Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that can manifest after experiencing trauma. This condition doesn’t have to relate exclusively to trauma that you experienced personally but can extend to trauma that you witness such as trauma that you witness through your job on a regular basis or trauma that has happened to a loved one.
At Sequoia Detox Centers, our inpatient treatment plans offer a safe, supportive place for those struggling with PTSD. We provide multiple levels of care that can help clients manage symptoms of trauma, like memory loss, insomnia, and hypervigilance.
Can You Get Disability for PTSD?
Yes, you can receive disability benefits for PTSD through military systems and government systems. Both the civilian government and military recognize PTSD as a potentially disabling condition but you have to prove that symptoms are severe enough to impair daily function or prevent you from working.
Getting Disability for PTSD
There are two primary methods for receiving disability for PTSD either as a civilian or as a military member, current or former.
Social Security Administration (SSA) – For Civilians
As a civilian, qualifying for disability for PTSD goes through the Social Security Administration. There are two options here including Social Security disability insurance or supplemental security income.
To meet either, you must provide clinical documentation that you have experienced all of the related symptoms as listed under Listing 12.15 (Trauma- and stressor-related disorders) in its medical “Blue Book”. You must also prove that the documented symptoms have caused extreme limitation and at least two areas.
If you cannot prove this, there are other options like medical vocational allowances based on your functional limitations, age, and skills that provide a way for you to find flexible work even if you can’t do a standard full-time job.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) – For Military Veterans
If your PTSD is tied to your military service, then you qualify for tax-free, monthly VA disability compensation based on your level of impairment. The VA gives a percentage rating but all of this is contingent upon a current diagnosis, in service traumatic event that is tied to your ptsd, and a connection between your current symptoms and that in service event. The percentage of impairment given to you by the VA will determine how much you qualify for in disability payouts.
Getting PTSD Treatment with Us
If you are struggling with PTSD, Sequoia Detox Centers can provide inpatient and outpatient levels of care for dual diagnosis situations including PTSD and substance abuse. Through our services we can provide continual documentation from therapy sessions and with our other medical teams that you can use after your treatment to substantiate claims for disability.
Alternatively, if you have already applied for disability based on PTSD symptoms and are now looking for treatment, our full continuum of care allows clients to go through each program in a step-down approach during treatment.
Contact our team today at 1-866-824-0709 to learn more.
FAQ
Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Legally Recognized as a Disability?
Yes. PTSD is officially recognized as a disability under major federal legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act. However, in order to receive disability for qualifying PTSD you need an official medical diagnosis and you have to prove that your diagnosis has substantially impacted your ability to conduct major life activities or maintain a job. For military personnel you also have to link this to an event that happened while you were serving.
Can I Get Social Security Disability Benefits for PTSD?
Yes, the Social Security Administration (SSA) pays monthly disability benefits to individuals with severe PTSD through two programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). However, similarly, in order to get approval for disability benefits you need to provide documentation that you not only have PTSD but it has interfered with or prevented you from maintaining a job for at least 12 consecutive months.
What Do I Need to Submit a PTSD Disability Claim to the SSA?
The SSA evaluates PTSD under Mental Disorders Listing 12.15 (Trauma- and stressor-related disorders)And as such requires medical documentation that proves you have PTSD, that you have experienced all of the requisite symptoms, and that those symptoms have resulted in an extreme limitation in things like interacting with others, remembering or using information in the workplace, or any other qualifying issue. The SSA provides comprehensive application requirements that have to be met before they will review your claim.
Can I Get Help for PTSD If I’m On Disability?
Yes, you can get treatment for PTSD at any time and some of the benefits that might be applied to your treatment can include things like the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows you to take several weeks off to pursue treatment for a recognized disability or condition. You can also participate in treatment and use the information gathered by the therapist during your sessions as part of the evidence to substantiate disability claims after the fact.
Does a Legal Disability Status Protect My Job?
Yes, if you are employed by someone with 15 or more employees, your boss cannot fire you or demote you, demean you or mistreat you in any way because of a PTSD diagnosis. However, you are still expected to perform the core functions of your job with or without reasonable accommodations.
What “Reasonable Accommodations” Can I Get for PTSD?
If you have a diagnosis of PTSD, ADA Legally allows for modifications to your workplace environment in order to help you manage your symptoms and this can be things like desks facing a doorway or up against a back wall in order to minimize hypervigilance, noise canceling headphones, flexible schedules to accommodate therapy, freedom to take immediate breaks if there is a panic attack or a flashback, even the opportunity to bring a trained therapy dog to your workplace.
Do Veterans Have a Different Process for PTSD Disability?
Yes, military veterans have to go through the Veterans Affairs Department not the Social Security Administration and this type of disability is awarded based on a rating system that determines how much the PTSD impairs workplace function and daily function. That rating system is directly linked to compensation as well, but veterans have to establish not only a formal diagnosis but a linked event during their time of service that caused the PTSD.
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