“When a patient tells me his mother thinks something’s wrong or his buddy thinks he’s ‘crazy,’ I tend to pay attention to that. These people have insight that I don’t.”
That quote came from a therapist friend of mine a few years ago when I was first becoming active in mental health advocacy, and the idea has since stuck with me. It just makes sense.
When your mother notices your moods have become alarmingly erratic, or your husband becomes concerned because you no longer want to do anything that involves getting out of the bed and showering, or your best friend can’t get you to do any of the things you used to love doing - these are all situations in which the people who spend the most time with you might be picking up on a problem. These are all situations in which these people can actually help you - even if they’re just helping you recognize the possibility of a problem. Sure, it may tick you off (“You’re overreacting!”, “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”, “You’re not even a doctor!”), but you trust these people. Chances are they have your best interests in mind and they’re not going to broadcast your business or use your troubles for their own personal gain (as opposed to the media).
Bottom line: When it comes to your mental health, sometimes an unsolicited diagnosis from people who are close to you (as opposed to an unsolicited diagnosis from the media) can be pretty helpful.
But what happens when you get an unsolicited diagnosis from a professional via the media?
Such was the case with Joaquin Phoenix and Dr. Paul Dobransky. When the Board-certified psychiatrist jumped on the media’s “let’s pick apart Joaquin Phoenix’s new bizarre behavior to increase ratings and page views” bandwagon by providing a statement to the Los Angeles Times about how he thought Phoenix - who is not even a client of his - may have schizophrenia, it raised more than a few eyebrows regarding his professionalism.
Fortunately, Phoenix’s rep, Susan Patricola, not only came to Phoenix’s defense, but also made some pretty concrete points about Dr. Dobransky’s lack of couchside etiquette:
“How absolutely inappropriate for a doctor who has no personal interaction or relationship with someone to diagnose them [...] And to do so in a public forum [...] Hope they spelled his name right. Another 15-minute ‘expert’ is born!” (mtv.com)
Dr. Dobransky may have tried to redeem himself by frowning on Ben Stiller’s impersonation of Phoenix at the Oscars - which was completely inappropriate - but I’m not so sure that Dobransky’s behavior was any better.
Whether this was an innocent case of poor judgment or one of shameless self-promotion, I think that if Dr. Dobransky was genuinely concerned about Phoenix’s situation he would have done better to privately contact Phoenix rather than provide a statement to a major newspaper. Until Dr. Dobransky can learn to tell the difference between his office and a newspaper reporter, perhaps he should stick to helping men find dates.
Related Posts
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
From Psych Central's Alicia Sparks:
» If You Suspect Mental Illness, Don’t Avert Your Eyes - Celebrity Psychings (March 21, 2009)
I am so totally with you and Patricola on this one. I am concerned about Phoenix’s behavior, too, but it drives me absolutely crazy when doctors diagnose people they’ve never even been in the same room with. That is SO irresponsible.
There was a chance that Joaquin was joking around. If you watch the Letterman interview again it actually looks like he is acting. I was told Ben Affleck was backstage having a giggle, too. I read this on Fox News: “Joaquin wanted this, of course he knew (about the parodies) because it’s all part of a very strategic plan,” said our inside source. “He is selling it all as a documentary not about his musical career but the whole issue of public persona. It’s all a big joke and he’s not pursuing rapping seriously no matter what he says.”
So, the doctor might be looking legitimately silly after all.
Alguém avise a esse médico que o louco é ele!!Fala sério todo psiciatra e maluco mesmo!!Ah!!Deixa o joaquin ser feliz.
Actor turned musician Joaquin Phoenix has apparently turned on an audience member who heckled his second outing as a rapper in a Miami Beach nightclub.
He jumped off the stage to confront the man before guards stepped in.
The episode was filmed by actor Casey Affleck. One fan at the gig speculated the entire thing was a stunt.
Luis Gendron told Associated Press: “Affleck’s camera was filming the whole time, so it makes me think he has ulterior motives.”
Well since all psychological diagnosis is based on guesswork and opinion and have no scientific basis whatsoever, what does it matter really? It is not like if a psychologist or psychiatrist spent 10 years with someone could make any more valid diagnosis. So, really, what’s the difference?
So, Jet…who are you, Tom Cruise in disguise? That’s quite a sweeping statement to make about something you don’t seem to actually know anything about. ALL medicine has a degree of educated guessing to it, but that doesn’t mean there’s no science to it.
@ Jet - “What does it matter?” It matters a lot to people who are dealing with mental health issues, not to mention their family members, friends, and other loved ones. If we were to assume your opinion is correct, and that mental health care is nothing but guesswork, then what should we expect you to say about the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes when we first started learning about them? Would you have said “What does it matter?” about those illnesses, too?
And, I think a psychiatrist who spent “10 years” with someone (in this case, let’s say Phoenix) would have a much better chance at an accurate diagnosis than a psychiatrist who has merely observed the person’s behavior on TV and read about him in the papers.
When I think of all the people I know who are living stable, productive lives because of this kind of science, I am offended by remarks like this (Jet’s–not yours, Alicia!). Thank God some people are willing to go to school for God knows how many years to learn this science. No doctor can fix everything, but they do have help to offer, and that’s more than many people had before.
Copyright © 1992-2009 Psych Central. All rights reserved.
Site last updated: 21 Nov 2009
|
