FAA wants aftercare counseling

[Guest]

Yet I've been happily sober for 27 consecutive months, provable abstinent (by FAA standards) 26 consecutive months. I've contacted several counselors, all of whom state that I don't qualify for the counseling because I don't have a "current" drinking problem.

How do they expect me to fulfill this requirement?

 

[Bob Noel]

Is a question of who pays for the counseling? That is, are the counselors saying you don't qualify for your insurance to pay for it, or are they saying they won't see you even if you pay out of pocket?

 

[Tools]

This is easy. Contact a HIMS specialist. They can’t do REAL counseling and therefore cater to pilots fulfilling an ADMINISTRATIVE requirement for this.

They charge a premium for their ineptitude. So there’s that.

 

[lbfjrmd]

though I have not seen the FAA ltr instructing such, I suspect they are requiring 'group facilitated' meeting ... sometimes call relapse prevention groups.

 

[Guest]

though I have seen the FAA ltr instructing such, I suspect they are requiring 'group facilitated' meeting ... sometimes call relapse prevention groups.

They want peer support group w/sponsor AND weekly individual counseling. I've been engaged with peer support group and have a sponsor who is willing to write a report regarding my engagement in recovery and the quality of recovery. It's the individual requirement that I cannot satisfy.

I've been abstinent from all substances for 27 consecutive months with 26 consecutive months provable. I've been engaged with AA from December 2021.3 month visits with HIMS AME.

 

[robin ardoin]

Go to a treatment center in your community and tell the counselors your predicament. I'm almost certain they will be able to point you to a counselor that can help you.

 

[PaulS]

It sounds like they are saying no because insurance won't pay for it. This is something that you will probably need to pay yourself.

 

[Tools]

Or resources are scarce enough they are trying to reserve them for people that NEED IT MEDICALLY, not administratively (which is a waste of resources).

Hey I want a MRI to just see if anything might be weird in my body somewhere…. Ya, back of the line buddy.

Think I’ll drink chemo poison to just MAKE SURE I don’t get the cancer it helps with… Does that make ANY sense?

FAA wants ya to do it, go to a FAA “professional” to get it. They are not busy with real cases.

 

[bbchien]

When I have candidates who make this complaint, I refer them back to my "engagement" email, in which that was listed.

Sounds like you're in the first six months of a HIMS SI (or getting close to application). You will need this for at least a year. So you have to decide to bite the bullet and pay for it, or take the bus. FAA's much more demanding than the community DSM5 (which controls insurance).

Aftercare group isn't very expensive (on the "medical scale") - I have some guys who get it for $60 a session.

Try to remember, YOU got the DUI not the FAA. Always remember, THEY have something YOU want and they aren't going to make a move in that direction without EVERYTHING on the list. You are NOT being discriminated against.