Articles by Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD
My Patient Lost Their Job…Now What?
ByDavid “Daven” E. Morrison, MD,Andrew Brown, MD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD,Ashley VanDercar, MD, JD,Barbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN, Fara White, MD Unemployment is associated with an array of social and psychological complexities, directly affecting patients' self-esteem and perceptions of self-worth. When a patient loses their job, the psychiatrist has 4 tasks.
My Patient Just Lost their Job … What Do We Do Now?
ByDavid “Daven” E. Morrison, MD,Andrew Brown, MD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD,Ashley VanDercar, MD, JD,Barbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN, Fara White, MD,The Committee on Work and Organizations of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry Job loss may negatively impact your patient’s mental health. Read about how you can help.
How to Evaluate and Manage Psychiatric Symptoms Related to Workplace Concerns
ByGroup for the Advancement of Psychiatry,Ashley VanDercar, MD, JD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD,David “Daven” E. Morrison, MD,Andrew Brown, MD,Barbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN, Fara White, MD Unprecedented numbers of Americans are losing their jobs. When patients describe psychiatric symptoms (eg, anxiety, insomnia, irritability), psychiatrists should ask about workplace issues.
How to Help Support Patients Who Are “Essential” Workers
ByGroup for the Advancement of Psychiatry,Ashley VanDercar, MD, JD,Barbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN,Andrew Brown, MD,David “Daven” E. Morrison, MD, Fara White, MD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD In this podcast, Dr Andrew Brown, a member of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, Work and Organizations Committee and lead psychiatrist for the Boston Police Department, provides his views on how psychiatrists can help support patients who have anxiety associated with the categorization as “essential.”
How and Why Clinicians Should Take a Thorough Work History During COVID-19 and Beyond
ByGroup for the Advancement of Psychiatry,Ashley VanDercar, MD, JD,David “Daven” E. Morrison, MD,Andrew Brown, MD,Barbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD, Fara White, MD Dr Daven Morrison provides his views on how and why psychiatrists should take a thorough work history, especially now, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
How to Support and Evaluate Patients Experiencing or Fearing Job Loss in the Era of COVID-19
ByGroup for the Advancement of Psychiatry,Ashley VanDercar, MD, JD, Fara White, MD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD,Andrew Brown, MD,Barbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN,David “Daven” E. Morrison, MD In this podcast, psychiatrists from the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry, Work and Organizations committee walk us through assessing how a patient's work ties to their sense of identity. They describe ways to validate a patient's feelings, provide reassurance, and help manage their emotions.
5 Domains of Functional Assessment for Disability Evaluation
ByGroup for the Advancement of Psychiatry,Barbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN,Andrew O. Brown, MD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD,David “Daven” E. Morrison, MD, Christopher Flinton, MD Problems with any one of these domains can disrupt an individual’s capacity to sustain work capacity.
Disability and the Concept of Return to Work
ByBarbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN, Christopher Flinton, MD,Andrew O. Brown, MD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD,David “Daven” E. Morrison, MD,Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry This article discusses the return to work plan as a solution to the clinical and systemic problems arising from psychiatric disability.
Treater, Disability Assessor, or Forensic Expert: A Trap in Disability Claims
ByBarbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN,Andrew O. Brown, MD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD,David “Daven” E. Morrison, MD,Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry The treater who assumes a dual role as either disability examiner or forensic expert faces ethical risks because of the inherent binds in the roles.
The Disabled Employee’s Manager: A Common Complicating Factor of Workplace Disability
ByBarbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN,Andrew O. Brown, MD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD,David “Daven” E. Morrison, MD,Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry One of the most perplexing challenges for psychiatrists who interact with the workplace is the competing forces for and against mental health.
Functional Assessment for Disability Applications: Tools for the Psychiatrist
ByGroup for the Advancement of Psychiatry,Barbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN,Andrew O. Brown, MD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD,David “Daven” E. Morrison, MD These 10 domains will help you determine if functional impairment exists, if it can be reversed, and if the patient can return to work.
Disability: Overview of Concepts Psychiatrists Need to Know
ByBarbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN,Andrew O. Brown, MD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD,David “Daven” E. Morrison, MD,Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry This article discusses the risks of supporting versus withholding support for a patient’s disability claim and six key definitions psychiatrists need to understand when they are asked to support such a claim.
A Complicated Case of Psychiatric Disability
ByBarbara Long, MD, PhD, FABPN,Andrew O. Brown, MD,Sean Sassano-Higgins, MD,David “Daven” E. Morrison, MD,Ben Hunter, MD,Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry What to do when a patient says they need disabled status, but you believe otherwise?
It has been estimated that depression alone results in a loss of $31 billion per year for employers. This slideshow reports findings from a survey on work psychiatry.
A Complicated Case of Psychiatric Disability
