4.08

1

Nov 04, 2017

Basically, the mental health experts, coincidentally, the same ones that have gotten the American public to be the most overmedicated one on Earth, decided they can perform diagnostics without even talking to the guy. Wow! I definitely wouldn't want to undergo the tender mercies of such doctors. Basically, they took some D.Tump's quotes and went on to overanalyse these at length, spewing lots of stuff on their personal worldviews all the way.

Unethical as hell as well. Why do the doctors Basically, the mental health experts, coincidentally, the same ones that have gotten the American public to be the most overmedicated one on Earth, decided they can perform diagnostics without even talking to the guy. Wow! I definitely wouldn't want to undergo the tender mercies of such doctors. Basically, they took some D.Tump's quotes and went on to overanalyse these at length, spewing lots of stuff on their personal worldviews all the way.

Unethical as hell as well. Why do the doctors believe that their 'diagnoses' can be voiced in public? Can we have Hillary's diagnoses as well? And their own ones, for the mix? Sometimes I wonder, tongue in the cheek, how such psychologists would feel about hairdressers going wild in the same way and starting to give obligatory and unasked for haircuts to passers-by. Would they draw parallels or not?

And as for the 'case' thing: There are no normal people. Each of us is a case. There is not even such a thing as 'normal'. Basically, what is normal for you may be abnormal for the guy next street or across the ocean. End of story, no hype identified.

DD 9/11/2017. I gave this book 1 star because it's valuable in explaining, very grafically, and crystal clear to people of all backgrounds, why psychology is mostly a joke. I say 'mostly' because I know of a great number of practitioners who literally do wonders. Sadly, they are busy helping people instead of smearing public figures and therefore their work is not present in this publication.

This is a prime example of 27 doctors reviewing 1 public figure they politically dislike. And, big surprise, they all find him lacking, aaand, even bigger surprise, here goes a host of diagnoses, all of them DIFFERENT ones. Yes, you take one guy, you subject him to the review of a host of doctors, and they will all give different evaluations, different medications, different instructions. Nice, huh?

I'll list here the diagnoses (uncalled for and with no actual prior medical evaluation but published anyway, Goldwater rule be damned!):
- Daddy issues, (why did I never hear anything of the same kind on Obama's 'Dreams from My Father'?)
- narcissism, ('I alone can fix it' is sort of a weak proof of this... Can we test Obama and Bill? https://drhurd.com/2015/11/29/is-trum...)
- unbridled present hedonism, (uh-huh, the time preference theory of Zimbardo's, a theoretical concept without any statistical proof behind it)
- paranoia, (yeah, half the US intensely dislikes the guy and we still get to call him a paranoiak)
- trust deficit, (of course, POTUSES are known for trusting nature!)
- political hemophilia, (whatever that means)
- sadism, (diagnosis basing on Q: I'd like to punch him in the face'(c))
- sociopathy,
- psychopathy,
- antisocial personality disorder,
- delusional disorder,
- opportunism,
- hypomanic / bipolar, (diagnosis based on Q: I usually sleep only four hours a night. (c) Namely, all of us who need less sleep, must be bipolar... Lithium for everyone, right?)
- arrested emotional development,
- cognitive impairment,
- dementia / neurological deterioration / incapacitated,
- character pathology,
- trauma victim,
- insecure,
- tyrant / dictator,
- other-blamer,
- pathology of low self-esteem,
- crazy-as-a-fox,
- crazy-as-a-crazy,
- gaslighter (Hillary's strategies must be 'sincere omissions' and Trump's untruths are gaslighting, which ones the author refrained from telling)
Poor guy, are their any disorders left in a book unassigned to him, forcefully? In any book? Maybe a volume 2 could cover those as well so the guy would have a collection of a full textbook of those.
What scares one most is how the patients survive such doctors at all? Obviously, D. Trump does not have all of the above-mentioned stuff, at the same time, at least since many are mutually exclusive. ...more

5

Oct 04, 2017

{See 1/17/18 addendum at end of review}

10/9/17--revised review after finishing this amazing book:

I've been waiting for this book—the words of highly trained mental health professionals who are brave enough to risk backlash from their own associations by putting the safety of all people ahead of their rules to say nothing about individuals they have not treated. In a meticulously written foreword, one of the authors makes the case that "duty to warn" people whose well-being is in danger trumps {See 1/17/18 addendum at end of review}

10/9/17--revised review after finishing this amazing book:

I've been waiting for this book—the words of highly trained mental health professionals who are brave enough to risk backlash from their own associations by putting the safety of all people ahead of their rules to say nothing about individuals they have not treated. In a meticulously written foreword, one of the authors makes the case that "duty to warn" people whose well-being is in danger trumps the "Goldwater Rule" about silence. (There is an entire section of chapters on the ethics of speaking out—far too much to reduce into a review byte.) We are all in danger from this individual we have installed in the highest office in the land, and I consider the 27 authors of this step-by-step analysis of Trump's severe psychological impairments to be whistle blowers.

But what are the political affiliations of the contributors and are they biased? This is immediately addressed: it doesn't matter. The content is pedagogy not politics: the nature of psychological disorders. They are described in all their variations; they are all recognizable as played out by this president—the proofs are provided; and their dire results are delineated, well researched, and broad. And the final chapter regarding recommended immediate action to assess presidential fitness now and in the future—grounded in Section Four of the Twenty-fifth Amendment issues of "a written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office"—are required to be nonpartisan in nature.

Personality Disorders

Extreme Present Hedonism—impulsiveness of thought and therefore action with no awareness of consequences; propensity to dehumanize others in order to feel superior.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder—superiority, exaggeration of talents, emotional, dramatic, lacking compassion and empathy (inability to recognize other people's feelings), low self-esteem.

Bully Personality—physical, verbal, prejudicial, relational, cyber, sexual.

Possibility of a neurological disorder—based on delineated observations.

In discussions about the spectrum of the foregoing characteristics, as well as "malignant narcissism," delusional ideation, functional impairment, and many other mental health categories, foremost is the topic of danger. And many of the contributors are specialists in the study of violence and danger and professionally assess whether a person is a danger to themselves or others. Over and over they conclude that even if they are not willing to diagnose a mental illness in somebody they have never treated, they can diagnose clear and imminent danger!

They repeatedly warn about Trump's instability spiraling into psychosis and resulting in the destruction of democracy and a nuclear war.

Says John D. Garner, PhD, in his chapter "Donald Trump is: a) Bad; b); Mad; c) All of the Above": Trump "evinces the most destructive and dangerous collection of psychiatric symptoms possible for a leader. . . . our job is . . . to warn the public that the election of Donald Trump is a true emergency, and that the consequences most likely will be catastrophic."

Says Henry J. Friedman, MD, in the chapter "On Seeing What You See and Saying What You Know: A Psychiatrist's Responsibility": "When as a psychiatrist, I watch commentators and reporters struggling to understand or explain President Trump's latest irrational position . . . I wish that I could help them understand his paranoid character and why there should be no surprise that Trump behaves this way. They should be prepared to witness many more situations in which Trump feels betrayed and turns on those who have previously served him. Paranoids are always finding betrayal in those surrounding them, and react with retaliatory anger—Hitler and Stalin, by murdering their newly minted enemies; and Trump, by firing them. Psychiatric knowledge and terminology will save reporters and the public from remaining confused and attempting to find explanations of behavior that could easily be understood if Trump's paranoid character were always kept in mind. This is the only way to ensure the preservation and viability of our democracy and our national security."

In addition to this kind of material, there is a treasure trove of other psychological stuff: discussion of character traits that we can identify with in moderation and what happens when they become pathological; talk about new areas of therapy opened up by Trump events; repeated discussion of the "Trump Effect" and "Trump anxiety disorder," a specific kind of new anxiety and trauma or reactivation of old trauma due to the culture of Trump and what we can do about it, and an incredible chapter about what Trump tells us about our cultural Self—all informative articles that make this book a page-turner; and for many of us, long-awaited good medicine and, in turn, a call to action to speak out with whatever we have to offer.

I'd wager that anybody growing up in an abusive and abused family has wished there were somebody big to protect them. And perhaps when they've become adults and looked back at their situation, they've been appalled that it could have been as apparent as it was and nobody stepped in. Where were the authorities? How could a community have ignored something so obvious?

We are now that abused family, and I'm grateful that the authorities have finally bucked their own fear of rocking the boat or breaking the rules enough to sound the call, to offer their good medicine. I only hope we will all listen and be as alarmed and therefore as active as they are.

***
Some thoughts on what to do now:

At the same time that it alarms you, reading this book may also calm you down if you are upset about Trump. How? It will validate your feelings and let you know that "this is a real thing"—the opposite of Trump's habit of "gaslighting" (claiming that lies are truth and there is something wrong with anybody who does not see it his way). Once you have calmed a little, you may start to see Trump for what he is—a seriously disturbed individual who does indeed pose a danger to all of us. However, he is only one piece of an orchestrated puzzle designed to destroy our union. If you can see that Trump is a mere player in a much larger societal upset, if you can accept what author Thomas Singer, MD, in his chapter "Trump and the American Collective Psyche," says about what Trump tells us about the state of our collective Self and you can participate ". . . in a deep resurgence of activism to reclaim our most cherished and threatened American values" and "resist our tendency to cocoon ourselves in a self-righteous, arrogant bubble of narcissistic ideals, even in the name of being 'progressive,'" here is a blog that attempts to help with that larger picture, We Are Being Manipulated into Oblivion—See the Big Picture.

And here is useful counsel for our deportment, from Deterrent or Defense by Basil Liddell Hart, used by JFK in his considerations about the Cuban Missile Crisis, as quoted in the chapter "The Loneliness of Fateful Decisions" by Edwin B. Fisher, PhD: "Keep strong, if possible. In any case, keep cool. Have unlimited patience. Never corner an opponent and always assist him to save his face. Put yourself in his shoes—so as to see things through his eyes. Avoid self-righteousness like the devil—nothing is so self-blinding."

How to do that? Follow cognitive scientist George Lakoff's advice in his book Don't Think of an Elephant : Show respect.
Respond by reframing.
Think and talk on the level of values.
Say what you believe.

10/15/17 Update
Duty to Warn video, deals with Goldwater Rule, bias from politics, and other issues.

11/11/17 Update
This powerful letter from all the psychiatrists and therapists has gone out to all of Congress. (You need to be a Facebook user to access the page.)

Also, the book's contributors have a website with actionable suggestions: Duty to Warn.

1/17/18 Update
In light of the recent conclusions from Trump's physician, I think the following two items are important.

From New York Times editorial about fitness to serve from a U.S. Air Force psychiatrist.

From a contributor to The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump

"Just a note regarding the White House doctor's use of the MoCA [Montreal Cognitive Assessment] to access the cognitive health of the nation's 'leader.' This is not a test that would diagnose the non-biological mental health issues he has. It is used to measure the progression and severity of cognitive impairment, as with Dementia." ...more

3

Dec 17, 2017

Since Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury has become all the rage, people are talking more and more about psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee, the Yale professor who recently briefed members of Congress on Donald Trump’s unfitness to be president. This book, published last October, is the product of the conference she chaired on the same subject.

The Dangerous Case is an excellent example of when to heed Sir Francis Bacon’s advice: this is not a book to be “chewed and digested thoroughly,” nor a book to be “
Since Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury has become all the rage, people are talking more and more about psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee, the Yale professor who recently briefed members of Congress on Donald Trump’s unfitness to be president. This book, published last October, is the product of the conference she chaired on the same subject.

The Dangerous Case is an excellent example of when to heed Sir Francis Bacon’s advice: this is not a book to be “chewed and digested thoroughly,” nor a book to be “devoured,” but instead it is a book to be “tasted.” Please, taste its two dozen plus offerings, but taste just a bit and move on.

I’m sure the book’s heart is in the right place, and each author has something worthwhile to say, but often what one says sounds a lot like what a dozen of the others say too. But, since this book is the result of an academic conference, every psychiatrist or psychologist must write an article, and each article must be published.

Besides this drawback, which it shares with many other conference-generated books, its authors face a particular challenge: how to work around, while still technically observing. what is known in American psychiatry as “The Goldwater Rule.” During the 1964 election, more than 1800 psychiatrists responded to Fact Magazine’s diagnostic survey of Barry (“In Your Guts You Know He’s Nuts”) Goldwater, the conservative Republican candidate for the presidency. Goldwater sued, Fact Magazine lost, and The American Psychiatric Association issued its “Goldwater Rule”: no psychiatrist may comment on a patient whom he has not personally examined.

Most of the psychiatrist in the book do an end-run around the Goldwater by summarizing particular psychiatric diagnoses, and then listing a bunch of public actions of--and statements by--Trump and letting the reader draw his or her own conclusions. This tends to make the articles longer and less revealing than they might otherwise be. Besides, we can all google “psychopath” and “narcissist,” watch the fake news, and do this for ourselves.

For this reason, I found that the best articles in the book tend to be found in the last third or so of the book, in the section,”Part 3: The Trump Effect,” in which the authors, focusing on Trump’s influence on society, were less in danger of violating the Goldwater Rule, and consequently took no elaborate efforts to avoid it. I particularly liked Jennifer Contarino Panning’s “Trump Anxiety Disorder,” (a disorder of which I possess at least one symptom, “a tendency toward excessive social media consumption), Harper West’s “In Relationship with an Abusive President” (which sees the USA country as the unfortunate spouse of a classic gaslighting “Other-Blamer”), Steven Wruble’s “Trump’s Daddy Issues” (in which a learned a few things about Donald’s daddy Fred, including the fact that Woody Guthrie—who lived in one of his buildings—wrote two songs about his racist housing policies), and—my favorite—Elizabeth Mika’s ”Who Goes Trump” (which analyzes the psychological factors in the leader’s followers and their society which might turn a would-be dictator like Trump into a full fledged tyrant).

You’re tastes will almost certainly differ from mine, so I would advise you to taste away and find your own favorites among the articles. But be careful not to devour the whole thing, as I did. (What happened? What always happened when I “devour” too much at any meal. I got stupid and then went right to sleep.) ...more

3

Nov 18, 2017

3.5 "interesting but repetitive" stars !!

A group of psychiatrists and other mental health experts chime in on the psychopathology and mental status of President Trump.

There is a lot of discussion on the Goldwater rule which you can read briefly about here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwat...

This is where experts do some diagnosing of public figures from afar and the dangers and unethicalness of doing so. These experts speak about the dangerousness of Mr. Trump and I feel that much of what 3.5 "interesting but repetitive" stars !!

A group of psychiatrists and other mental health experts chime in on the psychopathology and mental status of President Trump.

There is a lot of discussion on the Goldwater rule which you can read briefly about here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwat...

This is where experts do some diagnosing of public figures from afar and the dangers and unethicalness of doing so. These experts speak about the dangerousness of Mr. Trump and I feel that much of what they talk about is legit.

However, this book needed to be better edited as much of it was repetitive and unnecessary.

In a nutshell, (so to speak)...according to these experts :

1. Mr. Trump likely has Malignant Narcissistic Personality Disorder...much different than the run of the mill Narcissistic Personality Disorder which is quite common among the general population. This is a very lethal mix as Narcissism is combined with Sociopathy. Remember Mr. Trump has access to nuclear arsenal.

2. The possibility that Mr. Trump also has Delusional Disorder. One of the most difficult conditions to treat if its even treatable. Remember Mr. Trump has access to nuclear arsenal.

3. The possibility of age related dementia or cognitive impairment. Remember Mr. Trump has access to nuclear arsenal.

The two articles I found most interesting intellectually were:

Trump's Daddy Issues: A Toxic Mix for America by Steve Wruble MD...a developmental look at the personality make-up of Mr. Trump.

Trump and the American Collective Psyche by Thomas Singer MD....the psychopathology of America as a Nation that would elect Mr. Trump.

Remember Mr. Trump has access to nuclear arsenal and there is no requirement that he be neurologically and psychologically fit to do this most important job !! Why is this ?? ...more

5

Oct 05, 2018

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President
by Bandy X. Lee, Craig Malkin
I picked this up from the library and being a nurse I realize they can't diagnose a Twitter maniac technical from afar, and there is the Goldwater rule that mental health experts are supposed to think of but this book also brings up other points just as important if not more. The duty to warn! They feel if is their duty to notify those in charge, which they did, that The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President
by Bandy X. Lee, Craig Malkin
I picked this up from the library and being a nurse I realize they can't diagnose a Twitter maniac technical from afar, and there is the Goldwater rule that mental health experts are supposed to think of but this book also brings up other points just as important if not more. The duty to warn! They feel if is their duty to notify those in charge, which they did, that something may not be right with the guy who always lies, toots his own horn, lives in his own world, and has no empathy for...well anyone!
It is not hard, at this point, for anyone on the planet to know what Trump is thinking because immediately the thought rushes down to his thumbs to the phone and out to Twitter. No filter. The psychiatrists had lots to work with plus all his speaches, still, no filter.
They explain what different abnormal personality traits are, compare, and let the reader decide. They also let the reader know what a person with this or that abnormal personality disorder would do to get say more attention, or more power. It is scary what they predict. This book is not up to date yet you would think it is by how accurate it is describing Trump's behavior.
If he keeps going unchecked, he will likely start a war so he can make sure he can get more power over the people like Bush did when Bush lied and got us in the Iraq war. We lost rights and haven't got those back "to protect freedom" we lost freedom! Somehow, he could suspend elections, increase taxes, limit the press for "security" , and so much more. This is someone that wants to be a dictator, not a role model President. His high is not beer, it is power and admiration! Where does he go from here, after being the president of the United States? He will want more, it is built in to him... ...more

5

Feb 04, 2018

If you are troubled by the phenomena that is Donald Trump...YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK.

In a nut shell, Bandy Lee has put together a compilation of pieces written, for the most part, by her colleagues, namely experts in psychiatric medicine, who offer their professional opinions about a man that has turned American politics into a bad reality TV show.

A major theme explored throughout the book is whether Trump is crazy like a fox or just plain crazy like a crazy. The book also explores the impotence If you are troubled by the phenomena that is Donald Trump...YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK.

In a nut shell, Bandy Lee has put together a compilation of pieces written, for the most part, by her colleagues, namely experts in psychiatric medicine, who offer their professional opinions about a man that has turned American politics into a bad reality TV show.

A major theme explored throughout the book is whether Trump is crazy like a fox or just plain crazy like a crazy. The book also explores the impotence that many psychiatrists/mental health professional are feeling with respect to the Trump Effect (yes this is a real thing) because of a gag order imposed by the APA which prevents psychiatrists from diagnosing a public figure whom they have not personally treated. While this policy is understandable and important for obvious reasons, they point out that they also have a duty and obligation to protect the public at large from someone whom they believe dangerous.

The book also tries to answer how and why a man like Donald Trump, whom they say displays decades of behavior consistent with a malignant narcissist (not just a narcissist but one that is a sociopath), paranoia, and ADHD, got elected to such a high office in the first place. (note: Time and time again they admit that without evaluating Trump they can't offer a diagnosis. However, they argue, and I think strongly so, that can still provide an informed opinion about what appears to be concerning behavior.)

Finally, the book lays out an argument for the mandatory and regular mental health testing of both the President and Vice President given the amount of power and responsibility they have on many fronts. In the end, I think a major goal of the book is to stress the importance of mental health as it applies to our leaders, especially those whose reckless or deranged behavior would potentially affect us all. Mental health has made leaps and bounds in the past few decades in terms of diagnosing, understanding, and treating mental disorders. Is it really so crazy to want to ensure that our leaders are as mentally sound, or at the very least have some method for trying to assess mental stability.

Crazy like a fox or simply crazy like a crazy?

For many Americans, even some of Trump's greatest critics, the consensus--or at least the hope--is that the answer to that question is the former. After all, like him or not, the man is president of the United States. He was elected, even if he didn't win the majority vote, receiving close to half the votes casts. Let that sink in for a moment. Roughly 1 out of 2 Americans got up, drove to the polls, and willingly voted for Donald Trump.

The erratic behavior. The rhetoric. The angry Donald Trump persona. It's all an act. A ploy. A strategy. A conscious effort to undermine his opponents and his critics while shoring up his base.
Not to mention, he's a millionaire...a billionaire, married to a beautiful wife half his age. Crazy/Mentally deranged people don't become successful businessmen, and they certainly don't become world leaders, or do they?

Was Hitler mentally ill or just pure evil? Both? And does it matter what you call it, if he's dangerous?

Many of the authors who contributed to this book believe that Donald Trump suffers from several mental health disorders to include malignant narcissism, paranoia, and ADHD. They admit that while they can not diagnose a mental disorder because none of them have ever personally evaluated him, they feel that as trained mental health professionals, they can offer an informed opinion based on three decades of recorded behavior.

In their opinion, whether or not Donald Trump is crazy like a fox, his behavior now and over the decades is consistent with someone who is just plain crazy.

And he's not alone. According to the authors, more than 50% of past US presidents demonstrated behavior consistent with a mental health disease, from Abraham Lincoln, who suffered from depression, to Reagan, who was eventually diagnosed with dementia.

They go out of their way to point out that suffering from a mental health disorder/illness does not necessarily disqualify someone from being an elected public official, nor should it, though in the case of the man with the codes to our nuclear arsenal, it should probably be a concern.

Many of the psychiatrists not only fear Trump suffers from mental health issues, but that his actions suggest that he is also dangerous.

So how does a man like Donald Trump get elected anyway?

This is perhaps the first time that I've seen any worthwhile analysis into why people supported the Donald. To simply label Trump supporters as "Deplorables" the way Hillary Clinton did simply doesn't cut it.

Several essays offered explanations that made sense.

For decades, there has been a neoliberal movement that has gained momentum and created real social change for minorities of all flavors. A movement that seemed to culminate in the election of our first African American president. What a glorious and proud moment for many of us. The deep wounds inflicted by our country's civil war are numerous and deep, and the road to true equality after slavery was officially abolished has been long and hard. So when a smart, articulate black man named Barrack Obama won the presidency, many of us believed, maybe wrongly so, that our journey was almost over.

The rise of Trump is proof that you can change the law and you can even change a culture a lot easier than you can change a mind or a heart. For many, the neoliberal agenda has fostered resentment. Not only is it illegal to discriminate against "insert vulnerable group here," you can't even speak your mind for fear of being shut down. Any slight against someone who happens to be from a vulnerable group is all too quickly interpreted as a slight against the vulnerable group. Hell, you can't even hold a rally on a college campus these days. So while the Black Lives Matters movement (extreme voices aside) seems to encompass the neoliberal agenda, it alienates another segment of America which now feels as if they are the minority who are being discriminated against. I can't tell you how many times people (average everyday people) say what about White Lives? Don't they matter, too?

Of course, they do. But that's not the point, at least for some.

So whether the crimes are real or imagined, they feel real to those who feel left behind, forced to accept laws and new cultural norms that don't jive with their personal values. The failure to kneel during the National Anthem. The desecration or removal of national monuments. Happy Holidays vs. Merry X-mas. These are experienced as major snubs by a number of people who feel they are being punished for being white.

Then along comes Trump. He says freely and without apology what they've been saying, thinking, or feeling in the privacy of their homes for too long. And he promises to Make America Great Again...what ever that means, and it means a lot to someone who feels disenfranchised or victimized.

It is no accident that hate crimes are up in America, and it is no accident that the Trump Effect is so profound that it is being blamed for a rise in anxiety among minority/immigrant groups across America.

Add the power of social media, with its massive reach and perpetuation of alternative facts, to the underlying tension and resentment, and you have the inevitability of someone like Trump.

One psychiatrist/author described it as group narcissism. Trump validates the group's superiority, their worthiness, while in turn reinforcing their blame of the "other," and they in turn offer him the adulation he craves.

The Trump Effect

Do you find yourself constantly checking social media, checking the news sites impulsively, and generally feeling anxious since Nov. 8, 2016? If so, you too may be suffering from the Trump Effect.

According to the authors, while Trump inspires great loyalty from his supporters, he inspires great antipathy and revulsion in his adversaries.

Personally, I have never felt such contempt for another human being, and apparently I am not alone. At least one psychiatrist describes it as being in a relationship with a malignant narcissist, a relationship that you can not walk away from. It's terrifying.

But is he really dangerous or am I (and others) just being liberal snowflakes?

Well, I honestly don't believe I'm a liberal snowflake. While I detest Trump, I wasn't a Hillary supporter. And while I generally support socially liberal values, I have many conservative views.

But I am also an avid reader with a special interest in abnormal psychology and the biological basis for belief and behavior. If you peruse my bookshelves you will see that I like to read about people who do really bad things and try to understand why.

And from day one, I have had the feeling that Trump is a sociopath, a narcissist, and a very dangerous man. I do not believe he is crazy like a fox. I believe he is crazy like a crazy. I believe this because if you look at his history, his actions. If you take what he has said in the past (his own words) at face value, there is no other conclusion. The author of "The Art of Deal" also contributed to this book. He spent a year with Trump. He's the one who actually wrote the book. And he seems to agree that whatever your worst impression of Trump is, it's not even close.

I, however, am not a trained psychiatrist. The authors of this book were. And they seem to agree that, crazy or not, Trump's pattern of behavior suggests he is dangerous.

So what is a concerned citizen to do?

This is a question I ponder daily. I love to read. I love to learn. I love to engage others, particularly those who don't share my views. After all, that's how we broaden our perspective and grow intellectually and emotionally. But politics is not something you can discuss. Politics has become even more taboo and more personalized than religion. There is no healthy debate. No exchange of ideas. No reaching across the aisle. And thanks to the internet which has effectively created ideological bubbles, you don't even ever have to hear an opinion that doesn't echo your own. And on the rare occasion you interact through social media, the conversation, depersonalized, has a high chance or deteriorating quickly into insults and name calling.

I do try to engage people. As a therapist I interact with a lot of people. But it's really hard. Political opinions seem rooted in emotion and influenced more our identities than by facts and figures.

I have to wonder what the role of technology has already and will continue to play in politics moving forward. While it has the potential to break down walls, it also has the potential to build echo chambers.

Anyway, I would highly recommend this book. And not just to my American friends as I think the Trump Effect is not simply an American problem. Crazy like a fox or crazy like a crazy, if this loon (my characterization) starts a nuclear war, which is a major concern expressed and validated throughout the entire book, it will have repercussions around the world. Many people say that while Trump is bad, he's no Hitler. No, he's not.

But what if he's worse? ...more

4

Mar 09, 2019

So, I don’t often write about or post about politics, but that’s going to be a tad unavoidable with this review. I mean, look at the title. So, if you’re a Trump fan this review will likely not be for you lol.

This book interested me because there’s something called the Goldwater rule, where psychiatrists and psychologists aren’t supposed to speak about someone from afar, if they treated the person in question, they shouldn’t try and diagnose. So, what would lead 27 people to potentially damage So, I don’t often write about or post about politics, but that’s going to be a tad unavoidable with this review. I mean, look at the title. So, if you’re a Trump fan this review will likely not be for you lol.

This book interested me because there’s something called the Goldwater rule, where psychiatrists and psychologists aren’t supposed to speak about someone from afar, if they treated the person in question, they shouldn’t try and diagnose. So, what would lead 27 people to potentially damage their career? What I got was an in-depth look at how many mental health experts are interpreting Trump’s actions. The people who authored this book weren’t ‘low rate’ psychologists either – many of them practice at institutions like Johns Hopkins and Harvard and have decades of experience.

Since I have a psych degree I was familiar with the terminology they were using, so it got a little boring at parts for me – but this does mean you can read this without ever having read a psych textbook and understand the implications of what they’re saying. It’s definitely meant for the general public, but it can be a little dry at times. Which is surprising given the subject matter.

The DSM-V is the diagnostic tool the APA uses today, and the authors have laid out in detail how Trump aligns with many disorders, without going so far as to diagnose him. Using examples from his speeches, his twitter account, and interviews it became abundantly clear to me that there’s a need to test him for a degenerative disorder. I had thought previously that his speech patterns have declined over the decades. Watching an interview of his from the 90s and watching a more recent speech is like night and day. His vocabulary has been reduced and has become repetitive, and he has signs of disordered thinkings as he frequently goes on tangents. During his speeches often times one word he uses will bring up memories of something off topic, he’ll follow that thought down a different path and do this again and again in his speeches until he’s so completely off script it doesn’t make sense anymore. I work with the elderly and I see this kind of thing every day. This is a transcript from one of Trump’s speeches, the book goes into instances like this where there are clear examples of disordered speech.

"Look, having nuclear—my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart—you know, if you’re a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I’m one of the smartest people anywhere in the world—it’s true!—but when you’re a conservative Republican they try—oh, do they do a number—that’s why I always start off: Went to Wharton, was a good student, went there, went there, did this, built a fortune—you know I have to give my like credentials all the time, because we’re a little disadvantaged—but you look at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me—it would have been so easy, and it’s not as important as these lives are (nuclear is powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, the power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the power of what’s going to happen and he was right—who would have thought?), but when you look at what’s going on with the four prisoners—now it used to be three, now it’s four—but when it was three and even now …"

He’s trying to talk about a nuclear deal and isn’t making much sense, you’d expect the president to be able to fully articulate why he’s drawing out of a deal this important and he’s giving us nonsense. I try and watch Trump’s speeches, he’s the president and I’d like to know what’s going on in his head and where he’s taking the country even if I don’t like him. So often though, a two-hour speech can be boiled down to ten minutes of important information and it’s hard to parcel out exactly what his message is given all the junk in between.

Each author had a different focus on Trumps behavior and what they believe it may imply, while the Alzheimers/dementia aspect appealed most to me given my current job – the other focuses were even scarier, to be honest. They made a very good case for Trump being a reactionary malignant narcissist and how that’s different from having a big ego and confidence, and how Trump better fits the malignant narcissist definition than a regular narcissistic personality disorder.

It also went into Time Perspective Theory and how Trump would likely qualify as a present-hedonist. In TPT, people can be overfocused in either the past, present, or future. People who have a negative past focus can be worrywarts, people stuck in the future will miss the positive aspects of the ‘now’ and can suffer from depression. But, those that are too focused on the ‘now’ without having regard for the past or future can be dangerous. Trump is most likely a present hedonist, defined as: people live in the moment – seeking pleasure, novelty, and sensation, and avoiding pain. When taken to the extremes it can lead to those in power making gut decisions without thinking them through, like changing a major international military policy via tweet.

More info on Time Perspective Theory

They also touch on his obsession with power and those throughout the world that abuse power. His odd fascination with leaders like Kim Jong-un, Putin, and the Saudi Arabian Prince is chilling. A United Nations report on human rights under Kim’s regime found that his government’s crimes against humanity included enslavement, extermination, forced abortion, imprisonment, murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and torture – and yet Trump called him honorable, said he believed him when he claimed ignorance to Otto’s murder and said that they “fell in love with each other”. Kim has executed his own family members and made their immediate family watch as he did it.

“He’s the head of a country, and I mean he’s the strong head,” Trump told Fox News Channel. “Don’t let anyone think anything different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.” — Donald Trump

President Trump told donors on Saturday that China’s president, Xi Jinping, was now “president for life,” and added: “I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll want to give that a shot someday.”

There’s a lot to unpack in this book, I gave it 4/5 stars because of a touch of repetition between the 27 authors. This is hard to avoid, they each want to make their case and some of their reasoning and evidence for their beliefs overlaps – but perhaps with a bit more editing, it could have been more engaging. ...more

2

Nov 10, 2017

The idea was just to see what the psychiatrists had done with the concept of viewing DJT from afar and telling us what they could see. I was skeptical, truthfully, and happen to agree with the Goldwater Rule: that mental health professionals should not make statements about the mental health of people they have not examined. But an introductory essay by Robert Jay Lifton was so smart, measured, and upfront about how their work could be considered political that I thought I’d read a little more.

The idea was just to see what the psychiatrists had done with the concept of viewing DJT from afar and telling us what they could see. I was skeptical, truthfully, and happen to agree with the Goldwater Rule: that mental health professionals should not make statements about the mental health of people they have not examined. But an introductory essay by Robert Jay Lifton was so smart, measured, and upfront about how their work could be considered political that I thought I’d read a little more.

Lifton, a leading psychohistorian, points out that psychiatrists should have a role in not normalizing evil as in the case of Hilter’s regime, normalizing the use of a nuclear weapon in WWII, or normalizing the enhanced interrogation techniques of the Iraq War. He thinks that psychiatrists have a moral obligation to use their skills to benefit society. He says that professional psychiatric organizations don’t often discuss that professional ethics should also include “who we work for and with, and how our work either affirms or questions the directions of the larger society. And, in our present situation, how we deal with the malignant normality that faces us.”In “Unbridled and Extreme Present Hedonism” Philip Zimbardo and Rosemary Sword detail classic symptoms of the narcissistic personality disorder and pair recorded instances of DJT’s speeches, his tweets, his on-the-record remarks with reporters, biographers, and ghost writers. The authors are not using private privileged medical information to frame someone. They are taking the public persona of an individual who claims to be telling the truth and are showing parallels to a pathological narcissism.

Craig Malkin does something similar in “Pathological Narcissism and Politics.” If at one time the citizenry expected they were observing an individual who appeared to be joking about the extreme positions he consistently takes, I doubt we feel the same way after a year of observing his continued positions and behaviors.

In “Sociopathy,” Lance Does explains that “the failure of normal empathy is central to sociopathy, which is marked by an absence of guilt, intentional manipulation, and controlling or even sadistically harming others for personal power or gratification.” Here we must ask ourselves if what we are observing of the man is actually the man or some funhouse mirror reproduction of the man. Hard as it is to believe that someone with such a severe deficiency could get as far as he did, we have to admit there were people along the way, DJT’s ‘friend’ the real estate magnate Steve Wynn for one, who said not to trust him.

The mental health professionals whose essays were published in Part 2 feel a ‘duty to warn’ the country about the possible need to replace DJT, based on their understanding of the demands of the job he has undertaken and his mental capacity. Leonard Glass takes on this question directly in his essay, “Should Psychiatrists Refrain from Commenting on Trump’s Psychology?” Glass believes that “a professionally informed perspective” can be useful for citizenry so they may judge the man and the press about him.

Even mental health professionals can exhibit bias, Glass tells us, but professionals make extra effort to recognize and account for said bias, if only to preserve their own reputations. Glass says we can’t know if DJT knows what he says is demonstrably untrue or not. What we do know is that he cannot recognize having been wrong, nor does he appear able to learn from the experience so that he does not repeat the untruth or failure another day.

Not all the essays were as measured as the ones cited above. Ones I thought could have been left out were those by DJT biographer Tony Schwartz (The Art of the Deal), and one by Gail Sheehy who, however admirable an author and journalist, is not a psychiatrist. In addition, Diane Jhueck in “A Clinical Case for the Dangerousness of Donald J Trump” says DJT “should be of lower risk to violence than the average citizen…[he is] supposed to be our protector, and he is unwell and harmful.” I am not sure risk of violence was on the ballot. If anyone is to blame by those lights, it is the Republican Party, who allowed DJT to be primaried.

The point is that indications of unfitness to serve may not appear until after a candidate is in office. If our government is to stand the test of leadership, we must rely on heroic bureaucrats who still have jobs to place obstacles in the way of business as usual, challenge their superiors at every step, and raise the specter of unfitness. When Howard Covitz begins to raise the notion of conscience within the context of “Health, Risk, and The Duty to Protect the Community,” I honestly thought he was going to speak about the duty of bureaucrats and psychiatrists to speak out about aberrant behaviors.

Actually, Covitz was asking if DJT has a conscience. Somehow I don’t feel we distant observers of the DJT phenomenon, even those with medical degrees, can reasonably be expected to answer that question. In Part 3 the essays try to explain what having a person like Trump in the WH means for trauma, anxiety, and feelings of abuse in the population at large. Again, I am not sure this should be the focus of the mental health professionals’ ‘duty to warn.’ If a major incident were handled badly by this president, they can say they made their fears known through this volume. ...more

5

Oct 11, 2017

I am more than half way through this book...riveting! I take a beard, and then I stop and say..'well, I get the idea, time to switch over to another book'...but then I go back. I feel vindicated reading this, fascinated by the thoroughness, and impressed by credentials of the authors. I'm not a professional, but have studied psychology ever since I majored in that subject and fell in love with it. My daughter majored in it as well, and is a mental health worker. Mental health was a big topic in I am more than half way through this book...riveting! I take a beard, and then I stop and say..'well, I get the idea, time to switch over to another book'...but then I go back. I feel vindicated reading this, fascinated by the thoroughness, and impressed by credentials of the authors. I'm not a professional, but have studied psychology ever since I majored in that subject and fell in love with it. My daughter majored in it as well, and is a mental health worker. Mental health was a big topic in my world growing up as, like most families I know, had a serious issue right at home.
Donald Trump is severely affected by several critical disorders. He is dangerous. He is not stable, He should not be president, politics aside. I hope that this book is read by people across the political spectrum, but alas, I fear this is just another case of "preaching to the choir'. What 'Trumper' or even Republican will read this? It should be on every college reading list... and quickly.

This is the book that would have been written 'after' it was too late... how do we get this out there and widely read, "before" it is too late? ...more

4

Oct 13, 2017

Is Donald Trump crazy like a fox, or is he crazy like a crazy person? Do we let him off the hook by calling him crazy at all, thereby attributing his moral imbecility to some impersonal “illness” rather than to his malignant personality? What exactly is wrong with the man, and what does it say about American civil society—the American Self, to put it in the terms of analytical psychology—that we elected him as our president and gave him unprecedented power to wreak unilateral destruction upon Is Donald Trump crazy like a fox, or is he crazy like a crazy person? Do we let him off the hook by calling him crazy at all, thereby attributing his moral imbecility to some impersonal “illness” rather than to his malignant personality? What exactly is wrong with the man, and what does it say about American civil society—the American Self, to put it in the terms of analytical psychology—that we elected him as our president and gave him unprecedented power to wreak unilateral destruction upon the entire planet? How has Trump affected the collective American psyche, particularly among those who have been targeted by his defamatory and conspiratorial rhetoric? Is Trump’s psychosis a mirror of our own; and if so, what’s the cure? These are some of the questions addressed in this book, a collection of essays about the Trump Phenomenon written by mental health professionals.

The overwhelming consensus of these essays is that Trump is psychologically and temperamentally unfit to be President of the United States, and that there is virtually no limit to how destructive—indeed cataclysmic—the consequences of his presidency might be for Americans and for the world at large. He is so psychologically compromised, in fact, that it is difficult to tell where his personality disorders end and his policy agenda or political philosophy would begin, if he had them. Though most of the contributors in this book are careful not to “diagnose” Trump the way they would one of their patients, they are not shy about offering suggestions as to what form such a hypothetical diagnosis might take.

The most common hypothetical diagnosis for Trump, and the most obvious one even for laymen, is an extreme form of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Narcissists have a hyper-inflated sense of self-worth and personal merit, and will go to extraordinary lengths to achieve the emotional high of praise and adulation. Desperate to bolster their fragile egos, often wounded by feelings of vulnerability as children, narcissists feel a constant need to assert their uniqueness and superiority, regardless of how little these assertions align with reality.

One of the toxic effects of extreme narcissism is that it serves as an easy handmaiden for delusional thinking. Another potential diagnosis for Trump is a rare thing called Delusional Disorder; a somewhat arbitrarily-defined disorder for people who suffer from extended periods of delusional thinking, but not from a mental illness like schizophrenia of which detachment from reality is but one element.

A delusion is defined as a “rigidly held, demonstrably false belief, which is impervious to any contradictory facts.” Given this definition, I could exhaust the rest of my word limit merely by listing the delusional statements Trump has made during his presidential campaign and his presidency. Here is a small sample of bizarre beliefs which Trump has espoused:

• Barack Obama was not born in the United States, making him ineligible to be President. He released a forged birth certificate, and had Hawaii’s state health director murdered to prevent him from revealing the truth. He is also secretly a Muslim. [Later in his campaign, Trump claimed that Hillary Clinton started the “birther” movement, when in fact Trump had in 2011.]

• Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was murdered; possibly by people working for Hillary Clinton’s election campaign.


• Ted Cruz’s father was involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

• “Thousands and thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey openly celebrated the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the streets.

• Trump won the popular vote in the presidential election. The three million additional votes that Hillary Clinton received were all cast illegally by non-citizens.


• Trump won the largest electoral college landslide since Ronald Reagan. [In fact, his electoral college victory was the slimmest of any president in the last forty years besides George W. Bush]

• The crowd at Trump’s inauguration was the largest ever. [Video and photographic evidence shows that his inaugural crowd was significantly smaller than the one at Obama’s inauguration]


• President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during Trump’s campaign.

• President Obama created ISIS.

• “We’re gonna build a wall, and Mexico is going to pay for it!”


As author and journalist Gail Sheehy explains,

“He states what he wants to be true. If his statement is proven false, he is unfazed, and confidently predicts that the facts will catch up with his belief: ‘I’m a very instinctual person, but my instinct turns out to be right.’ Even when the top sleuth in the country, FBI director James Comey, condemned Trump as a fabulist, Trump ignored the public rebuke and bragged about his ability to persuade millions of his paranoid version of Obama as ‘sick’ and surreptitiously spying on him.”

”If you take Donald Trump’s words literally,” says John Gartner, “you would have to conclude that he is psychotic.”

But the issue is not so much whether Trump thinks these patently false statements are “literally” true; rather, it is how willingly and instinctually he distorts reality, betrays and abuses his confidants and inferiors, and pushes away uncomfortable information, all to satisfy his malignant narcissism.

We can only speculate as to what made him this way. His father, Fred Trump, was a monomaniacal real estate mogul who divided the world between “killers” and “losers” and left no room for ambiguity about which role he wanted his sons to fulfill. Having spent his early childhood in the lap of luxury, Donald was suddenly packed off to military school at the age of thirteen; “banished from the family home”, as biographer Michael D’Antonio put it.

This was probably a major factor in his arrested emotional development, and his tendency to revert to juvenile insults when he feels threatened and vulnerable. Yet another potential diagnosis for Trump is what psychologists Philip Zimbardo and Rosemary Sword call Extreme Present Hedonism. People with this condition will aggrandize themselves and frantically seek out adulation much as a narcissist would, in order to shield themselves from negative events in the past. Their personality, in effect, is dominated by a perpetual and belatedly-felt need to refute the “loser” they see in their past self.

Donald’s oldest brother, Freddie Jr., died at the age of forty-three due to complications from alcoholism, which was probably brought on in part by the intensity of their father’s expectations. After Freddie’s death, Donald became heir-apparent to his father’s real estate empire, and the rest is history. Donald took on his father’s outlook while also seeking to outdo him; striking out on his own and making risky investments in expensive Manhattan properties.

I was surprised to learn that Fred Trump’s discriminatory exclusion of black renters became the subject of a Woody Guthrie song. Here are some of the lyrics:

“I suppose Old Man Trump knows just how much Racial Hate he stirred up in the blood-pot of human hearts when he drawed that color line here at his Eighteen hundred family project.… Beach Haven looks like heaven where no black ones come to roam! No, no, no! Old Man Trump! Old Beach Haven ain’t my home!”

As can be seen, the combination of these disorders—malignant narcissism, extreme present hedonism, paranoia, sadism—makes for a lethal cocktail; especially when they combine in a man who now controls the American nuclear arsenal. But what does it say about us that this cocktail is apparently so delicious to so many?

According to Jungian analyst Thomas Singer, the Trump Phenomenon has opened a release valve for the shadow side of America’s national unconscious. Amid the progressivist strides in American life over the past fifty years, certain segments of the American population who once felt they had a solid stake in America’s identity have now felt themselves marginalized and existentially threatened.

Clinging to what they perceive to be a shrinking piece of the American pie, their nostalgia for the “good old days” has been skillfully evoked and manipulated by two of the Trump campaign’s favorite trigger-terms: “Political Correctness”, and his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again”.

For the Trump supporter, “Political Correctness” invokes everything wrong with contemporary society; everything they are no longer allowed to say and believe, all of the social and economic changes that have aroused their anxiety for decades, but which no prominent politician has seemed willing to name and oppose candidly—until now. The power of this cultural complex is such that Trump could subvert any social taboo—even speak openly about breaking the law—so long as his opponents could be labeled as too politically correct.

So strong was the psychic shadow of American WASPs that in the eyes of Trump’s supporters, what Trump said became true, merely by virtue of being politically incorrect, no matter how vulgar or delusional it was in point of fact.

If all of this isn’t depressing enough, it becomes even more so when you consider what might happen when Trump’s supporters realize that his lofty promises, the alternative reality which he has constructed for half of the country to live in, is so much dissipating vapor. What will a deranged president do when the house of cards comes tumbling down?

And what can we do about it? We asked for this.
...more

0

Oct 06, 2017

Everyone should read this book. It not only delves into Trump's sickness, but ours.

0

Aug 23, 2017

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Will Trump Be the Death of the Goldwater Rule?
in: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-de...

-Is it possible to know the political affiliations of those 27?

UPDATE; FINALLY, AT LAST!!
“[u]sing psychiatry for political or self-aggrandizing purposes is stigmatizing for our patients and negatively impacts our profession.”

in: The American Psychiatric Association speaks out against ‘armchair psychiatrists’ in media saying Trump’s ‘insane’
in: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2018/01/1...

Will Trump Be the Death of the Goldwater Rule?
in: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-de...

-Is it possible to know the political affiliations of those 27?

UPDATE; FINALLY, AT LAST!!
“[u]sing psychiatry for political or self-aggrandizing purposes is stigmatizing for our patients and negatively impacts our profession.”

in: The American Psychiatric Association speaks out against ‘armchair psychiatrists’ in media saying Trump’s ‘insane’
in: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2018/01/1...

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...

He passed the tests, you'll hear "very healthy".
More details here: https://www.politico.eu/article/donal... ...more

5

Oct 13, 2017

Best psychiatric assessment of DJT that I've read

This book evaluates Trump from many vantage points and areas of expertise. It reaches deeply into the behaviors of Trump and how they impact us, our society and threats to the world. And it offers clear actions that the authors suggest are critical. As a psychologist I find this book excellent. It is also excellent reading for any who are concerned about our country

0

Sep 12, 2017

description: The consensus view of two dozen psychiatrists and psychologists that Trump is dangerously mentally ill and that he presents a clear and present danger to the nation and our own mental health.

This is not normal.

Since the start of Donald Trump’s presidential run, one question has quietly but urgently permeated the observations of concerned citizens: What is wrong with him? Constrained by the American Psychiatric Association’s “Goldwater rule,” which inhibits mental health description: The consensus view of two dozen psychiatrists and psychologists that Trump is dangerously mentally ill and that he presents a clear and present danger to the nation and our own mental health.

This is not normal.

Since the start of Donald Trump’s presidential run, one question has quietly but urgently permeated the observations of concerned citizens: What is wrong with him? Constrained by the American Psychiatric Association’s “Goldwater rule,” which inhibits mental health professionals from diagnosing public figures they have not personally examined, many of those qualified to answer this question have shied away from discussing the issue at all. The public has thus been left to wonder whether he is mad, bad, or both.

In THE DANGEROUS CASE OF DONALD TRUMP, twenty-seven psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health experts argue that, in Mr. Trump’s case, their moral and civic “duty to warn” America supersedes professional neutrality. They then explore Trump’s symptoms and potentially relevant diagnoses to find a complex, if also dangerously mad, man.

Philip Zimbardo and Rosemary Sword, for instance, explain Trump’s impulsivity in terms of “unbridled and extreme present hedonism.” Craig Malkin writes on pathological narcissism and politics as a lethal mix. Gail Sheehy, on a lack of trust that exceeds paranoia. Lance Dodes, on sociopathy. Robert Jay Lifton, on the “malignant normality” that can set in everyday life if psychiatrists do not speak up.

His madness is catching, too. From the trauma people have experienced under the Trump administration to the cult-like characteristics of his followers, he has created unprecedented mental health consequences across our nation and beyond.

It’s not all in our heads. It’s in his.

http://www.salon.com/2017/09/12/harva... ...more

5

Oct 16, 2017

I didn't expect to go through this book as quickly as I did. I expected to find some Trump bashing, but I didn't really get that from this book. This book was profound in the way in which the authors took care in not going to extremes, not trying to bring on hysterics, but very rationally approaching the topic of mental health and those in power. I consider myself versed in topics of trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder, narcissism, and dealing with the aftereffects of an abuser. This book I didn't expect to go through this book as quickly as I did. I expected to find some Trump bashing, but I didn't really get that from this book. This book was profound in the way in which the authors took care in not going to extremes, not trying to bring on hysterics, but very rationally approaching the topic of mental health and those in power. I consider myself versed in topics of trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder, narcissism, and dealing with the aftereffects of an abuser. This book expanded my knowledge on all of these topics. In fact before I even bought the book I checked to see who the listed professionals were. All of these authors were amazing, and for several of them I have read their books and taught the content of their books to victim advocates. I know that I, as well as many others, have been suffering from news fatigue. I was worried when I was reading this book that I would continue to feel that fatigue and stress, the surprising thing is that after reading this book I feel better equipped to deal with current events. I can't recommend this book enough. ...more

4

Oct 14, 2017

Book was helpful in understanding that Trump is dangerous and that I'm not alone in my analysis of how he acts. Sometimes, I've wondered if I was the one who might be crazy or seeing things that aren't really there or that he is actually very normal and I'm misinterpreting his actions. This book helped me to understand that we as a nation feel this way, not just me.

5

Oct 25, 2017

27 psychiatrists and mental health workers make the case for the danger posed by Donald Trump's mental health. Long, very clinical, detailed. Horrifying that nothing can be done unless the GOP grow a spine. And then we've still got the extremist Pence and the destructive agency heads that Trump put in place. Made me realize how many people are so badly impacted by the election. Very depressing but should be read by everyone.
Copyright October 2017.

5

Oct 10, 2017

"Over the course of the U.S. 2016 presidential campaign, it became
increasingly apparent that Donald Trump’s inability or unwillingness
to distinguish fact from fiction (Barbaro 2016), wanton disregard for
the rule of law (Kendall 2016), intolerance of perspectives different
from his own (DelReal and Gearan 2016), rageful responses to
criticism (Sebastian 2016), lack of impulse control (“Transcript”
2016), and sweeping condemnations of entire populations (Reilly
2016) rendered him "Over the course of the U.S. 2016 presidential campaign, it became
increasingly apparent that Donald Trump’s inability or unwillingness
to distinguish fact from fiction (Barbaro 2016), wanton disregard for
the rule of law (Kendall 2016), intolerance of perspectives different
from his own (DelReal and Gearan 2016), rageful responses to
criticism (Sebastian 2016), lack of impulse control (“Transcript”
2016), and sweeping condemnations of entire populations (Reilly
2016) rendered him temperamentally unsuitable to be in command of
the nuclear arsenal. When Mr. Trump became the president-elect, we,
as psychiatrists, had grave concerns about his mental stability and
fitness for office." ...more

5

Oct 22, 2017

This book is a must read for everyone who has serious concerns about the danger that Donald Trump poses to the U.S., and for those who are troubled by his erratic behavior. 27 leading psychiatrists and mental health experts convincingly assess Trump as a malignant narcissist with sociopathic tendencies, and contend that his presidency is a grave risk to our country. I highly recommend this book to everyone who cares about our country and who wants a deeper understanding of the twisted mind of This book is a must read for everyone who has serious concerns about the danger that Donald Trump poses to the U.S., and for those who are troubled by his erratic behavior. 27 leading psychiatrists and mental health experts convincingly assess Trump as a malignant narcissist with sociopathic tendencies, and contend that his presidency is a grave risk to our country. I highly recommend this book to everyone who cares about our country and who wants a deeper understanding of the twisted mind of Trump. ...more

4

Mar 09, 2018

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President edited by Bandy Lee is a fascinating and sobering read. It is NOT a political diatribe. It is NOT a political hit job. The danger presented by the presidency of Donald Trump is not a right or left thing, it is not a Democratic or Republican thing. Everyone concerned about democracy, civil rights, the environment, the future of America (and how American politics affect the world), and the decline of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President edited by Bandy Lee is a fascinating and sobering read. It is NOT a political diatribe. It is NOT a political hit job. The danger presented by the presidency of Donald Trump is not a right or left thing, it is not a Democratic or Republican thing. Everyone concerned about democracy, civil rights, the environment, the future of America (and how American politics affect the world), and the decline of basic human decency should read this book. This book is also (above and beyond all that) an interesting discussion of personality disorders, their possible causes and the negative impact a person with a personality disorder has on coworkers, family, friends and others within his circle.

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump is a collection of essays from mental health experts. The essays are, for the most part, written in layperson terminology and very readable. The foreword, introduction and prologue (yes, this book has all three) serve to give the reader an overview of the essays, present the “Goldwater rule” and contrast that with what the essayists call their “duty to warn.” The Goldwater rule is, roughly, a guideline put in place by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) that says it is unethical for psychiatrists to give their professional opinion of public figures they have not personally examined. The professionals in this book believe that rule is important. However, they believe it must be balanced by their duty to warn: “Only in an emergency should a physician breach the trust of confidentiality and intervene without consent, and only in an emergency should a physician breach the Goldwater rule. We believe that such an emergency now exists” (6). In writing these essays and speaking out, these professionals are assessing the dangerousness, not diagnosing the president:Assessing dangerousness requires a different standard from diagnosing so as to formulate a course of treatment. Dangerousness is about the situation, not the individual; it is more about the effects and the degree of impairment than on the specific cause of illness and it does not require a full examination but takes into account whatever information is available. Also, it requires that the qualified professional err on the side of safety, and it may entail breaking other, ordinarily binding rules to favor urgent action (footnote, 14).
There are over twenty essays in this book and I found all of them interesting and informative. They all discuss different aspects of Trump’s personality and which traits they find the most dangerous and will do the most damage. Basically, they all agree that Trump is a malignant narcissist with a good side helping of psychopathy. However, it’s not Trump’s mental illness that is the problem because studies have shown that a majority of presidents were mentally ill. The concern is that Trump’s specific mental illness makes him unfit for the presidency. His instability causes him to make unsound decisions, lash out at the slightest criticism, and live in—and promote—a reality that is based almost entirely on “alternative facts.”

While I found all the essays in this book insightful, I found these four of particular interest: “On Seeing and What You Say and Saying What You Know: A Psychiatrist’s Responsibility,” “In a Relationship with an Abusive President,” “Trump’s Daddy Issues: A Toxic Mix for America,” and “Trump and the American Collective Psyche.” The last essay, “Trump and the American Collective Psyche,” echoed much of what I read in the book Strangers in Their Own Land. The “Trump Effect” is the loss of basic human decency; Trump’s vocal misogyny, racism, and outright support of violence and nastiness (mocking a disabled reporter) has given explicit permission to a large segment of the American population to give into their ugliest and most hateful emotions and act on them.

I think this is an important book to read because it’s not enough to be firmly against all that Trump says and does and represents. I think it’s also important to understand what fuels his narcissistic rants, his paranoia, his admiration for tyrants and despots, and his belief in conspiracy theories and a reality that exists only in his mind (and Fox News and Alex Jones’s InfoWars and other nutjobs). It’s important to understand how the Trump presidency is affecting our democracy, and realize that we are all normalizing it. The outrageous tweets, the name-calling, new stories about Trump’s affairs with porn stars, the Russian investigation—it’s all become our new reality. An author of the book’s foreword calls it the “malignant normality,” when the political or military currents of a specific era become destructive and there is an adaptation to the new reality; it becomes commonplace. I think we are all in danger of this, of accepting Trump’s reality as the new reality and becoming immune to his shocking behavior, tweets, deplorable actions and outrageous lies. It’s just Trump being Trump, we say and shrug our shoulders. Reading books like this is essential to understand fully the danger our country is in. Democracy is a very fragile institution and with a president like Trump—who is not only ignorant of our laws but also does not care if he violates them because he doesn’t think they apply to him—we could be knee dip in shit before the smell reaches our collective American noses.

...more

5

Oct 05, 2017

Necessary reading. Be forewarned-apt to evoke nightmares

This collection of chapters written by a number of well-respected clinicians, mental health practitioners and scholars clearly sounds the alarm, helping to elucidate the dangers posed by having “the Donald” as President of the US and most powerful leader of the world. Explaining issues related to both the Goldwater rule, recent gag rules released by the American Psychiatric Association, and our professional duties to warn and care for our Necessary reading. Be forewarned-apt to evoke nightmares

This collection of chapters written by a number of well-respected clinicians, mental health practitioners and scholars clearly sounds the alarm, helping to elucidate the dangers posed by having “the Donald” as President of the US and most powerful leader of the world. Explaining issues related to both the Goldwater rule, recent gag rules released by the American Psychiatric Association, and our professional duties to warn and care for our communities as well as individual patients, we are apprised of the complexity of the problem before us. There are excellent chapters on assessment of potential for danger as well as reviews of characteristics of societies likely to be vulnerable to tyranny. All-in-all, to my mind, this is a call to action here-and-now and, if we survive this immediate threat, to greater attention to our role as protectors of the peoples of this fragile world through greater involvement in our communities through research, education, psychotherapy, and political action. ...more

5

Nov 07, 2017

Excellently written, and I believe it is totally accurate which means this is a very depressing book, because this traitorous/anti-American madman has not been thrown out of office yet! Everyday, he calls our free press an enemy of the people, when he is the enemy of the state! The day this man without one single redeeming human quality leaves the WH should be declared and celebrated as a National Holiday!

4

Nov 15, 2017

A must read for America, though many of those who need to read this won't. Expert opinions on the mental health of President Trump, written by 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts who believe they have a professional obligation to speak out about issues which they believe are a danger to this country. Thank you all for speaking up. May Congress listen to your voices.

5

Oct 12, 2017

The various professionals identified and gave medical credence to our fears regarding Trump's inability to govern, nor to overcome his personality disorders.

I feel much better informed, and if possible, more pessimistic about the survival of U.S. democracy, and of the world.

4

Mar 21, 2019

I purchased this group of essays, edited by Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M. Div., in 2017. However, this month was the perfect time to read them. The issue of President Donald Trump’s psychological makeup has been making more headlines and tweets than ever. In fact, it was his 2019 talk at CPAC that finally made me crack the cover open and get going.

I suspect this isn’t an easy book for anyone to get through. The entire idea that the U.S. President could be dangerously mentally unstable is terrifying, I purchased this group of essays, edited by Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M. Div., in 2017. However, this month was the perfect time to read them. The issue of President Donald Trump’s psychological makeup has been making more headlines and tweets than ever. In fact, it was his 2019 talk at CPAC that finally made me crack the cover open and get going.

I suspect this isn’t an easy book for anyone to get through. The entire idea that the U.S. President could be dangerously mentally unstable is terrifying, whether you’re liberal or conservative. I come at this from the former camp, more liberal, and not a fan of 45. Just FYI, that’s my chosen way to refer to him since he’s the 45th President.

These essays are all written by psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. Collectively, their qualifications are both boundless and stellar. No crackpots, at least not in my eyes. And most of them make it clear they are not diagnosing 45. Instead, they are discussing whether he could be a danger to himself or others.

The distinction is important, because mental health professionals are ethically prohibited from diagnosing public figures with whom they have no clinical connection. And, if they did, the diagnosis and relevant clinical hours would be protected by confidentiality. On the other hand, another policy makes it the duty of health care professionals to warn the appropriate people or officials. In some states, the duty to warn is also a law.

These two concepts are discussed in detail in the book, in nearly every essay. But the true focus is assessment of that dangerousness. Lee divides the essays into three parts: the phenomena, dilemma, and effect. As such the topics are well-organized and flow from most individually specific to the more societal analysis.

My conclusions
Each of these essays is intense. I’m glad Lee gathered them in one printed volume. Many of them are scholarly, and likely to be beyond the average reader’s life experience. The situation they discuss is unprecedented. But then, it’s not. 45 isn’t the first President to possibly be living with mental illness. Others have been assessed with depression, dementia, and more potential diagnoses.

The question, again, is how dangerous is the President to the well-being of the nation. Are the possible diagnoses going to lead to decisions that would endanger our democracy or the world’s safety? Each essay addresses these questions thoroughly and convincingly. And they were written well over a year ago. So much more has happened since, which gave me both chills and a sinking feeling in my stomach. Bottom line: it’s a depressing book that’s somewhat repetitive, but it couldn’t be more important.

However, one essay really hit home for me. It’s called Who Goes Trump? Tyranny as a Triumph of Narcissism. Elizabeth Mika, M.A., L.C.P.C. is a clinical psychologist in Illinois. She lays out the psychology of a tyrant. Then she explains how the tyrant gains supporters, and their likely profile. Third, she discusses what makes a society ripe for the development of the two. It had insights I needed, no matter how discouraging. But to understand it all, I confess to reading most sentences at least twice. It also made me want to reread On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder.

If you find the actions of this President concerning, and maybe even if you don’t, I recommend this book. I suppose his supporters diminish the validity of the essays and their authors. But if you’re inclined to read even a few essays, please find a copy and do so. I think the health of our nation depends on its citizens having open, informed eyes.

For my reviews of other books with a political focus, please visit my book blog, TheBibliophage.com. ...more