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Obtaining Mental Health Clearance

The color guard honors suicide victims at “A Walk to Remember,” at Yokosuka, Japan. Credit: Garrett Cole, U.S. Navy

Mental wellness is perceived as a concern for those seeking a security clearance. The stigma of mental treatment and the fear of losing out on opportunities due to perceived mental illness may lessen the motivation to address these health challenges, resulting in deteriorating conditions for those who need to ensure psychological compliance as part of their job security.

But a recent publication suggests there is a change in perception.

“The data shows that a large majority of prospective security clearance applicants see mental health treatment in a positive light, with 80% of respondents agreeing that seeking mental healthcare indicates that an individual takes responsibility for their mental health and should be considered a net positive in the security clearance process,” stated a document written by contractor Leidos. The report was compiled through in-depth interviews with current and former intelligence community (IC) professionals, as well as a survey among prospective hires for roles requiring a security clearance.

While this report is based on IC workers, including those with links to the Department of the Navy, it does not break down data among agencies or services. Still, commissioned officers need to keep their clearance to perform their role, making these insights valuable.

“Leidos, as the majority of its work involves people skills, leveraging their talent for the government needs,” said Melissa Dueñas, chief communications and marketing officer at Leidos.

Recent events had an impact on everyone, and the IC seems to have been especially vulnerable.

“We were looking at the impacts that COVID had on our employees and just the general population. We realize that mental health challenges were increasingly becoming a challenge,” Dueñas told SIGNAL Media.

The results of this study showed the concern mental health labels create for professionals with a clearance.

“Despite there being less mental health stigma among individuals, there is a significant lack of trust and misunderstanding in how mental health issues are assessed during the security clearance process,” the Leidos report stated. “Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents are very or somewhat concerned about how their mental health history could play a role in their investigation,” the research paper said.

“We want people to be able to go to a counselor after they get divorced and not worry about it impacting their security clearance,” Dueñas said.

The document recommends communicating to debunk the stigma associated with mental ailments. This recommendation is in line with what others claim the Navy and the greater national security community should do.

“There is still a great degree of mistrust in how mental health disclosures are treated in the clearance process, compounded by the overall lack of transparency in the adjudication process,” the Leidos document concluded.

In 2021, Leidos partnered with the Milken Institute of Public Health and dozens of other organizations to set up a program to combat the opioid epidemic. This work later investigated depression in the workplace.