Kaiser, Don't Deny

Found outside therapist to extend mental health disability when there was a three-month waiting period at Kaiser

I was four months postpartum and planning my return to work as a nurse practitioner in March 2020 when the pandemic hit. I was already stressed about my return to work and the challenges of pumping and leaving my baby. I also wasn’t sleeping much due to his poor sleep. When the pandemic hit, I became incredibly anxious, my sleep worsened and I didn’t know what to do. As a nurse practitioner myself, I often provide help to my patients with temporary disabilities as they manage mental health challenges so I reached out to my PCP for help. I was told she couldn’t do temporary disability and was referred to talk to a counselor in her office. That person didn’t take me seriously and told me the only one who could do temporary disability for mental health was someone in psychiatry and there was a three month waiting period. I ended up finding an outside therapist who was able to extend my disability for four months until I was in much better health and able to return to work.

Arielle
Oakland