New Psychological Evaluation for prospective Missionaries?

[_truth dancer]

I popped in on the MAD board and noticed the following quote... it is in response to a question concerning the mental health of prospective missionaries.

There was a new psychological evaluation form that came out in 2008, the individual is outsourced to 'LDS family services' for the shrinks do the evaluation. The form is dense and double sided, it requires the individual devulge their sexual habits and history, whether repentance has occurred is irrelevant for the purposes of the evaluation which is now a compulsary requirement under LDS policy. This form entails a long detailed questionaire on the prospective missionaries onanistic habits, frequency and so forth, if it was leaked onto the net it would be explosive and quickly spread from one end of the web to the other, however that is not fact only my irrelevant opinion. (as I have seen it.)

Anyone know anything more about this? This is new to me.

~td~

[_quaker]

None of my recently interviewed missionary friends have mentioned anything about an overly intrusive form. If it's weird like it sounds then I think they might have mentioned it?

Either way, I'll make my own set of probing questions to make sure I know if they've been subjected to this mental evaluation. I can say for certain that they had no interviews with LDS social services.

[_Daniel Peterson]

Never heard of it.

[_truth dancer]

I'm suspecting the evaluation would only occur if a prospective missionary has mental health issues. I am certain each and every prospective missionary is not interviewed by LDSSS.

Dan, do you know if prospective missionaries who have mental health issues are/can be/must be evaluated by LDSSS?

Also, in your experience, how do you determine if a prospective missionary with mental health issues is able to be called to a full time mission? Would LDSSS be a possible resource?

~td~

[_Jason Bourne]

No I have not heard of this.

[_harmony]

I'm suspecting the evaluation would only occur if a prospective missionary has mental health issues. I am certain each and every prospective missionary is not interviewed by LDSSS.

Dan, do you know if prospective missionaries who have mental health issues are/can be/must be evaluated by LDSSS?

Also, in your experience, how do you determine if a prospective missionary with mental health issues is able to be called to a full time mission? Would LDSSS be a possible resource?

~td~

I don't know what "mental health issues" would preclude a young man from serving a mission, but I can see where many would be create major headaches for mission presidents.

I have a relative who has mental health issues who, when he was missionary age a few years ago, was not allowed to serve a full time mission. He was allowed to serve a service mission close to his home, which delighted him. He's now studying at the community college in a neighboring town, working and living on his own quite well.

As far as I know, he was not evaluated by LDSSS. It would not concern me, had he been. They are competent in their field.

Personally I think the idea to evalute the mental health of all prospective missionaries is a good one. I have 2 sons who would have benefited hugely from it. One is bi-polar, who served without a problem, but the other is prone to depression, and was sent home early after an accident rendered it almost impossible for him to continue serving, which sent him into a downward spiral into a clinical depression for which he was treated on the psychiatric wing of the hospital in Provo for 10 days before they sent him home. His psychiatrist told me he had anywhere from 10-12 missionaries on his floor at any given time, and that he wished the church had something in place to shield these vulnerable people from the stigma of either not serving, or returning early.

I'm not sure he would approve of the "raising the bar" thing, that now lumps those who don't serve for reason like my relative with those who don't serve for reasons involving church discipline. It simply throws the innocent into the same pressure cooker as the guilty.

[_hobart]

As early as 2002, those who had had homosexual tendencies were excluded even if they had repented, this I found out from a LDSSS, but I don't think evaluations by them were mandatory to find that out.

[_The Nehor]

Making sure Missionaries are capable of handling what they're getting into.

WELL, I never.

Next thing you'll tell me they're disqualifying people with physical disabilities from the Army.

[_karl61]

If you had mental health problems and were backed into a mission in the late 70's or early 80's you were *(())*(ed. I am glad to read this thread and the thoughts here. The stigma can be like a five hundred pound backpack. Add that to one already suffering from mental health problems and it's too much. It's sad that so many thousands of young men had to suffer before someone got a "bright idea". The only good thing is that mercy cannot rob justice.

[_Alter Idem]

I popped in on the MAD board and noticed the following quote... it is in response to a question concerning the mental health of prospective missionaries.

There was a new psychological evaluation form that came out in 2008, the individual is outsourced to 'LDS family services' for the shrinks do the evaluation. The form is dense and double sided, it requires the individual devulge their sexual habits and history, whether repentance has occurred is irrelevant for the purposes of the evaluation which is now a compulsary requirement under LDS policy. This form entails a long detailed questionaire on the prospective missionaries onanistic habits, frequency and so forth, if it was leaked onto the net it would be explosive and quickly spread from one end of the web to the other, however that is not fact only my irrelevant opinion. (as I have seen it.)

Anyone know anything more about this? This is new to me.

~td~

I'm not sure what this poster is talking about. My daughter filled out the papers in October and there was nothing like this.