Are you trying to get your FAA medical after treatment for depression? Mental health diagnoses like depression undergo a lot of scrutiny by the FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine. The FAA’s objective is to determine if an airman’s history of depression poses a risk to aviation safety due to concerns such as suicidality, cognitive and functional impairment, and subtle incapacitation such as poor decision making, slow response times, and degraded response times.
If you are trying to obtain your FAA medical after treatment for depression the FAA’s analysis will focus on whether your history of depression poses a risk for recurrence of symptoms. The FAA will want to see all of your medical records and a current evaluation to as it relates to your mental health to determine if your past symptoms and circumstances suggest that you are at risk of experiencing depressive symptoms in the future.
Even individuals who have discontinued treatment and are currently feeling great can be found by the FAA to be a risk to aviation safety. When you report a history of treatment for depression, the FAA will request from you and review your entire treatment record. The FAA will be looking for indices of risk for recurrent depression, to include recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent thoughts of suicide, multiple depressive episodes throughout the course of your life (whether treated or not treated), persistent low mood or sadness, residual symptoms from previous episode, poor treatment response or adherence, use of multiple antidepressants at the same time, and so on.
Most commonly, the FAA will look for whether your treating physician diagnosed you with Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent or Persistent Depressive Disorder. Ultimately, the FAA’s assessment will boil down to whether you are currently having depressive symptoms and if not, whether your history indicates you are at risk for developing new symptoms at some point in the future.
In the event that your history does suggest to the FAA a risk for recurrence of depressive symptoms, the FAA will typically consider you for a special issuance authorization. The key here, however, is to know that the FAA would most likely expect you to initiate treatment with one of the antidepressant medications which are authorized for special issuance authorization. These medications include Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Pristiq, Cymbalta, Effexor, and Wellbutrin (SR and ER only).
After discussion with your doctor and initiation of treatment, the FAA would require engagement with the antidepressant special issuance protocol. If you disagree with the FAA’s determination that your history of depression suggests a risk for recurrence of symptoms, you could request reconsideration by the Federal Air Surgeon.
If you are applying to get your FAA medical after treatment for depression, you should consider the following:
- You should always report a history of depression and any other mental health conditions at question 18m., on your MedXPress, Form 8500-8, Application for Airman Medical Certification.
- If you were treated for depression with an antidepressant or other aeromedically disqualifying medication, the FAA will want to review all records related to your treatment. The FAA will assess whether you were treated with a multi-drug protocol (i.e., treated with more than one medication at the same time).
- If you were treated for depression and have since discontinued your medication, you may qualify for the FAA’s Anxiety/Depression Fast Track program, wherein individuals meeting certain criteria, could be issued an airman medical certificate by their Aviation Medical Examiner (“AME”) at the time of exam. Keep in mind that even if your AME issues you a medical certificate under the Fast Track program, the FAA will likely still follow up with you to review your records and confirm you are not at a risk for recurrence of symptoms.
- If you disagree with the FAA’s finding of risk for recurrent depression, you will need to provide credible evidence establishing that no such risk exists. Obviously, you can’t change the facts of your history; however, putting your history into appropriate context can potentially argue against recurrence of symptoms. Credible evidence might include the need for an evaluation with a HIMS-trained psychiatrist.
The Federal Aviation Regulations which relate to depression require that the evidence you put in front of the FAA supports that you will not be a risk to aviation safety. This is a matter which requires a lawyer’s understanding of how fact (i.e., medical evidence) will be applied to law.
Contact the Aviation Lawyers from The Ison Law Firm Aviation Lawyers for Help Today
You need both a pilot and a lawyer on your side for your aviation law needs. Don’t hesitate to contact our team from The Ison Law Firm Aviation Lawyers to schedule a confidential consultation with an experienced aviation lawyer today.
We’re pilots representing pilots. The Ison Law Firm Aviation Lawyers offers FAA enforcement defense and medical certification representation worldwide!
Contact the Aviation Lawyers from The Ison Law Firm Aviation Lawyers for Help Today
You need both a pilot and a lawyer on your side for your aviation law needs. Don’t hesitate to contact our team from The Ison Law Firm Aviation Lawyers to schedule a confidential consultation with an experienced aviation lawyer today.
We’re pilots representing pilots. The Ison Law Firm Aviation Lawyers offers FAA enforcement defense and medical certification representation worldwide!
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