Elisa, clinical psychologist and dean of the College of Psychology of Catalonia, made controversial statements by stating that "if someone wants to take advantage of a sick leave, it will be easier to go through the mental health path." These statements opened a polemical debate about the granting of medical sick leaves related to mental health problems.
The dean defended that more tools are needed to avoid the granting of unjustified sick leaves and also better monitoring during sick leave periods. Liria considered that health professionals need more resources to be able to adequately evaluate these cases.
These reflections reveal a polemical but real reality in the daily life of psychologists and family doctors, where there are cases of patients who request sick leave without sufficient motivation or who do not comply with psychological or pharmacological follow-up when they are on sick leave.
The topic generated controversy by highlighting the difficulties that professionals face in distinguishing between patients who really need sick leave and those who may be taking advantage of the mental health system to obtain undue benefits.
