Part 2: Brent Responds to GINA

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All righty…there are so many issues here, and most of them are overwhelming to me. This is going to be a LOOOOONG thread!

But before I get into that, I am feeling like you and I need to review some disclaimers about our posts. (Ahem…)

I think it is important that, you, our readers understand that what Theresa and I are doing here is discussing issues, principles, ideas, concerns, and others related to the intersection of Mental Health, Missions and the Law. We are not giving official advice or opinions. Our insights are meant only to get you thinking about these issues within your organization. Should you need to pursue these, we hope that our notes can be a good basis for you to use as you consult with your own legal and or psychological consultants. Now, you might want to consult with Theresa or myself on some things, and that would be fine, but it is important that you realize we are not offering legal or any opinions in this blog.

OK, back to responding to the thread. I have many questions about GINA as they relate to my consultation and therapeutic practices with mission agencies and their clients. I will list the topics I will bring up below:

1. As a psychologist, we always ask about family history. It is an important part of our assessment. What do we do now?

2. Family history and family medical history can have some messy overlaps. For instance, it is commonly believed that bipolar disorder runs in families. Does this, and things like it, now become taboo topics?

3. Some behavioral disorders have a combination of psychological and medical treatments. Think depression. On of the things we do at Link Care is to help the missionary and their organization manage this upon release from treatment. So, now we can’t talk about that?

4. Or, what if the missionary is sent for help for depression because they serve in a really bad place. Everyone knows why they are here receiving treatment. How do we help them and the mission?

We will deal with each of these in separate thread. Be looking for these posts!

Disclaimer: not official legal or psychological advice or opinion