When initially applying for the FAA medical license, you are required to disclose any health professional visits within the last three years. The examiner will then use this information to assess whether these visits would disqualify you.
Pilots should feel confident that they can see a therapist without facing any punishment in the form of being restricted from flying and losing their medical certificate.
They will not have to report any visits to a mental health professional unless it was due to substance and/or alcohol abuse or if the visits resulted in a psychiatric diagnosis that requires medication.
So, if you are functioning normally and are able to safely operate an aircraft but are seeking therapy for external issues such as marriage counselling or to improve your situation, you are not required to disclose it.
The FAA will not restrict flying for those whose condition will not affect safety, so pilots should feel comfortable seeking assistance from mental health professionals if they feel they require it without being stopped from flying.
However, if these visits do result in a psychiatric condition that requires the pilot to take medication as a form of treatment, this would have to be disclosed, and they may be restricted from flying.
For example, if a pilot is diagnosed with depression, they may need to report this but not always. Pilots are within their rights to seek a therapist for struggles with depression without having to report it to the FAA.
If it becomes a more serious issue and the pilot requires further counselling from a psychiatrist it still wouldn’t need to be reported depending on the severity of the condition. In more serious instances, it would become reportable but still may not result in the pilot being restricted from flying as long as they are not taking medication to treat it.