NBAA Champions New FAA Mental Wellness Policy Supporting Counseling
/The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) welcomed a recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aeromedical policy update encouraging pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCs) to seek counseling and mental health support early and without fear that receiving talk therapy would jeopardize their medical certification, marking an important shift in the agency’s approach to mental wellness.
Rather than viewing participation in counseling or psychotherapy as a potential red flag, the revised policy explicitly encourages pilots and ATCs to seek help through counseling, psychotherapy and peer-support programs when appropriate.
Further, aviation medical examiners (AMEs) are now directed to focus on any underlying conditions and their severity when making certification decisions, rather than the presence of counseling. If the aviator is functioning well, the AME can issue. If the AME has significant concerns, they can defer the decision to the FAA.
“This is an important step forward in reducing stigma and encouraging early intervention, treatment and resolution,” said Mark Larsen, CAM, NBAA director for safety and flight operations. “Mental health challenges can affect anyone, and pilots and controllers should feel empowered to seek support when they need it.”
The FAA has also issued new guidance for therapists that pilots and ATCs should share with their provider. It includes a suggested format to provide a brief summary outlining the patient’s diagnosis, severity, resilience and ability to self-monitor, when requested by the FAA. NBAA recommends that pilots and ATCs bring this summary to their AME appointment.
“Having this summary for your AME at the outset is a proactive step toward ‘preflighting your medical,'” Larsen said. “It could mark the difference between walking out of the appointment with your certificate, versus delays to that process that could extend several months.”
The policy update complements other recent FAA initiatives aimed at modernizing mental health certification pathways. That includes revised guidance issued last year for pilots with anxiety and depression, as well as ongoing revisions to the list of agency-approved medications to treat such conditions.
These changes follow recommendations made by the FAA’s Mental Health & Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) on which NBAA played a key role.
“This policy is certainly worth celebrating on its own, but it’s also an important piece of a much larger effort by the FAA to modernize how it approaches mental health in aviation,” added NBAA Flight Operations Specialist Laila Stein, who with Larsen participated on the ARC.
“This talk therapy guidance is a significant step forward, but its real value becomes even clearer when connected to the FAA’s broader framework for supporting mental health while maintaining safety,” she said.
Larsen noted the agency’s continued efforts reflect growing recognition that encouraging treatment is safer than discouraging it.
“Reducing barriers to care benefits both individual aviators and the broader aviation system,” he said. “We appreciate the FAA’s continued progress in this area and look forward to working together on additional improvements that support both mental wellness and aviation safety.”
The association has partnered with MedAire Wellbeing Services to provide NBAA members with a confidential and comprehensive peer support initiative tailored for aviation professionals’ mental health and wellbeing.
