Counseling

[JackieFish]

Evening all,

I’m currently in the process of applying for the summer boards (SNA, SNFO, and SWO), and I’m running into some fun MEPS issues. In particular is the issue of some counseling I undertook back in 2017. Nothing life shattering, I was just working my way through a bad breakup (the girl I thought I would marry had BPD and put me through the ringer), and I just wanted a neutral third party to talk it out with. Went for 7 months, got an unspecified anxiety diagnosis, no meds prescribed, no hospitalizations or anything like that. All the while I was working full time and in grad school doing quite well.

Flash forward to now. I’ve already submitted a letter from the counselor that cleared me, but MEPS shot back that they wanted the psychotherapy notes (at least that’s what the recruiter said). I’ve been able to talk the counselor into faxing them to MEPS, but she’s resistant to uploading them via DODSafe for whatever reason. They’ve been faxed once but “weren’t received,” so we’re trying again this week and have the direct desk line for the physician’s assistant that’ll be receiving them.

All of that is to ask: would a more thorough letter from the counselor suffice? I seem to be running into issues re: the notes and this is the final hurdle before I’m able to head down for my physical.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

All of that is to ask: would a more thorough letter from the counselor suffice? I seem to be running into issues re: the notes and this is the final hurdle before I’m able to head down for my physical.

You can’t really “negotiate” with MEPS. If MEPS is asking to provide items A, B, C… you have to provide them just that.

Not sure if that office is close to you but if I were you just swing by and pick up all the printed documents in person. If that can’t work just explain to them you’re trying to join the military and they need XX things in order to join.

 

[JackieFish]

You can’t really “negotiate” with MEPS. If MEPS is asking to provide items A, B, C… you have to provide them just that.

Not sure if that office is close to you but if I were you just swing by and pick up all the printed documents in person. If that can’t work just explain to them you’re trying to join the military and they need XX things in order to join.

The doctor’s office is very close, and MEPS is maybe 1.5 hours away. I’d happily pick up the documents myself, but the problem is my former counselor, who seems incredibly reluctant to do anything other than fax them to MEPS. Apparently therapy notes fall under a different set of rules than regular medical documents.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

The doctor’s office is very close, and MEPS is maybe 1.5 hours away. I’d happily pick up the documents myself, but the problem is my former counselor, who seems incredibly reluctant to do anything other than fax them to MEPS. Apparently therapy notes fall under a different set of rules than regular medical documents.

Have them fax it to a recruiter. Meps don’t take direct faxes

 

[exNavyOffRec]

The doctor’s office is very close, and MEPS is maybe 1.5 hours away. I’d happily pick up the documents myself, but the problem is my former counselor, who seems incredibly reluctant to do anything other than fax them to MEPS. Apparently therapy notes fall under a different set of rules than regular medical documents.

I encountered that before and it is a pain, it was such a pain that it made me wonder why anyone who had thoughts of joining the military would ever even talk to counselor and that isn't the right thought.

The MEPS docs should understand they are under a different set of rules and one thing that we did is had our liaison ask the MEPS doc specifically what he wanted and then the therapist was able to answer those specific questions. This may or may not be a good alternative for you as not all MEPS docs are made the same, but it is an option to consider if you need to.

 

[number9]

The doctor’s office is very close, and MEPS is maybe 1.5 hours away. I’d happily pick up the documents myself, but the problem is my former counselor, who seems incredibly reluctant to do anything other than fax them to MEPS. Apparently therapy notes fall under a different set of rules than regular medical documents.

I was a DCO applicant, not an OCS applicant, but I provided very similar stuff to my recruiter via DoD SAFE and made it out with a positive finding in my favor.

 

[Rtjenkins]

I encountered that before and it is a pain, it was such a pain that it made me wonder why anyone who had thoughts of joining the military would ever even talk to counselor and that isn't the right thought.

The MEPS docs should understand they are under a different set of rules and one thing that we did is had our liaison ask the MEPS doc specifically what he wanted and then the therapist was able to answer those specific questions. This may or may not be a good alternative for you as not all MEPS docs are made the same, but it is an option to consider if you need to.

I'm dealing with a couple applicants for counseling.. Its to the point where meps will see "clear to process" and n3m will end requesting additional docs added to what we submitted at meps

 

[JackieFish]

I encountered that before and it is a pain, it was such a pain that it made me wonder why anyone who had thoughts of joining the military would ever even talk to counselor and that isn't the right thought.

The MEPS docs should understand they are under a different set of rules and one thing that we did is had our liaison ask the MEPS doc specifically what he wanted and then the therapist was able to answer those specific questions. This may or may not be a good alternative for you as not all MEPS docs are made the same, but it is an option to consider if you need to.

Quick update on this: my provider agreed to fax the notes to MEPS a second time, and my recruiter and I hounded them until they confirmed they were uploaded with the rest of my documents. So, that’s done.

The new hotness is the request for three separate letters from three different providers. They want to make sure I’ve sent in everything for these three instances. The fun part is that one was at an urgent care three years ago, and the other was at an ER where the attending that saw me no longer works. So that’s fun. Hoping a document I’ve already submitted for the ER visit (from a consult I had two weeks later that cleared me) will suffice. It’s odd, my recruiter is having to send docs multiple times down to MEPS. Hoping I can speed through this process this week. I know I’m going to miss the summer aviation board because of the delay, but I’m hoping I can get in on the SWO board.