Publications

WINNING SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY IN ALABAMA BASED ON MENTAL IMPAIRMENTS

George Allen Moore
Johnston, Moore & Thompson
400 Meridian Street Suite 301
Huntsville, AL 35801
(256) 533-5770
www.alabamajusticecenter.com

If you have a mental health condition and it is severe enough to prevent you from working at any job, it can be the basis for a successful Social Security Disability claim.  You must show that your mental impairment is severe enough to keep you from maintaining employment.  Having a diagnosis such as “depression,” “bipolar disorder” or “anxiety” is not enough for you to win a Social Security Disability case.  You must show how the symptoms and limitations from the mental condition prevent you from working at any job.

To help you with your Social Security Disability claim, we work with your therapist, psychiatrist, counselor, or psychologist to get their opinion regarding the severity of your mental health condition.  We will also help them to translate your symptoms into functional limitations that the Social Security Administration will use to evaluate your claim. 

If you claim that you are disabled because of mental impairments, the Social Security Judge will want to know about how the mental condition affects:

1. your ability to follow work rules;
2. your ability to relate to co-workers;
3. your ability to deal with the public;
4. your ability to use good judgment;
5. your ability to interact with your supervisor;
6. your ability to deal with work stresses;
7. your ability to function independently;
8. your ability to maintain attention and concentration;
9. your ability to understand, remember, and carry out job instructions;
10. your ability to maintain your personal appearance;
11. your ability to behave in an emotionally stable manner;
12. your ability to relate predictably in social situations; and
13. your ability to demonstrate reliability.

The mental assessment from your therapist, psychiatrist, counselor, or psychologist will be important as to how your ability to work is affected by each of these mental impairments.  The degree of each impairment can be mild, moderate, or severe.  The probability of winning Social Security Disability increases if you have several severe mental impairments as shown on a Mental Assessment Form that we will seek from your mental health care providers.

Social Security has listed several impairments that correspond to specific mental health conditions or diagnoses.  Affective Disorders and Anxiety Disorders are the most frequently seen.  Affective Disorders include Bipolar Disorder and Depression.  Five different conditions comprise Anxiety Disorders.  This includes Generalized Anxiety Disorders, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Phobic Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, and Panic Disorders.

It is important for those with mental impairments to have a Social Security Disability attorney to help with the process.  Please ask for a free case evaluation if you are wondering if your mental health condition is severe enough to received social security disability benefits.