British Army Self Harm Rejection

ConnorC19939

My application for the army was denied due to medical reasons I have self harmed once in my life when I was about16 - 17 I'm now 19, 20 in a few weeks and have not and any thoughts neither have I been feeling depressed since the last incident

if anyone could give me some advice on whether I have grounds for an appeal it would be very helpful

(edited 5 months ago)

Original post by ConnorC19939

My application for the army was denied due to medical reasons I have self harmed once in my life when I was about16 - 17 I'm now 19, 20 in a few weeks and have not and any thoughts neither have I been feeling depressed since the last incident

if anyone could give me some advice on whether I have grounds for an appeal it would be very helpful

You don't have grounds for an appeal based on feeling better now, they knew that and it didn't make a difference. You either have to provide evidence there was a misdiagnosis - which isn't really very likely, or, go away and do something else for a year and come back with greater distance between your application and the issues. If 'self-harm' was a euphemism for a more serious threat to your life, you may find they won't change their minds, but if it was really just a period of low mood in teenage years, particularly if it can be pinned to an event like parents divorcing, then they might accept that.

Reply 2

Shayyy2112

1

Original post by ConnorC19939

My application for the army was denied due to medical reasons I have self harmed once in my life when I was about16 - 17 I'm now 19, 20 in a few weeks and have not and any thoughts neither have I been feeling depressed since the last incident

if anyone could give me some advice on whether I have grounds for an appeal it would be very helpful

I am currently going through this process in my own application. You do have every right the challenge the medical progression team. I’ve recently submitted my appeal and they got back to me asking for more information. My mental health notes are of 7/8 years ago, which is way over the 2 year mark as stated in JSP 950. I’ve not done this since or needed any intervention since this episode. The grading system is of public knowledge and you can find the document on google if you’ve lost it. Use this where you can. They’ve requested information from me, from any mental health services I have dealt with previously, all secondary healthcare letters I can provide as well so that they can make a decision that is appropriate. When I’ve turned to my medical professionals I’ve had them look over the JSP and use that to structure what they write in the letters to back my appeal. I would suggest this be your first instruction. Gather as much evidence as you can, I would also include any information on outlets you feel have worked for you, maybe even have an assessment done on your mental health state and so that shows on your record. You only have 120 days to appeal following your rejection letter. If you haven’t already started the process, but wish to go down this route then I’d recommend to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.

Fingers crossed for you.

Reply 3

Guru Jason

21

You gotta understand their theought process though. You must understand why they might be just a little bit reluctant to give some with a history of harming themselves a gun.

Reply 4

Shayyy2112

1

Original post by Shayyy2112

I am currently going through this process in my own application. You do have every right the challenge the medical progression team. I’ve recently submitted my appeal and they got back to me asking for more information. My mental health notes are of 7/8 years ago, which is way over the 2 year mark as stated in JSP 950. I’ve not done this since or needed any intervention since this episode. The grading system is of public knowledge and you can find the document on google if you’ve lost it. Use this where you can. They’ve requested information from me, from any mental health services I have dealt with previously, all secondary healthcare letters I can provide as well so that they can make a decision that is appropriate. When I’ve turned to my medical professionals I’ve had them look over the JSP and use that to structure what they write in the letters to back my appeal. I would suggest this be your first instruction. Gather as much evidence as you can, I would also include any information on outlets you feel have worked for you, maybe even have an assessment done on your mental health state and so that shows on your record. You only have 120 days to appeal following your rejection letter. If you haven’t already started the process, but wish to go down this route then I’d recommend to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.

Fingers crossed for you.

To further explain my appeal, if this helps you. I applied for the Army for the first time in Jan 2017. That application got further than this one and I was booked onto my assessment. I withdrew my application as this point as I found out I was bearing my first child. I was not 2 years free of symptoms then but my records clearly show that this is one episode with an attributable cause. The only things that changed for me during the time between this application and my first were the overseeing officer who looked at my records and made the decision for me, and the fact I’ve had two children. I’ve noted that aside from this there’s been similar significant stressful events in my adult years in which I’ve not resorted to self harm. Nor did I have any medical intervention following my pregnancies as I had no signs of post natal depression. Mental health services and my GP have also backed this with letters for me to strengthen my appeal. If you are going to go down the appeal route then you must provide medical evidence that can strengthen your case against the “UNFIT” decision that has been made for you. It’s not guaranteed that this evidence will change the decision made my the medical progression team but it could and it’s better to have tried than not at all.

Reply 5

Shayyy2112

1

Original post by Guru Jason

You gotta understand their theought process though. You must understand why they might be just a little bit reluctant to give some with a history of harming themselves a gun.

Exactly this.
You can challenge them though, like I am doing. It may be the case of instead of a permanent “UNFIT” decision they could defer instead and ask that you reapply in a few years time. What they’d be looking at are the chances of this happening again, if not worse.

British Army Self Harm Rejection

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