The pilot mental health system seems to punish those seeking help. What would actually fix it?
Posted by Light_Warrior999@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 7 comments
I'm a psychologist, and interested in aviation psychology and human factors. When I read about pilot mental health, I keep seeing that seeking help is a delicate topics mostly because of the potential repercussions (career, license, income etc.). It's a completely rational response to a system that structurally punishes talking about mental health.
What I already know from the research: pilots don't trust confidentiality, fear licence loss, fear income loss, and largely won't use support resources even when they exist. That part is well documented.
What I don't know, and what the research doesn't capture well, is what would actually change the behaviour. What would have to be structurally true for pilots and other professionals in the aviation industry to actually reach out?
JPAV8R@reddit
If you know the well documented issues then you have documented solutions.
How about not getting grounded for extended periods for the kinds of things that people go to therapists for? A person working at a pharmacy has the ability to poison hundreds to thousands of people but they don’t remove them from the pharmacy for months and make them prove they’re ok if they’re going through a rough patch due to the loss of a family member.
Confidentiality problems? Don’t know how to solve that at a federal level because the FAA also said they’d never use ADS-B information punitively but now they do. The US government has trended away from personal liberties since 1776. You’d likely need a non government independent service that just doesn’t exist for psychological issues to be handled in.
As long as loss of income fear? Like i said you need to start treating pilots like people who work in other safety sensitive positions… let them self diagnose the need to speak to a professional without grounding them for extended periods. Incentivize or codify that airlines should provide paid leave for x months to their flight crews who are under treatment for a mental health issue and streamline their ability to report well for work.
I dunno. It’s a rat king that’s hard to untangle and made worse because the federal government is involved and their usually solution is to add more rats.
Light_Warrior999@reddit (OP)
Thank you for your very insightful reply, the pharmacy analogy is exactly right, we don't remove pharmacists from work for months when they're going through grief, and the asymmetry between how pilots are treated versus other safety-sensitive workers.
The point about independent services is where I think the real solution lives. The literature consistently shows pilots don't distrust mental health support because they're stoic, they distrust it because they're rational. If any route to help runs through the FAA or their employer, the calculation doesn't change regardless of how many peer support programs get launched.
What do you think about paid leave with a guaranteed return pathway? I would assume it changes the decision entirely. Right now seeking help feels like stepping off a cliff with no visible ground. Guaranteed income and a clear return route turns it into a temporary detour.
Genuine question, in your experience, is the fear more about the grounding itself or the uncertainty of what comes after? The re-certification process seems like it might be the bigger deterrent than the initial disclosure.
gatoAlfa@reddit
Xyla Foxlin, that got her medical canceled for mental health issues is leading a campaign that is probably our best shot to change this. (She got her medical reinstated recently. Check this for more info.
https://xylafoxlin.com/pages/pilot-mental-health-campaign-cft-fundraiser
EmotioneelKlootzak@reddit
She only got hers back so fast because she's youtube famous. A regular person would probably still be fighting it.
gatoAlfa@reddit
If you watch her videos about the subject, she acknowledges that and decided to fund rise and get Involved politically so every pilot to have the same opportunity. https://xylafoxlin.com/pages/pilot-mental-health-campaign-cft-fundraiser
ckhaulaway@reddit
If pilots have a legitimate mental health condition like schizophrenia that manifests after receiving a certification they should not be flying. If pilots are receiving pharmaceutical treatment for conditions like depression they should not be flying. If pilots are seeking therapy for some underlying issues they should not be flying because therapy isn't a magical spell that solves everything. If a pilot thinks that the only option for them is sitting on a couch while some fat leftist retard with zero actual life experience tries to sell them that the solution is more therapy, then quite frankly, their judgment isn't sound enough to operate high performance aircraft. Here's the truth, if you're not capable of solving your own mental health issues then you're not competent enough to fly aircraft.
Therapy and anti-depressants are bullshit. Recreate the archetypal church of man with your boys, work out, get some sun, don't drink so much. Sort through your own shit and show strength like a man.
intellidepth@reddit
Do a search on the sub for ‘medical’. Comes up regularly. Fundamentally, it comes down to laws and risk.