SSDI Mental Impairment Evaluations
Persons who have a mental health condition that prevents them from gainful employment can apply for a disability claim with the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Division of Disability Determinations (DDD). For people between the ages of 18 and retirement age, it is often quite difficult to receive a disability award based on a mental health condition unless the claimant’s disability is medically substantiated. This means that the psychologist conducting the disability evaluation should not only include self-reported symptoms, but these symptoms should be validated by the psychologist’s clinical observations and objective psychological testing.
Immigration Evaluations
Clinical psychologists play in important role in immigration evaluations for applicants who:
Have been the victim of domestic violence or a crime that resulted in psychological, emotional, or cognitive difficulties.
Have a psychological, emotional, or cognitive condition that causes them to be unable to learn English and U.S. history and civics.
For applicant’s who have these experiences and conditions, a psychological evaluation that medically substantiates their DSM-5 diagnoses and any resulting impairments is necessary to support their pathway to citizenship through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Dr. Jalazo conducts two types of psychological evaluations for immigration purposes.
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Immigration Evaluations: Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions
Employment Fitness-For Duty Evaluations
The purpose of a psychological Fitness-for-Duty evaluation (FFDE) is to determine whether a worker can psychologically, emotionally, and/or cognitively carry-out their daily job tasks without risk to themselves and/or others. FFDEs can be conducted as a condition of employment (pre-employment evaluation) or after employment (post-employment evaluation) if there is a reasonable suspicion that the worker may not be fit-for-duty due to the presence of a mental, emotional, or cognitive disorder.