Do you want to practice for your upcoming Social Security disability hearing? I'm a disability lawyer, and if your claim is primarily about a mental health condition, these are the questions I ask at the hearing. Go through them one at a time and think about how you'd answer honestly.
The basics
Could you please state your name for the record?
How old are you today?
What is the highest grade in school you've completed?
When did you last work?
Why did you stop working at that time?
In one sentence, why are you no longer able to work on a full-time, consistent basis?
Memory
Do you have any difficulties with your memory?
What types of things do you struggle to remember?
Has this affected any of the jobs you've had in the past? How so?
Completing tasks
Do you have any problems completing tasks?
How good are you at keeping up with chores around the house?
Would you describe your current living situation as messy? Help me understand — what does messy mean to you?
Have you had problems completing tasks at work in the past? How did that affect your employment?
Concentration
How long can you maintain concentration?
Do you have any trouble finishing TV shows?
Do you ever have difficulty following what's happening in a TV show or a movie?
Getting along with others
Do you have any difficulty getting along with other people?
Have you ever had problems getting along with supervisors at past jobs? Tell me what happened.
Do you have any problem getting along with authority figures generally?
Stress, change, instructions, and criticism
How well do you respond to stress?
How well do you respond to change?
How well do you follow instructions?
How well do you respond to criticism, whether it's constructive or otherwise?
Daily life at home
What percentage of the chores around the house do you do, and which ones specifically are you responsible for?
How often do you leave your house for anything besides medical appointments? Why don't you leave the house for other things?
Do you need help with any of your self-care — reminders to bathe, anything like that?
Do you have any side effects from your medications?
The last question
Is there anything else about your conditions that we need to know about besides the things we've already had a chance to discuss in front of the judge today?
Then it's, "Thank you so much for your testimony. Your honor, I pass the witness."
Final thought
Those are my standard mental health questions. Your particular case might have more specific issues that need to be drilled into, but these are the questions you can expect at a mental health disability hearing. Go through them ahead of time so none of them catch you off guard.
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@bradthomasdisability Standard Mental Health Disability Hearing Questions
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