Had lunch today with a retired cop friend. He was talking about how he went to college because he thought he had to have a degree to become a policeman. Then he saw a want ad for policemen in the newspaper saying only a high school diploma was needed, and he immediately applied. I joked: "at least psychological screening wasn't required then" He said it was, and when he had his meeting with a psychologist, the conclusion was that he was unstable.

The psychologist was a prominent author and radio talk show host. My unstable buddy is driving along one day when he hears the news that the psychologist committed suicide. He thought: "I'm the unstable one?"

No surprise. When I was on the job the one who started a mobile crisis intervention unit, that rarely showed up, jumped off the roof of the building they worked out of.

In my experience, many who work in mental health get into it because they have serious issues of their own. I once EDOd (Emergency Detention Order) a lady for making suicidal comments. When she found out where we were taking her she flipped out and said, "You can't take me there...I work there!" At the time, that place was the only facility we had available, so that's where she went.

She's far from the only example I've encountered.

I went through the whole process a while back, written test, physical fitness test, polygraph and psych evaluation. Passed it all and hurt my back while waiting for an academy to start so I dropped it.

I know someone who spent their career in law enforcement and retired, yet I know has mental problems. Not sure how they made it through, I thought they would have been found out and booted. I guess it never affected their job, but it did make me question the process.

The psych eval is the last hoop you have to jump thru. The department has paid a lot of money getting you that far, testing, physical, etc. I never heard of anyone who didn’t get hired bc of a psych eval.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
In my experience, many who work in mental health get into it because they have serious issues of their own.
...
She's far from the only example I've encountered.

That's a scary thought

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I never heard of anyone who didn’t get hired bc of a psych eval.

I was involved in backgrounds during one of my assignments in detectives. We washed a lot of candidates because of results during the psych evals. To be fair, we had candidates not succeed even though they passed the entire process, including the psych.

I'm sure it must vary greatly location to location.

I remember a family member telling me how surprised they were when on one of their interview during the hiring process, they asked him about a fight he'd been in. In Jr. High school! When the teacher threatened "This is going on your permanent record!" she wasn't joking!

Year after year, both dentist and doctor remain among the occupations with the highest suicide rates. It seems as though in the United States, jobs requiring significant levels of aptitude, sacrifice, and education seem to be those with above-average risk of suicide. Oddly enough, contrasting evidence has emerged in countries like Britain that indicates the opposite trend to be true: occupations requiring lower skill tend to carry increased rates of suicide.
So what are the jobs with highest suicide rates?
1. Medical Doctors
2. Dentists
3. Police Officers
4. Veterinarians
5. Financial Services
6. Real Estate Agents
7. Electricians
8. Lawyers
9. Farmers
10. Pharmacists

LINK: https://choicespsychotherapy.n...ghest-suicide-rates/

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
The psych eval is the last hoop you have to jump thru. The department has paid a lot of money getting you that far, testing, physical, etc. I never heard of anyone who didn’t get hired bc of a psych eval.

I worked in background investigation/recruiting for a while and can tell you that they don't hire a number of folks who don't pass their Psych. The County/City may have spent a lot of money to get them to that point, but the department is going to spend a lot more getting them through the academy and the training program.

The biggest user of LSD I ever knew (i.e., tripped hundreds of times) retired as a Lieutenant with the Fairfax County Sheriff's Department.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
In my experience, many who work in mental health get into it because they have serious issues of their own.
...
She's far from the only example I've encountered.

That's a scary thought

It's pretty much the norm. I'd be more suspect of an mental health professional who had no experience with personal issues

I've know a lot of folks in the "helping people profession" and they freely admit that they got into the profession to understand/address their own issues.

That's why some of the best addiction therapist are addicts. It is because they know...realistically/not intellectually... what their patient is going through and know that there is a way beyond that state

quote:

Originally posted by cas:

they asked him about a fight he'd been in. In Jr. High school! When the teacher threatened "This is going on your permanent record!" she wasn't joking!

Years ago, I was a supervisor for a trucking company. We had trucks go into Canada to pick up auto parts and bring back into the USA to supply the GM Auto Assembly Plant we were assigned to.

It was the year 2005-ish that a team driver was attempting to cross into Canada from the USA to pickup parts.

He called me and said he was refused entry into Canada. I asked why?

His answer surprised me. He was refused because, 40-ish years ago, as a young teenager son of a US Military member stationed in the Country of Italy, he got into a fight with a same aged Italian teenage boy. No harm, no foul, no one hurt, just a minor dust-up.

Canada Customs had records on their computer from Italy dated approximately 1965-ish of 2 teenage kids having a fist fight. No one was hurt or jailed, the Italian Police just entered some sort of incident report to document what they found.

Apparently back in 1965-ish Italy they didn't have computer records, everything was on paper and filed. Ya think somewhere along the years going forward these old records got moved into a computer? And Canada had those records in 2005-ish.

When he got back to the office, both he and his team driver were interviewed as to what happened, both said the same thing. They both went into the Canadian office at the border entry and gave the same reports as to what happened. Both were pissed that they lost time and money turning around.
.

quote:

His answer surprised me. He was refused because, 40-ish years ago, as a young teenager son of a US Military member stationed in the Country of Italy, he got into a fight with a same aged Italian teenage boy. No harm, no foul, no one hurt, just a minor dust-up.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
These fights were a big deal in the military,as they are afraid of an international incident. In the 80s they put the kid on a plane back to the States to be admitted to a psychiatric facility.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Year after year, both dentist and doctor remain among the occupations with the highest suicide rates. It seems as though in the United States, jobs requiring significant levels of aptitude, sacrifice, and education seem to be those with above-average risk of suicide. Oddly enough, contrasting evidence has emerged in countries like Britain that indicates the opposite trend to be true: occupations requiring lower skill tend to carry increased rates of suicide.
So what are the jobs with highest suicide rates?
1. Medical Doctors
2. Dentists
3. Police Officers
4. Veterinarians
5. Financial Services
6. Real Estate Agents
7. Electricians
8. Lawyers
9. Farmers
10. Pharmacists

LINK: https://choicespsychotherapy.n...ghest-suicide-rates/

Maybe because they all have significant financial pressures? (Lots of docs/dentists/lawyers live well above a “comfortable” lifestyle due to social expectations/skyrocketing debt loads/etc.)

Not sure why electricians would be suicidal, unless someone starts chasing them with a broom…

It is ironic that I saw this thread today.
A 89 man dept around central Florida called me yesterday to answer some questions I had about age requirements and their academy.
Two weeks after 9-11, I got the call, and relocated to Richmond, VA and started on the job.
I knew what was expected and tried to be the best I could whether it be at the academy or on the job.
The recruiter came on in 2003 and said everything has changed:

From requirements, to people backgrounds and the biggest disappointment is that people show up to the academy out of shape or with a take it or leave it attitude.

I have heard that from other Officers also.

When 40 year old's are dusting other applicants half their age it is sad.

I was an investigator for a defense contractor hired to conduct individuals security clearance processes whether it be for a Government agency, the military or government contactor. It was infuriating and depressing to see who they were considering for some of the federal police and Special Agent positions with the backgrounds they had. I, along with numerous people I worked and served with tried numerous times to break into the Fed systems only to keep getting the thanks but no thanks letters.

It was the same when I worked at the PD/Sheriffs Offices.

I originally went to college to be a shrink. After meeting some of them, I thought there is no way in H*ll I would let them diagnose me.
(and I thought I was a picnic basket or two off).

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
The psych eval is the last hoop you have to jump thru. The department has paid a lot of money getting you that far, testing, physical, etc. I never heard of anyone who didn’t get hired bc of a psych eval.

I know of plenty who have tried at my department who get booted due to the psych. It is one of the last steps for us as well. The truth is the hiring process is staffed by cops who generally can read people well and most who don’t fit the “mental profile” will get weeded out during the invest before it gets to the 4 hour psych battery.

I also know of one or two that weren’t allowed to transfer from Detention to Patrol as a result of their psych. When you realize they were allowed to keep their job in Detention it may make you scratch your head.

Of course it not only varies by agency but by era. In my 18 years things have certainly not remained consistent. There were times where pretty much everyone made it through probation period no matter how clear it was to everyone that they shouldn’t carry a badge or just wasn’t in the right job… but at this time we won’t hesitate to kick someone to the curb during probation for even a relatively small issue that might be easily corrected (or might not).

Dated a Doctor PSY-D for a couple years. Yes, most people working in mental health are more fucked up than their patients.

Those responding to my comment, god bless your departments, bc ours weeded people out for a lot of reasons but they hired a shit ton of people who were some kind of fucked up.

I know I didn’t pass mine, but the hiring/background guy said people with former law enforcement experience won’t pass a psych eval due to the job and experience.

Corrections and street police are way different things. I've worked with CO's who I know couldn't hack it on the street, and I've hired patrol officers who didn't last a full shift in a prison. I told one guy who started at a camp to go tell the convicts to put their cigarettes out, it was a no smoking area. His response, "Are you kidding me? I'm not even armed!"