Submitted by acorn_to_oak t3_11rh2o5 in Washington
I am really struggling with my depression and anxiety to the point it is affecting my ability to do my job as a software engineer. I’d like to take a leave of absence to explore more intensive care, but I’m scared I won’t get reimbursed through WA PFML. Does anyone know what they will cover and what they’ll deny?
Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I’m sorry to hear about the complications. But I’m glad the leave helped you. I’m hoping it will do something similar for me.
What type of Dr. did you see for the referral? I have a therapist and a psychiatric nurse but I want to be sure the state will accept the credentials of whoever gives the referral/recommendation for leave.
I’d say either or both. If you have a GP it might help to talk to them as well. While mental health may not be their field I’m sure they’d be willing to help.
I’m between GP’s at the moment and went to my neurologist. I was very upfront with him about my mental health reasons for taking time and they were my main concern. I do have a seizure disorder and had one ~3 weeks before my leave but made it clear that I believed it was stress induced due to my job and mental health status.
He disagreed about the stress being a factor in my seizure but said that if my mental health was as I depicted he had no issue authorizing my leave despite it not being his direct field. He set me up with a therapist in his hospital system for a ASAP sessions and i worked out a regular therapy schedule. My psychiatrist wasn’t much help and consistently tells me that he is medication management and not really about diagnosis, but more so for medicating a diagnosis from a psychologist. Really weird and a system I am working out of. Oddly enough my therapist and I have decided to reduce my medication to zero (not there yet) to help with some side effect overlap from my seizure meds.
Help is out there, seek it. It may seem daunting but it’s better than suffering in silence, I promise you.
ETA: my leave was officially designated by my neurologist for mental health reasons and as far as my work was concerned it was a medical leave.
I truly appreciate the thorough response. Thank you for the advice and the kind words.
No worries, it’s tough out here.
Feel free to dm me if you need to chat or want advice on anything
Exactly, I used it for my sons birth, but my HR person couldn’t express enough how “we all paid into it, so use it!”, but it takes some time and paperwork, so just fill out what you need. Also, give them a call, they were happy to walk me through how to do it. Very nice people on the phone. I would sign up for it and see what happens.
The only thing I would add, is don't use the time intermittently like I did. I went to work when I could and called in when I couldn't. I probably would have been better off just taking a block of time off with counseling like others have said.
Call and ask! I found them really helpful when I had questions about my parental leave through pfml!
It’s tough right now to even make a phone call. But it is good advice. Thank you.
I hope you are able to use it and get the help you need ❤️ hang in there
Just FYI if you are a software engineer, it is likely you have short term disability insurance at your job, in which case you can take paid family medical leave and be covered for your full salary and not just the cap that the state will cover - you will need to get a medical attestation from your doctor that the leave is necessary, but such things are covered under the FMLA
I never got to apply the correct way (meaning I applied before I gave birth because my little one decided to be premie). However, I had no issues getting the back payments. Overall, I had a neutral experience and it was easy to navigate and fill out the forms and I did make a phone call a few times for questions and everyone was nice to me.
Your time off should be covered but I don't think it is 100% of your salary. Insurance coverage for the medical care is something else entirely and has to be claimed through your medical insurance.
Rutherford_Aloacious t1_jc8nu67 wrote
Apply for aid from the state ASAP! I took a leave recently for medical/mental health reasons and it was fully approved with dr referral(who i saw after my leave began). That said my company’s leave consultant (outsourced company) deducted available state benefits from their payout and won’t pay without a denial from the state.
I’m still waiting to hear back from the state ~6weeks after my missed check that I was expecting from the company. They never told me about this policy and I still likely wouldn’t have been paid by the state in time given how long it’s taken and my dr’s insistence that the leave was the appropriate course of action.
This is just my personal experience and not set in stone advice, just a recommendation to apply for leave with the state in congruence to whatever benefits your job offers (if any). I ultimately used pto and sick pay to cover my loses and got a check cut by my company to keep me whole in the meantime.
No matter what you should take the leave of you need it and have the means to get by. Don’t toil until breaking, it will only make it worse, imo. A month off did wonders for my state of mind and I am a much more effective worker because of it.