Will seeing a therapist effect my chances on obtaining a sponsorship?

[Unregistered]

Probably a daft question,

But I was just wondering;

If I were to see a therapist or a specialist about my current mental behavior,

Could this prevent me from gaining a sponsorship?

I'm in the middle of re-doing my GCSE's to obtain my Maths and Physics grades so I can join the Merchant, but a few unfortunate events have happened in my life and I was just thinking maybe it would be best to seek professional help about it. I then thought about it I started to worry a little that it might spoil my chances on joining?

I'd appreciate any input or advice from anyone about this

Many Thanks

[Clanky]

It very much depends on why you are seeing them and how well resolved any issues that you have are.

While you don't necessarily have to disclose any therapy to potential sponsoring companies, but I would strongly suggest that you are honest about it during your medical. Being at sea places quite a strain on you anyway and if there are any unresolved problems then being at sea could trigger them when you are far from professional help.

Hope it all works out well.

[HolyNougat]

As Clanky has said, medical records are confidential and would not come up during your ENG 1 medical, however, some employers may with to access your medical records prior to offering you a job (not sure that this comes up for cadets though)

Having said that, I would not hold off getting any issues resolved for this reason alone, I totally agree with Clanky that being at sea with mental issues or unresolved personal problems is potentially a recipe for disaster.

So in short, get the help you think you need and when you are sorted, look at applying!

[Unregistered]

I had some issues when I was at school a few years ago. I was pretty switched on back then where I sought confidential help that would not go on my medical records just incase it held me back in the future. Just be careful who you see for example seeing a doctor will go on record. But its like a previous commenter said, you wanna be sorted before you start as college can be stressful and sea is difficult emotionally and you need to be in a string place.

[Unregistered]

Replying as unregistered for various reasons.

Seeing a therapist shouldn't harm your chances of getting a cadetship. I have seen a therapist in the past due to depression and it didn't effect my application at all. You might be asked to disclose it to the companies occupational health unit if they have one, whether you do is up to you really, but I'm sure others here will tell you its best to be open during recruitment.

[size4riggerboots]

I would say that not seeing a therapist would probably have a greater impact on a career at sea that seeing one. If you have unresolved issues that rear their head while you're studying or, even more importantly, at sea, then you could end up putting yourself, or possibly even others at risk. Taking responsibility for your mental health and taking steps to deal with whatever it is that you need to deal with can only be a good thing.