How to Pass a Social Security Disability Mental Exam

April 25, 2024

Colbert Cooper Hill Attorneys

When you apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) due to a mental health disability, you may be asked to undergo a mental health exam. This is called a mental Consultative Examination, and it is performed by a qualified doctor chosen by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

This is a very important appointment, and it is provided free of charge. The SSA will notify you of the appointment date and time by mail. If you need to reschedule, let them know right away. If you miss the appointment without notifying them, they will reject your disability benefits application.

You might feel stressed out, and you may want to know what to expect from these psychological tests. Keep reading to learn more about how to prepare for your mental exam. You can also talk to an experienced disability lawyer about the specifics of your case, so they can help you prepare answers to common mental exam questions.

Why Does the SSA Conduct Mental Exams?

The SSA uses mental examinations to evaluate mental disorders during the disability benefits application process. This is a way for them to understand how and why your mental health condition prevents you from engaging in substantial gainful activity—or in other words, prevents you from working and earning a meaningful income.

If you are currently seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist, the SSA would prefer that your own doctor provides a mental health evaluation. However, people who have mental impairments may not have ongoing treatment or recent doctor visits. When this happens, the SSA is likely to require mental health exams due to lack of medical history.

In other cases, your doctor may not want to provide your medical records, or your doctor may provide records that have some inconsistencies. These are also reasons that the SSA would ask you to perform a mental health exam with the doctor they choose.

The doctors will perform mental assessments based on the type of mental disability you have.

Mental Status Examination: tests your memory, language skills, awareness, and mood.
Psychiatric Examination: evaluates mood disorders or affective disorders.
Psychological Examination: evaluates cognitive functioning, like an IQ test.
Memory Tests: assess patients with short term memory loss.

The SSA uses your mental examination report to either approve or deny your disability claim, or they may ask for additional testing.

8 Tips to Prepare You For A Social Security Disability Mental Exam

A woman sits pensively, hands on her chin, as she considers how to respond to an interview question.

This is an important appointment, and there is a lot at stake. Social security disability benefits can make a huge difference to your financial security. You may think that you need to make your mental disorder seem worse than it is, but that is a bad idea. If the doctors think you are faking your condition, your disability benefits will be denied.

Instead, prepare as best you can using these tips:

Talk to a disability lawyer. They can help you prepare specific answers to common questions, in a way that will show the doctor how your current symptoms and mental functioning prevent you from working.

Bring the right paperwork. It’s a good idea to have your appointment notice, as well as your social security claim number. Any previous mental health records are helpful, too.

You’ll be asked about medical history and work history. You may want to write down your medical treatment history, such as any hospitalizations you experienced, current medications and dosage, and previous treatments you received. You may also want to write down your work history, especially the parts that relate to your mental health condition, such as missing work due to your disability.

Be prepared for questions about how your mental health affects your daily life, with specific answers. Instead of saying “I feel depressed every day,” you may want to say, “Depression makes it hard for me to eat regular meals, and I often experience insomnia.”

Try to get good rest before your mental exam. This will help you stay focused while you answer questions during your psychological exam.

Try to only answer the questions the disability examiner asks, and nothing more. Try not to ramble or volunteer extra information during your mental status exam.

Be honest when you answer the questions. If the doctor thinks you are exaggerating, they may deny your claim. They have screening tests to help determine when you are lying, such as symptom validity tests and performance validity tests.

Don’t be embarrassed or hide information. You may not want to share things that make you feel embarrassed, but these can be key pieces of information for your disability evaluation. Your doctor talks to hundreds of claimants and understands that people in similar circumstances to yours experience all sorts of hardships.

After your consultative exam, you will be eager to hear from Disability Determination Services about your SSDI or SSI claim. Once you’ve submitted your full social security disability application, it can take 3 to 5 months to receive a determination.

Call The Wolf Pack™ For Help If Your SSDI Claim is Denied

If your SSDI claim is denied, we can help. The experienced disability attorneys at Colbert Cooper Hill can also help you prepare your initial application, prepare for your social security disability mental health exam, and more.

We understand how challenging it can be to put together disability claims when you have a mental disorder. Our team can provide compassionate support as we help you gather evidence, fill out paperwork, and build a strong case for your disability claim. Then we can aggressively fight for you to get the financial assistance you deserve.

Please take advantage of our free consultation to discuss the specifics of your claim. You can tell us where you are in the application process, and we can let you know what your options are. Just call (580) 271-9672 or fill out the online form to get started today.