Doctors face huge stigma about mental illness. Now there's an effort to change that

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Doctors have long dealt with perceived threats to their careers if they are open about mental illness and addiction. Now about two dozen states are changing licensing forms to lessen the stigma.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

Doctors often have to share details about their own mental health in order to practice medicine. But many health care groups say that violates privacy and deters people from seeking treatment. From member station WBUR, Priyanka Dayal McClusky reports on an effort in Massachusetts to reduce the stigma. And a warning to listeners, this story discusses suicide.

PRIYANKA DAYAL MCCLUSKEY, BYLINE: By any measure, Lisa Lerner was a high achiever. She went to Harvard, became a dermatologist and started a family. At her medical practice near Boston, she became an expert at diagnosing skin conditions, says her husband, Ethan Lerner, also a doctor.

ETHAN LERNER: One of the things that people loved about Lisa is she would just call it – boom. She wouldn’t hesitate. You know, this is what it is.

MCCLUSKEY: He says his wife worked a lot and was good at her job. Lisa Lerner also had depression her whole adult life. After the sudden death of her adult son, Max, in 2019, she died by suicide.

LERNER: She took her life on insurrection day, January 6, 2021.

MCCLUSKEY: Lisa Lerner was 58. Health care workers are at disproportionately high risk of suicide, according to the CDC. And feelings of burnout, depression and anxiety are common, especially among doctors. Yet doctors often have to tell licensing boards, hospitals and insurance companies about their history of mental illness and addiction. That’s even if they’re getting treatment, and even if those problems don’t hinder their ability to take care of patients. For Lisa Lerner, the questions were an invasion of privacy and made it harder for her to seek care, her husband says.

LERNER: It’s just unbelievably uncomfortable, a huge stressor. No one worked harder than her. No one could do a better job than her. And so why was this relevant at all?

MCCLUSKEY: Physicians often fear they could be shamed, penalized or even lose their jobs for getting mental health care or addiction treatment. Now, there is a concerted effort to reduce that stigma. In Massachusetts, all hospitals and health insurers have promised to stop asking clinicians about their history of mental illness and addiction. Instead, they’ll ask only about current conditions, mental or physical, that could impair someone’s ability to practice medicine. Doctor Barbara Spivack, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, says that’s a huge step forward.

BARBARA SPIVAK: It’s particularly important in today’s world, where we’re really seeing so many physicians suffering from various levels of burnout, where the stresses of medicine are really interfering in the joy of medicine, and maybe even the joy of of life.

MCCLUSKEY: More than two dozen state medical boards have stopped asking doctors about their mental health history, but many state officials and hospital leaders still pose inappropriate questions, says health care executive J. Corey Feist – questions like…

J COREY FEIST: Have you ever been treated for or do you have a diagnosis for any mental health condition?

MCCLUSKEY: Feist runs the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation, named for his sister-in-law, an ER doctor in New York who died by suicide in 2020. He says Breen was terrified that seeking mental health care would end her career.

FEIST: Once we got her stabilized, she said, well now I’m – now my career is over. Now I’m done.

MCCLUSKEY: Feist says too many doctors share those fears. But he’s hopeful that a few simple paperwork changes could make a difference.

For NPR News, I’m Priyanka Dayal McCluskey in Boston.

PFEIFFER: If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, you can call or text 988. Just those three numbers will get you to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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