Three congressional Democrats have asked a psychiatrist at Yale School of Medicine to consult with them about forming an expert panel to offer the legislators advice on assessing President Trump’s mental health.
Yale’s Dr. Bandy Lee told STAT that over the last few weeks members of Congress or their staff have asked her to discuss how members might convene psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals “to review the president’s mental health, and review it on a periodic basis.” The closed meeting is expected to take place in September, she said.
The request came from three current congressmen and one former member, she said. She declined to name them, saying they told her they did not wish to be publicly identified yet.
About the Author Reprints
The idea that there is a psychological science more valid than the the political judgment of Congress seems to me, well, deranged. President Trump gives evidence of his mental status in writing or public speech almost every day. Congress, administration officials, and a free press assure that his issues are widely discussed. If enough voters decide he is unfit for office, his actions will be restrained by checks and balances, and he will be released from decision-making in an orderly way. The prospect of a psyciatrist’s coup cannot be reassuring to even the most partisan opponent.
Trump takes medications to prevent hair loss. It is becoming clear that medications can affect the gut microbiome, which can in turn affect mental conditions. There is also the brain microbiome to consider too. It’s quite possible that the medications he is taking are affecting his gut or brain microbiome and be the root reason of some issues.
I’ll give an example ; depression has been linked with damage to the gut microbiome. Now, if you look for the research, depression has been reversed by re-storing the health and diversity of the microbiome.
Another way to look at this ; we should be examining all of the medications the president takes and whether or not the known possible side affects explain the President’s mental state.
Drs. Lee and Dodes are not constrained in any practical way by the APA’s Goldwater rule. It’s an ethical standard of a private, voluntary membership organization. (And if one disagrees so strongly with the ethics of an organization, why belong to it?) But at least be honest: since 1973 the Goldwater rule has prohibited psychiatrists from publicizing “professional opinions,” not merely diagnoses, about people we haven’t examined. Nothing about the rule has changed. The sad part of this is, psychiatric grandstanding is still simply political rhetoric. It weakens and casts suspicion on our field much more than it weakens the president. If Mr. Trump is impeached or even removed via the 25th amendment, it will be due to the political will of Congress, not to pleas by those who vainly hope their medical credentials give them a louder voice in a nationwide screaming match.
Ludicrous that any Dr could presume to diagnose anyone without meeting with them. Hillary and Obama should be diagnosed too.
Russian trolls are out. Can’t spell and don’t know basic grammar.
Regardless of one’s opinion of Trump, this is sinister – an abuse of psychiatry that you would expect to see in a totalitarian regime.
I agree Sam. People who have never met or talked to someone, only read stories about them (by people who do not like this person and have not spent time with this person either), are voicing inflammatory thoughts about that person based on hearsay on top of hearsay. One would hope they would be smarter than that, but it does not appear to be the case. When I was in professional school, many decades ago, I was taught this was “a telephone diagnosis” and was malpractice.
I seems to be Dolchstosslegende behavior.
Abuse of psychiatry is indeed an accurate characterization of this nonsense.
President Obama was clearly narcissistic as well. I would even suggest it requires a bit of narcissism to think you should be the leader of the free world
this is a mockery of psychiatry the kind that would see those who disagree with us to psychiatric institutions and medicated into silence
As always this totalitarian threat comes from the left.
I wrote letters to all of the US representatives from my state asking them to look into the President’s mental health. I asked them to get the White House Doctor to order a psychological evaluation, mentioning that although he exhibits symptoms of sociopathy, no one who has not met him can provide a diagnosis, despite months of observations of his erratic behaviour. I had to do something – I could not just sit here feeling helpless and powerless. At least now I feel a little better. I wish all mental health practitioners who feel the President should be evaluated would write a letter to the White House Doctor and their state reps. Someone needs to tell the emperor’s doctor that emporer has no clothes.
The duty to warn is the primary directive. A psychiatrist or psychologist or mental health professional is ethically bound to report and seek to prevent harm if someone is a danger to themselves or others because of psychological issues. If Trump were threatening to push people off a bridge what is the difference with him threatening nuclear war with millions dead because he is a Narcissistic Personality Disorder. He is not well. He is not curable. Narcissists do not seek help. He must for our country’s survival be removed from office.
said it before. This kind of assessments should be done before any candidate, of any political affiliation, can run for office. Or any other position, where an individual is invested with considerable power.
Perhaps a challenge test for mercury and heavy metals would be helpful, and additional screening for Lyme and coinfections.
Colloidal silver