Disclosing a Psychiatric Disability in the Context of Interviewing or a Job

While the Americans with Disabilities Act, and perhaps similar legislation in other nations, confers rights to be accommodated to people with invisible disabilities as well as those with visible, I do not suggest that you avail yourself of such rights. There is simply too much prejudice against people who are thought of as “mentally ill.”

The exception is in the governmental context, where in the United States it is the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that gives the authorization. Governmental jobs, being more subject to bureaucracy, also yield less bias in the workforce. Finally, sometimes governmental agencies actually provide affirmative action preferences in hiring to those who self-disclose as having a disability. Such agencies have systems in place to follow through with reasonable accommodations, not according to the letter of the law but in the spirit of righteousness.