Dear Peace Corps Office of Volunteer Recruitment, Office of Medical Services and Office of Civil Rights and Diversity, 

Please read this petition knowing it comes from a desire for the good work done by the organization, current volunteers and staff and returned volunteers, to be increasingly better and innovative. I am writing as a fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteer- served in 2007-2009 in Paraguay and had a life changing experience with great rapport and work with the community. I am writing from a place for what would have improved my service, for my peers who served and for all future applicants.

I am compelled to bring to your attention that the application process is discriminatory and requires a re-haul to better reach Peace Corps goals and our current research on wellness. Currently active mental health therapy, or if you are engaged in current mental health treatment, is a disqualifying mark against applicants https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/health-and-safety/medical-information-applicants/#medical-conditions-difficult-to-accommodate I would like to help Peace Corps serve its mission and to serve with integrity, as we are asked to be advocates for community betterment. Let us start at home in how we decide who would be a good candidate. Let us review the application process. This is a petition to remove active therapy in itself and by itself from the application process.

Active therapy means practicing active wellness and not necessarily that a candidate is unfit to serve. Today there is less stigma in getting therapy and there are many positive reasons people use therapy aside from working through mental health conditions or depression. Stigma is still there though, as we try to dismantle stigma from policies, systems and culture that have held onto it. “When you think of therapy, you may think of an intense and intimidating process strictly for people who struggle with mental illness. But there are countless styles and settings for therapy, which means there's something out there for anyone.” (https://www.insider.com/can-i-go-to-therapy-if-im-not-depressed-2017-11 Therapy was thought of as a negative thing but now today it is used by many people for a variety of positive reasons.  “According to a survey from the American Psychology Association, 27 percent of Americans have received treatment or therapy from a mental health professional. Here are just a few reasons why you may want to look into joining them, even if you don't believe you have a mental illness. https://www.insider.com/can-i-go-to-therapy-if-im-not-depressed-2017-11 Therapy could be a key to positive wellness for anyone; let Peace Corps consider it as such.

In disqualifying applicants we are discriminating against qualified candidates on the assumption that they are unfit to serve. Active therapy is no different than active preventative health check ups, self-help work for the body and mind or other social alternatives to improve our well-being, such as attending religious organizations, volunteering or socializing. Active therapy is a wide range of methods, reactive and preventative work to benefit the body and mind and this practice should not be shamed, it should be encouraged. Shunning and disqualifying candidates from Peace Corps service solely on the basis of being in active therapy is a disservice to the candidate, the countries of service, our nation and agencies that advocate for mental health awareness. 

This brings me to the most beneficial reason to allow applicants that are in active therapy. Therapists can help people make sound and healthy life choices, big life choices, such as joining the Peace Corps. We know the amount of commitment and heart that goes into Peace Corps service. Now think about how someone who has worked through their commitment to Peace Corps and how much more sound of a choice it will be if they have worked it out with a professional, just as a student who has worked out a choice for college with a college counselor. Active therapy improves social emotional learning, cultural competency and the use of skills. You should be advocating that all Peace Corps candidates see a counselor to work through their commitment to serving in a new place and assimilating for two years. I know this would have benefited me, instead of my assumption that I would do well and falling to the sink or swim mentality. 

Consider aligning with the work of international organizations that are trying to deal with mental health stigma and the stigma of therapy. “The concept of mental health advocacy has been developed to promote the human rights of persons with mental disorders and to reduce stigma and discrimination. It consists of various actions aimed at changing the major structural and attitudinal barriers to achieving positive mental health outcomes in populations.”  (https://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/services/1_advocacy_WEB_07.pdf , pg. 18). The World Health Organization has put together a packet for purposes of world advocacy for you to consider. Let us too be innovative and work with integrity. Let us too as Peace Corps and as volunteers advocate for mental health awareness and advocacy here and across the world.

Returned Peace Corps volunteers understand the stressful and rigorous environment of service. Active therapy should be encouraged before anyone embarks to service, not shamed as a disqualifying factor. There are other measures and recommendations that can be made by professionals to decide if someone is ready to deploy for service. We know that the Peace Corps values the mental health of its volunteers and applicants. If Peace Corps continues to ask information about active therapy of its applicants, it should ask for clearance from the therapist the candidate is seeing. The Peace Corps could also consider having all candidates undergo a mental health screening. In this petition, we are asking for you to not use active therapy as a means to filter applicants. In fact, doing so is discriminatory. Please consult with a wide variety of professional counselors, therapists and psychologists in order to form what would be a better approach to assuring that someone is ready for Peace Corps. 

Join us in our advocacy for mental health awareness and stop shaming therapy. Help us by expanding the circle of compassion so that we can reach the Peace Corps goals as change-makers:

To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
https://www.peacecorps.gov/about/

Sincerely,

-Laura DeGrush