Psychological Handler

A psychological handler is an Internal Security psychometric analyst (a specific type of trained therapist). All Raven employees possessing a clearance level of Epsilon or higher (aka, Descent residency) are assigned a psychological handler, who almost always stays the same throughout that employee's career. They ensure employees' psychological wellbeing and provide useful information to Internal Security to make risk-based decisions, such as whether to revoke or renew clearances or put certain restrictions into place. They also correlate information obtained from Shallow Depth Memory Screening (SDMS) and Full Depth Memory Screening (FDMS) scans with that reported directly by employees, in order to identify malicious or benign discrepancies. Reasons of underlying cognitive disturbances include occupational stress and anxiety, trauma, blackmail, subliminal messaging, drug activity, hypnosis, electronic warfare, infohazards, psionic influence, or even manifold distortion.

Handlers usually conduct weekly sessions with their assignees lasting on average around one hour, but employees are encouraged (and mandated) to contact their handler immediately in the case of any psychological disturbances, however small. Intentional omissions are warned against and risk clearance loss if detected. Being a handler is a highly demanding job, and a single handler might be assigned up to 50 employees in exceptional circumstances, so case notes are relied on often. Handlers are themselves handled, usually by a senior handler who also performs handler training.

Formal Psychological Investigation

If handlers identify a psychological pattern during sessions which could potentially pose a security or personnel risk, they have the ability to escalate to a Formal Psychological Investigation (FPI). When a FPI is initiated, Internal Security places the FPI caveat on the employee's clearance, which instills temporary restrictions, such as dealing with certain high-sensitivity material, entering high-security areas, or exiting Black Mountain on periods of scheduled leave until the investigation is completed. The employee is notified they have been placed under FPI and expected to cooperate fully with the investigation.

All employees are told to expect to be placed under a FPI at some point in their career, and that the occurrence of such does not necessarily mean they will lose their role or clearance. It is framed as a routine extended check, not immediate suspicion. FPI periods usually last between 1-2 weeks, although periods of longer observation may span multiple months. Employees are encouraged to check in frequently with their handler during a FPI to ensure their wellbeing as the anxiety resulting from a FPI can in itself be a significant stressor.