Does anyone else feel that the new PIP form excludes those with a mental illness?

claire624

Does anyone else feel that the new PIP form excludes those with a mental illness from getting help?  It focuses on the physical capabilities and not the psychological issues wrought by such an illness and ignores the emotional support network that is required by users.  It also fails to recognize the detrimental effects that medication can have.

JennysDad

Just saying hello @claire624 and a warm welcome to the community. I know that a lot of our members have strong feelings around this issue, so I'm sure you'll find plenty of support.
Warmest best wishes to you,
Richard

debbiedo49

Totally 

steve51

Hi @claire624

I have just googled pip to find the answers.

Pip has two components.

1. Daily Living.

2. Mobility.

So you’re answer looks like “no” I feel.

Please please let me know if I can help you further ????

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Sam_Alumni

There is some information about PIP and mental health on the MIND website.

Waylay

You need to fit your mental illness, side-effects, etc into the form

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feir

It doesn't even cover all disability issues or expenses and neither do their assessments. So yes i can imagine it doesn't cover all mental illnesses either.

They ask if you can walk and presume that all you need to be able to manage in life is to be able to walk short distances and voila you are not disabled at all. I suspect whoever made these criteria up has no clue about disability or how it affects people.

whistles

Are you meaning the new pip forms have changed from the old ones, or the benefit itself. 

It's about if you need help with those descriptors in whatever way you need that help.
Your disability so they say isn't relevant, though they do have pre formed ideas on whether you should cope or not. 

On first glance it might look aimed at physical issues. But it does ask if you need support or promoting. 
My issues were they decided I didn't although I said I did and do. 

The other thing I hear a lot is its not split into night and day. Sorry I disagree. 
One of the reasons I got DLA was because I had a nighttime carer come in. It's not on my  pip form because it didn't fit a descriptor. You do not get asked if you need help in or out of bed anymore. You were before. You are only asked if you need help getting dressed.  What happens after is not included.
Steps are 'outside the scope of pip' It's just flat level ground. 

poppy123456

Lots of people claim PIP for mental health reasons, so no the PIP forms don't exclude those with mental health, far from it.

PIP is awarded based on how those conditions affect you. If you need prompting to do daily things aimed at those descriptors then it's possible to score those points. You will of course need evidence to support your claim and to prove that you have the difficulties.

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mossycow

As a teacher... If the PIP form was an a am paper it would be thrown right out. It asks the wrong questions, very unclear... And when I called and spoke to the highest member of the assessment team they still couldn't clarify some questions... Not even mentioning the wrong phone number on the front AND  spelking/Grammer error or two.

Now, I'm not a very pendantic person who goes round correcting these things.... (in fact... That's a pet peeve of mine) but it's written very badly .. So I deal with it like I've dealt with badly written papers in the past

- Communicate with the writers and those assessing as much as possible... Partly to keep me right and partly so they get that as feed back. 

- Use the question as a spring board to talk about what I want them to know about me. 

So, in terms of your original post, yes, the form does feel to be written with only physical disability in mind. BUT! As my fellow Scopies and Scopettes above have mentioned it is possible to get in what you need to about mental health.

I find that typing the form really helps as you can come back to it  gather your thoughts and write more than the boxes allow. 

E. G. I have a generalised anxiety disorder and various physical probs going on. So when asked about food I wrote ahout how:

Anxiety and the medication I take to improve my mental health effects my appetite, my ability to plan ahead to grocery shop and plan food, makes my hands shake when chopping food etc... 

Also like exam papers  they won't take marks off for extra info... But unlike exams you have much more time. You can fall and ask for more time if you need it. Put on everything you feel is **** in life and give them the best picture of your worst day taking into account your whole daily experiences. 

aaronw3440

Even if the disabilities mental and invisible the affects it has on your daily life are very much physical because it then causes psychological distress and other side effects  and dwp do very much discriminate and target those who have invisible disabilities I've gotta go through the whole reconsideration/ appeal process because the dwp guideines tell you not to pay any fees for evidence as they will get it which they don't as when I sent the form I couldn' afford to pay for the evidence so had to get the evidence to send with the reconsideration as the only evidence I had was my prescription and since dwp and the assessors all have targets to meet for how many people they can decline the very much needed help the better it is for DWP and the assessors pockets it's to see if people will take it further with the reconsideration then the appeal to the tribunal and the assessors lie through their teeth to make sure you're rejected the stress is making my severe anxiety, depression , PTSD  and borderline personality disorder and its started to make my eating disorder relapse 

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Matilda

The Disability Rights UK site has a sample draft diary for someone with a mental illness that might provide some help in completing PIP forms.

aaronw3440

Victoriad said:

So is all of £55,  really worth the adverse health effects you are suffering as a result?

For people who are pretty much house bound and cant work because of it then yeah since they still have to live and pay their bills 

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