?

When the mental health practitioner(s) answer(s) “no” to the first question, there is no further investigation of this issue, unless the investigation surfaces contradictory information from some other record or personal source. When there is a “yes” to the first question, the applicant is usually required to complete an INV Form 16A, Specific Medical Release, which is used to obtain more detailed information regarding medication, other treatment, test results, and medical opinions regarding health, recovery and/or rehabilitation. If necessary a security adjudicator will consult with a qualified government mental health practitioner, and if any doubt remains about an applicant’s reliability, the applicant can be required to undergo a medical evaluation by a psychiatric consultant.

There is a presumption that mental health issues not covered by the questions at Section 21 of the SF86 are not relevant or material to a security clearance determination. However if information is developed during an investigation that an unlisted mental health issue is relevant, information about the issue can be pursued by the investigator.

ADJUDICATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

Guideline I of the NSAG lists 5 specific examples of potentially disqualifying conditions and 5 specific examples of mitigating conditions. Ultimately almost all cases where a final clearance is denied due to psychological conditions involve 1 of the 4 following situations:

1. 1. 1. The applicant has displayed dysfunctional or abnormal behavior, and the applicant refuses to seek treatment or refuses to undergo medical evaluation.
      2. A qualified medical practitioner has determined that the applicant’s condition could impair his or her judgment or reliability, and the applicant has failed to take medication or participate in other treatment as prescribed.
      3. A qualified medical practitioner has determined that the applicant’s condition could impair his or her judgment or reliability and the condition can not be adequately treated.
      4. A qualified medical practitioner has determined that the applicant’s condition could impair his or her judgment or reliability and there is a lack of persuasive evidence that the condition is under control and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

INTERIM CLEARANCES

Since interim clearance determinations are made very early in the security clearance process, to be successful it is necessary to provide information with the SF86 indicating that no potentially disqualifying condition exists or that such condition is fully mitigated. If you answer “yes” to any of the questions at Section 21 of the SF86, there are things that you should do before you actually fill out the SF86.

Discuss this matter with your doctor (psychiatrist or psychologist) before you apply for job that requires a security clearance. If you doctor feels that your past or present condition does not adversely affect your eligibility for a clearance, obtain a letter from your doctor on his/her letterhead stationary stating either that:

• You do not have a condition or treatment that could impair your judgment, reliability or ability to properly safeguard classified national security information, or
• You have a condition that could impair your judgment, reliability or ability to properly safeguard classified national security information, but the condition is under control and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

The letter should include your doctor’s address, telephone and fax numbers, and a statement indicating that he/she is willing to answer questions about your condition, treatment, and prognosis from any government security official by telephone, fax, mail, or in person. The letter should also describe your condition, treatment, and prognosis. You should complete a medical information release form (one that is acceptable to your doctor) authorizing your doctor to discuss your case with government security officials and leave a copy of the release on file at your doctor’s office. Also give your doctor a completed copy of the SF86 Authorization for the Release of Medical Information.

When filling out the SF86, indicate in the “Continuation Space” of the paper version or in the “Add Optional Comment” text field of Section 21 on the electronic version (Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Process—eQIP) that you are submitting a letter from your doctor regarding your mental health treatment.

Give a copy of both releases and the original letter from your doctor to the person who processes your clearance application, so that these documents can be forwarded to the government official who makes your interim clearance determination. You can place the letter from your doctor in a properly marked, sealed envelope to prevent people, other than the appropriate government security official, from reading it.

There are scores of federal adjudication facilities employing several hundred trained professional adjudicators who are authorized to make interim and final clearance decisions. There are a greater number of personnel security specialists, assigned to a multitude of military and government security offices that initiate or process security clearance requests, who are also authorized to make interim clearance decisions. Among this latter group the level of training and experience vary greatly. Consequently there is much less consistency in interim clearance decisions than in final clearance decisions. Success in obtaining an interim clearance may depend more on the experience, training, and mindset of the decision maker than on the persuasiveness of the mitigating information submitted.

In the vast majority of cases where an applicant successfully mitigates a security issue with information included in or submitted with an SF86 and receives an interim clearance, they also later receive a final clearance.

by William Henderson
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