CDR question

hi
i have been on ssi for about 3 years now and was sent papers for cdr long form.
now they sent me papers saying i have to go for a mental exam and physical exam also.
i have been seeing a psychiatrist every 2-3 months for the last 4-5 years.
i also go to a regular doc for everything else every 1-3 months.

i have never heard of going for a mental exam after being approved and during the cdr.

is this normal (i am freaking out) ?

why do they need a mental evaluation when i go to the pdoc every 2-3 months ?
(my mental state has not improved)

has anyone else been sent for mental evaluations when doing a cdr ?

i cant survive without ssi
please help

yes it is normal, I know many people on SSI/SSDI

a CDR (continuing disability review) happens periodically to everyone on SSI, usually every couple years to every 5 years depending upon what the reported disability is. if you look back on your forms and paperwork you got when you were first awarded SSI you will find a spot about reviews and how often you will have to participate in them. you can also find this information on your pamphlet social security sends out to those on SSI, most get their SSI information pamphlet yearly as the laws and such are changed.

when they send you a form it means they just want to know if you are still disabled to the point that meets the criteria (which changes often) for receiving SSI in your location.

when they request someone to see treatment providers its in the recipients (person who gets the SSI) best interest because most people on permanent SSI usually end up having more health issues as time goes on.

example you said you have been on SSI now for three years. thats three years worth of new health issues you and your treatment providers can include on the forms that were not the application three years ago.

they require medical and mental reviews also because SSI is not a program limited to just medical problems or just mental problems.they also include it in the reviews because some mental and physical health problems can be cured or maintained to a point where a person who has a mental or physical health problem can go back to work.

you can choose not to get the evaluations requested but sometimes that means they either consider you treated to the point where you can go back to work and deny future checks to you, or they base it on your file which may no longer meet the new guidelines for receiving SSI.

Also here in america we have recently switched over to new mental disorders and some of the older mental disorder labels no longer apply as diagnostic labels of mental disorders. that means SSI has since 2013 had to change their listing of what mental disorders and such they cover. example someone with DDNOS (just using this as an example because I know someone that this happened to) could be denied SSI because here in america there is no longer a mental disorder called DDNOS. by going to the treatment providers required a persons mental disorders can be updated to the present diagnostics of OSDD or ODD (which is in part what DDNOS used to be)

my point its in your best interest to get the new evaluations done so that your mental disorders and health issues on SSI files are up to date, that way you dont accidentally end up in a situation where your past file no longer meets todays standards for receiving SSI.

You might be able to get SS to cancel one or both of the appointments if your doctor/psychologist calls SS and has a good reason why you shouldn't go. One example would be that the trip to the dr. would cause a great hardship due to your disability AND you already had an evaluation lately so the appointment would be redundant.

just reread the post and noticed your question...

why do they need a mental evaluation when i go to the pdoc every 2-3 months ?
(my mental state has not improved)

getting a mental evaluation is different than going to a pdoc every 2-3 months.

a person sees a psychiatrist for therapy and medications. a mental evaluation is a test that pychiatrists administer. the test has many components, theres computerized tests where your psychiatrist gives you a test with lots of quesitons on it and you choose which answer is correct for how you are feeling and what you feel your problems are, theres also verbal tests where the psychiatrist will ask you questions or to look at pictures, theres tests like you did in school math and logic, geography,

all the tests are looking for what your mental disorders are, what your mental maturity is, what your accademic understanding level is, what your coping skills are, how you think, what you believe, what emotions you are able to show, what stressors are in your life, along with other questions and what your functioning level is, and what treatment options are best for your problem areas the testing procedures and tests discovered about you.

getting out of this by claiming hardship...sometimes it works but most times it actually works against you because they usually ask you to go through these tests when they need more information. and most times its the more information that gets someone to stay qualified for their SSI.

some locations when you claim hardship/problems with going to these appointments arrangements are made so that the testing can be done in the persons own home for example some people with agoraphobia qualify for treatment providers to make home assessments.