Hey Psychologists, what the Trump?
President Donald Trump. I get it; passions are running high and that is just on the cable news networks. High passion, however, is no reason for psychologists to forget our ethics and common sense.
For example, one psychologist wrote in his March, 2016 letter to the editor "I never imagined that my Ph.D. in clinical psychology would prove helpful in selecting a presidential candidate. But this year is different. This year we have a candidate who has a genuine mental disorder. Google DSM IV 301.81." While perhaps he can be forgiven for not yet making the switch to DSM-5, Dr. Hessler can't be forgiven for making a diagnosis of Dr. Trump in a public arena, particularly since he presumably has not evaluated Mr. Trump nor would he have a release to discuss what would be confidential information between the two if they had had a doctor-patient relationship. In this instance, Dr. Hessler is also using a DSM diagnosis as a negative label to bring shame on another person, and frankly it just isn't cool to use mental disorders as stigmatizing epithets. Dr. Hessler wrote to the editor "I urge the American electorate to educate itself about psycho-pathological narcissism before it is too late," however I believe actions like his do more harm than good. They do more harm politically by contributing to an atmosphere of us-against them name-calling, and they of course do significant harm to the public's view of psychologists and our ethics.
This psychologist isn't a lone case though. You can read more at my blog here: https://psychology.news/news/2016/03/28/hey-psychologists-what-the-trump/
Owner at Dr. Jennifer Fee Psychology Services, Inc. | EMDRIA Approved Consultant | Author | Speaker | Helping individuals find freedom from anxiety, sadness, bad memories and difficult problems
8 年It seems that there is a much greater probability that psych evaluations of presidential candidates would do more harm than good and lead to unfair discrimination. We still have way too much stigma associated with mental health issues. A prediction regarding compliance with treatment (i.e. will a president who has Bipolar Disorder stay compliant with meds) would be so subjective. We tend to view personality disorders as "all bad," whereas some traits of the personality disorders can be instrumental for people in their occupational success.
Psychiatric Nurse Epidemiologist, Author, and DSM-5-TR Subject Matter Expert
8 年I agree that it is a wrong thing to do, but does the concept that we have the right to know about the health of presidential candidates come into play? HIs physician gave him a clean bill of health, which fuels the fire. Would an M.D. be allowed to hypothesize on a persistent limp when walking?
Psych Associate at SDPsychology.org
8 年Thank you for posting this. Dr. Hessler was absolutely in violation of our ethics and perpetuated negative stereotyping by using a diagnosis as an insult. Disgraceful.