1st Edition
Pilot Mental Health Assessment and Support A practitioner's guide
The presentation of mental illness at work has different implications and consequences depending on the specific nature of the job, work context, regulatory framework and risks for the employee, organisation and society. Naturally there are certain occupational groups where human factors and/or mental illness could impair safety and mental acuity, and with potentially devastating consequences. For pilots, the medical criteria for crew licensing are stipulated by regulatory aviation authorities worldwide, and these include specific mental illness exclusions. The challenge of assessment for mental health problems is, however, complex and the responsibility for psychological screening and testing falls to a range of different specialists and groups including AMEs (authorised aviation medical examiners), GPs and physicians, airline human resources departments, psychologists, human factor specialists and pilots themselves.
Extending and developing the ideas of Aviation Mental Health (2006), which described a range of psychological issues and problems that may affect pilots and the consequences of these, this book presents an authoritative, comprehensive and practical guide to modern, evidence-based practice in the field of mental health assessment, treatment and care. It features contributions from experts in the field drawn from several countries, professions and representing a range of aviation-related organisations, displaying a range of different skills and methods that can be used for the clinical assessment of pilots and in relation to specific mental-health problems and syndromes.
Foreword Robert Bor, Carina Eriksen, Margaret Oakes and Peter Scragg
Chapter 1. Pilot mental health in the modern era: headlines and reality
Robert Bor, Carina Eriksen, Margaret Oakes, and Peter Scragg
Section A: Pilot Selection Assessments
Chapter 2. Pilot selection: an overview of aptitude and ability testing
Monica Martinussen
Chapter 3. The role of assessment in pilot selection
Carl Hoffmann and Arianna Hoffmann
Chapter 4. Personality assessment of airline pilot applicants
James N Butcher
Section B: Pilot Clinical Assessments
Chapter 5. Between the joystick and the seat; getting inside pilots’ minds using clinical interviewing
Paul Dickens
Chapter 6. The practicalities of clinical history-taking and mental state assessments of pilots
Robert Bor, Carina Eriksen, Peter Scragg and Margaret Oakes
Chapter 7. Neuropsychological assessment
Sarah Mackenzie Smith
Chapter 8. Assessment of personality
Paul Harris
Chapter 9. The role and scope of psychological testing in risk reduction
Pooshan Navathe and Shruti Navathe
Chapter 10. Assessment for fatigue among pilots
Ries Simons
Chapter 11. Assessment following incidents, accidents and trauma
Morten Kjellesvig
Chapter 12. The practicalities of fitting mental health screening into the time-limited annual check and the problems of confidentiality
Martin Hudson and Kevin Herbert
Section C: Mental Health, Wellbeing and Support for pilots
Chapter 13. The use of psychotropic medications and fitness to fly
Rui Correia
Chapter 14. Human factors and factor of the human – pilot performance and pilot mental health
Nicklas Dahlstrom
Chapter 15. Promoting mental health and wellbeing in aviation
Ben Campion
Chapter 16. Stigma associated with mental illness among air crew
Todd Hubbard
Chapter 17. Personal stressors associated with being a pilot
Cristina Albuquerque and Maria Fonseca
Chapter 18. Promoting good psychological health among pilots
Carina Eriksen and Robert Bor
Chapter 19. Behavioural dynamics on the flight deck and implications for mental health
Benjamin Lawler and Martin Casey
Chapter 20. Peer to peer pilot support & development programmes for pilots: time for a holistic approach
Gerhard Fahnenbruck and Gunnar Steinhardt
Chapter 21. Pilot peer support programmes for pilots
Sean Gibbs
Chapter 22. Pilots’ emotions in the cockpit
Vergard Nergard and Bengt Svendsen
Biography
Robert Bor, DPhil CPsychol CSci FBPsS FRAeS UKCP Reg, is a Registered and Chartered Clinical Counselling and Health Psychologist, Registered Aviation Psychologist and Co-Director of the Centre for Aviation Psychology.
Carina Eriksen, MSc DipPsych CPsychol FBPsS BABCP, is an HCPC Registered and BPS Chartered Consultant Counselling Psychologist and Registered Aviation Psychologist.
Margaret Oakes, MA (Cantab) MSc, Dip Psych, DPsych, CPsychol, is a Counselling Psychologist and airline pilot.
Peter Scragg, BSc PsychD FBPsS, is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Principal Teaching Fellow at University College London.
