Standards of Care
How to read this wiki
This is the operating manual for the station psychology practice. Because it mixes real server canon with in-character invention, every claim is tagged so the two never blur:
Short version: the aesthetic is invented, the authority chain is not. The forms in the previewer already carry the countersignatures the real Psychologist SOP demands, so a properly co-signed document is genuinely compliant, dressed up in office letterhead.
1. The Psychologist's Mandate Official
The Psychologist is a real Medical Department job that reports to the Chief Medical Officer. It carries Medical and Maintenance access, extended Chemistry access, a personal PDA, and its own rubber stamp. The official one-line job description is "Provide emotional support to traumatized crew." src: psychologist.yml, job-description.ftl
The governing document is the Psychologist SOP. In full effect: src: StarlightSOP/MedicalSOP/Psychologist.xml
1. The Psychologist reports directly to the Chief Medical Officer.
2. The Psychologist is authorized to perform a full psychometric workup on any crew member who is willing.
3. Examinations of unwilling crewmembers may only occur with written approval by the Chief Medical Officer and one of the following: HoS, Magistrate, Captain. (3.1: this also applies to any medication prescribed by the Psychologist.)
4. Examinations may result in the following actions, with a sign-off from the Captain or crew member's head of department: 4.1 Demotion, if the patient's mental state leaves them unable to fulfil their duties. 4.2 Prescriptions of Pax or similar for those found extremely violent. 4.3 Increased observation of crew or prisoners deemed a danger. 4.4 Lightening of sentences for reformed prisoners.
5. The Psychologist may request to consult with a prisoner at any time to evaluate their mental state.
Everything this office does flows from those five rules. Note the word psychometric workup: that is the game's own term for what we call an evaluation.
3. Records: Who Sees What Official (mechanics)
Mechanical truth: the in-game Medical Records computer has no access lock. Anyone who can reach the terminal can read the medical record, which the lore says "may include past treatment reports, psychological evaluations, surgeries, and prescriptions." By contrast the Security records computer is locked to Security and Cadet access. src: computers.yml (no AccessReader on medical console), _Starlight/Guidebook/Character/Records.xml
So confidentiality of your notes is not enforced by the game. It is entirely a roleplay convention that this office chooses to uphold. Treat the following as the intended, in-character access, not a technical restriction:
| Document | Held by | Appropriately viewed by |
|---|---|---|
| Intake, session notes, risk assessment | Psychology | Psychologist and CMO. Not Security absent an authorization or an imminent threat. |
| Fitness-for-Duty certificate | Psychology | The patient's head of department and the Captain (they co-sign it), plus the CMO. |
| Involuntary commitment / hold order | Joint | CMO and one of HoS / Magistrate / Captain (co-signers); Security executes it. |
| Psychopharmacology order | Medical / Chemistry | CMO (countersigns controlled agents); Chemist (fills). |
| Forensic competency evaluation | Forensic | The Magistrate who requested it. This one is explicitly not confidential. |
| Interdepartmental referral | Shared | Only the receiving authority named on it. |
Because the console is open, protecting a record is on you: keep sensitive paper on your person or in the office, and remember that anyone can walk up to the medical computer. If you want it truly private, it stays on paper, not in the record system.
4. Confidentiality House Rule
Corporate Law recognizes no medical or psychological confidentiality. The only privilege in the setting is attorney-client, held by Internal Affairs Agents and Lawyers. Medical records are company property and are, as above, openly readable. src: SpaceLaw.xml (attorney-client privilege only)
Dr. Olea's office nonetheless observes a confidentiality policy as a matter of practice, modeled on that attorney-client clause:
- Disclosures are kept private from fellow crew.
- Confidentiality yields to an imminent threat to the station, the patient, or others.
- It yields to conduct reportable under Corporate Law.
- It yields to lawful compulsion by Command or the Magistrate.
This is roleplay etiquette, not an enforceable right. Another character is free to disagree in-character, and Command can override it. Present it as the office's ethic, never as station law.
5. Patient Copies & Right to a Copy House Rule
Because the medical record is mechanically open, anyone at the console can read it, this office treats a patient's own record as theirs to see. Refusing to show a crewmember their own file, when Security could pull it up anyway, is neither kind nor defensible. So the standing policy is transparency by default: a patient may have a copy of any document that is about them.
How a copy is made
Duplicate the document on the station fax, which preserves both the text and the stamps. The signed original stays with this office as the record; the patient keeps the copy. Hand over the original only when you do not need to retain it. Mark every patient copy so the two are never confused: prepend a line of [head=3]PATIENT COPY[/head] to the top before you fax it.
When the patient gets a copy
| Document | Patient copy | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation, session notes, treatment plan, fitness certificate, discharge summary, post-revival, debrief | Freely, on request | These are the patient's own care. Default to yes. |
| Suicide & self-harm risk assessment | Clinician discretion during acute crisis | Share once the patient is stable. Do not hand someone a lethality write-up mid-crisis. |
| Involuntary commitment / hold order | After execution | The subject is told the grounds at the time. A copy follows once the order is carried out and they are safe, not as a bargaining chip mid-detention. |
| Forensic competency evaluation | Through the court | This one belongs to the Magistrate. The patient's counsel obtains it via proceedings, not from this office. |
| Anything naming a third party's safety | Redacted | Release the patient's own material; withhold another crewmember's protected details. |
What the patient can do with it
Dispute it, request an amendment, or take it to Command. A patient who disagrees may file a statement, use the Release of Records to Patient form, and this office records the dispute without altering the signed original. A crewmember holding their own paperwork is a feature, not a leak.
The Release of Records to Patient form doubles as the copy receipt and the place for the patient's own statement. Issue it alongside the copy.
6. Consent & Involuntary Procedures Official RP Rule
The default is a willing patient (SOP §2). An unwilling examination, or any prescription, is legitimate only with the CMO plus one of HoS / Magistrate / Captain (SOP §3). Without that chain, restraining a crewmember is the Extreme crime of Unlawful Detainment (4-08).
You are not vested law enforcement. Enforcement belongs to Security, Blueshield, Mercenaries, and ERT. So even a fully authorized hold is executed by Security, not by you. Performing the detainment yourself also trips Rule 8 (no validhunting) and Rule 13 (stick to your role / follow SOP).
Out-of-character consent
Two server rules override any in-character authority you think you have:
- RP Rule Self-harm and suicide may be depicted only rarely, must be ahelped for permission first, and must not be treated casually. You cannot script a self-harm scene onto another player. src: RuleSL3
- RP Rule A character's disorders belong to that character's player. You cannot impose a diagnosis, condition, or compliance on someone else's character against the player's wishes. In-character you may offer an opinion; out-of-character you may not dictate their mind. src: RuleSL6
Practical rule of thumb: your paperwork can request, recommend, and document anything. It can only compel another player's character with that player's cooperation, plus the SOP sign-offs.
7. Fitness for Duty & Demotion Partial
The exact phrase "fitness for duty" is not in the game, but the function is real. SOP §4.1 ties demotion to whether "the patient's mental state leaves them unable to fulfil their duties," and the records lore lists "psychological evaluations" as part of the medical file. Our Certificate of Psychological Fitness for Duty is simply the instrument that documents that judgment.
The psychologist recommends; Command decides. A demotion needs sign-off from the Captain or the crewmember's own head of department, and the Head of Personnel processes the actual role and ID change. Never present a fitness finding as if it demotes anyone by itself.
8. Where Fanon Meets Official
The honest ledger. What we invented, and the real thing it sits on top of.
| Our canon | Verdict | The real kernel |
|---|---|---|
| CentComm "code 51/50" for commitment | House Rule | No such code exists. Station codes are color alerts; Code Violet is a viral-outbreak protocol, not psychiatric. 51/50 is a real-world homage. |
| The "Office of Station Psychology" | House Rule | There is one Psychologist job under the CMO. No office or bureau exists; we named the one-person practice. |
| The NDSM diagnostic manual and codes | House Rule | No diagnostic manual or codes exist. The only codes in-setting are crime codes. The SOP's own term for an assessment is "psychometric workup." |
| A per-shift evaluation as a release condition | House Rule | No recurring-eval rule exists. The kernel is SOP §4.3 / §5: case-by-case increased observation and the right to consult, triggered by danger. |
| Unilateral relief-of-duty or holds | Partial | The powers exist but are never unilateral: demotion needs Captain/dept-head sign-off, unwilling exams need CMO + a senior official. |
| "Fitness for duty" certification | Partial | The term is ours; the duty-fitness demotion (SOP §4.1) and "psychological evaluations" in records are real. |
| Medical / psychological confidentiality | House Rule | Only attorney-client privilege exists. We analogize to it, but the medical version is house etiquette. |
9. Rules That Bind the Psychologist RP Rule
- Follow your SOP (RuleSL13). Whitelisted and medical-adjacent staff must operate within their assigned SOP. Freelancing outside the sign-off chain is a rule matter, not just an in-character one.
- Stay in your role / no validhunting (RuleSL8, RuleR13). You are not Security. Do not detain, arrest, or enforce.
- Self-harm and suicide (RuleSL3). Rare, ahelp first, never casual.
- Your character must make sense (RuleSL6). Disorders are chosen by each player for their own character and cannot be imposed by yours.
- No metagaming. Mindshield and revolution information is secure knowledge; do not act on out-of-character knowledge. src: Metashield.xml
10. The Form Library House Rule instruments over an Official process
Every document in the Previewer tab, what it is for, and the authority it needs to take effect.
| Document | Purpose | Authority to take effect |
|---|---|---|
| Intake & Consent | First contact; sets the office's confidentiality stance | Patient consent (willing) |
| Session Notes | Record of a counseling session | Psychologist alone |
| Fitness for Duty | Clear, restrict, or recommend relief | Command / dept head co-sign if acted on |
| Suicide & Self-Harm Risk | Risk screening and safety plan | Psychologist; Security if imminent |
| Critical Incident Debrief | Post-trauma support after an event | Psychologist alone |
| Cognitive Integrity Screening | Screen for undue influence; feeds Security's mindshield call | Advisory; Security acts |
| Post-Revival Assessment | Return-to-service after death | Psychologist alone |
| Weapons / Disabler Sign-Off | Psychological suitability for a carry license | HoS or Captain grants |
| Involuntary Commitment (51/50) | Detain for evaluation | CMO + HoS / Magistrate / Captain; Security executes |
| Discharge Summary | End a hold with conditions | Psychologist; ack of the co-signing authority |
| Psychopharmacology Order | Direct Chemistry to dispense | CMO countersign for controlled agents |
| Forensic Competency | Capacity to stand trial | Advisory to the Magistrate |
| Interdepartmental Referral | Hand a matter to another department | Accepted by the receiving authority |
| NDSM manual (info sheets) | Reference and screening tool | Reference only; not an order |
11. Canon & Glossary House Rule
- Dr. Talia Olea: the station psychologist whose office issues these documents. A player character, filling the official Psychologist role.
- Office of Station Psychology: our name for the one-person practice. In game terms this is simply the Psychologist and their workspace.
- Code 51/50: our internal designation for an involuntary psychiatric commitment carried out under Psychologist SOP §3. It is flavor, not an official station alert code.
- NDSM-I: the Nanotrasen Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, our invented reference. The official term for an assessment is "psychometric workup."
- Psychometric workup: the SOP's real term for a full evaluation. Prefer it when you want to sound official.
12. FAQ
Can I force someone into therapy?
Only with CMO approval plus one of HoS, Magistrate, or Captain, and only Security may physically bring them. Out-of-character, the other player has to be willing to play it out.
Can Security read my session notes?
The game does not stop them; the medical console has no lock. In-character this office treats notes as confidential and would object, but confidentiality here is etiquette, not law.
Who signs a commitment order?
You, plus the CMO, plus one of HoS, Magistrate, or Captain. Security carries it out. That is why the form has two signature blocks.
Is the NDSM real?
No. It is our invention. It is a useful screening and roleplay tool, but it is not station canon and carries no authority. Cite Corporate Law, not the NDSM, when authority matters.
Can I diagnose another player's character?
You can offer an opinion in-character. You cannot impose a condition on their character against the player's wishes; disorders belong to each character's own player (RuleSL6).
Can I relieve someone of duty?
You can recommend it. The demotion itself needs the Captain or that person's head of department, and the Head of Personnel processes it.
Can I prescribe Pax to a violent patient?
Yes, but a prescription is treated like an involuntary act: CMO plus one of HoS, Magistrate, or Captain, and the Chemist fills a CMO-stamped script (SOP §3.1, §4.2).
Is mindshielding my job?
No. It is a Security and Command loyalty procedure. Your Cognitive Integrity Screening can inform their decision, but you do not administer it.
What crime do I commit if I get this wrong?
An unauthorized hold is Unlawful Detainment (4-08). Negligent care is Endangerment (2-07). Both are real Corporate Law charges that can land on you.
Is code 51/50 an actual alert?
No. Station alerts are colors. Code Violet is a viral outbreak, not a psychiatric hold. 51/50 is our flavor label.