'Mental instablity': Psychiatrists Who Called Trump Dangerous Want to Testify on Impeachment

Posted by Pecuniology 5 years ago to Politics
87 comments | Share | Flag

"A group of medical experts who claim that President Trump's mental health makes him dangerous and unfit for office is seeking to testify during House impeachment proceedings.

"The group, comprising four psychiatrists, a clinical neuropsychologist, a neurologist, and an internist, are planning to announce their availability next week to members of Congress and the media. They'll also be available to consult privately with members of Congress, with 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, or with members of Trump's cabinet."
SOURCE URL: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/psychiatrists-who-called-trump-dangerous-seek-to-testify-in-impeachment-hearings


Add Comment

FORMATTING HELP

All Comments Hide marked as read Mark all as read

  • Posted by mccannon01 5 years ago
    I recall reading something like this in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag Archipelago" (could have been in I or II). That is, anyone having an anti Soviet thought must be mentally deranged and needed to be detained. Here we have Neo Communist psychiatrists who automatically think like a Soviet when confronted by a free wheeler like Trump.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by 5 years ago
      Keep that thought in mind, next time you hear about someone who was psychologically evaluated as fit to raise children, own a gun, etc.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • Posted by $ allosaur 5 years ago
        When me dino was a reporter during the Seventies, I became quite familiar with shrinks at a certain mental health center.
        Let's just say there were some who pretty much sailed on what I could not describe as an even keel.
        The top doctor was the most eccentric one there.
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
        • Posted by RevJay4 5 years ago
          I had a short internship in a MHC. Got to know some of the shrinks, etc. An experience which convinced me that my time could be better spent in another career choice.
          To say that most of the "mental health experts" I got to know were not sailing on an even keel is an understatement. Lot of nutjobs in that field.
          Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
          • Posted by $ allosaur 5 years ago
            I put it that way for trying to be polite. Me now an old dino has through my years heard several different people opine that many shrinks get into the mental health field originally due to trying to figure themselves out. Not always in those same words.
            Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • Posted by mccannon01 5 years ago
        Yes, for sure.

        Another thought that comes to mind regarding these "volunteers" is like a scene from the "Body Snatchers" where this cadre has been infected and whenever a non-infected individual, like Trump, shows up they all freeze in unison, point at the individual, and start chanting "oooooooooooooooo..." until the victim can be infected into the herd or killed outright.
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by exceller 5 years ago
      Correct.

      It is one of the favorite methods of dictatorial regimes to use against their opponents because it cannot be proved or disproved.

      Pelosi is using it against the president when she said the other day that she "was worried about Trump's mental health.

      But of course she is not worried about Biden's idiocy or the entire DS establishment like Brennan who certainly comes across as someone mentally deranged or Schitty with his obversion about "evidence" that he has never presented.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by DrZarkov99 5 years ago
    These jerks are not expert professionals. Diagnosing someone they have never spoken to, let alone tested is irresponsible, regardless of the person in question.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by 5 years ago
      Buried in the article above is this assertion:

      "We don't believe there is the need for any further evaluation, and we are making ourselves available for the impeachment hearing because we believe that mental health issues will become critical as pressures from the impeachment hearings mount."

      In other words, they're begging the question and treating the conclusion as a self-evident axiom.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by gafisher 5 years ago
    This has been common practice in Communist countries, including the USSR and China. Frankly, any medical professional who would make a firm diagnosis of any kind on a person he or she has never even met, much less examined, ought to lose their medical license.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by exceller 5 years ago
      Agree.

      In these times anyone can offer "expert" opinion about anybody and the press will gobble it up. Especially if they can use it against their favorite hated man, Trump.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • Posted by 5 years ago
        However, the 'expert' has to come from a field that is notorious for the inability of its members to replicate each others' research. If your PhD is in Engineering, Finance, or any other quantitative field, then your opinion is specifically unwanted.
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
        • Posted by exceller 5 years ago
          Correct.

          I watched some of these "expert" testimonies in court trials.

          The testimonies are easy to abuse because they are specific and the lawyers don't know what questions to ask for verification.

          Many of these "experts" are making good money by regularly appearing in court trials.
          Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by GaryL 5 years ago
    Any Psychiatrist willing to diagnose a patient he or she has never extensively examined is him or herself a nut job in need of serious psychiatric intervention.
    Hopefully Doctor Dino Allosaurus will be along shortly to diagnose my seriously deranged conservative leanings from afar.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by chad 5 years ago
    I wonder if they have a lower rate for analyzing someone they have never met? I wonder if medical doctors could do the same for me, just call me and tell me what they think is ailing me for a small fee and tell me what to do about it?
    If this attitude doesn't reflect badly on their entire profession it should at least convince anyone in their current care that they should be seeking advice elsewhere!
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by LibertyBelle 5 years ago
    I read that some shrinks "diagnosed" Barry Goldwater without having met him, and that he sued, and won.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by 5 years ago
      The way this kind of thing tends to work out with Trump is that he rope-a-dopes his detractors, and just when they are getting tired, and we're about to move on to a new Scandal of the Week, out come the leaks and background information that exposes the detractors as frauds.

      Is anyone here old enough to remember Michael Avenatti or Robert Mueller?
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by Lucky 5 years ago
    A few comments-
    The word expert is overused, it normally means someone who the speaker wants to quote to show the speaker is right.

    Psychiatry is a branch of medicine, complex, evidence based (well more than not), requires high IQ ( distinguish IQ from sense), it studies brain/body functioning and failure, it has its own special medications which can be criticized as are other medications.
    As in other branches of medicine a psychiatric opinion should be based on physical examination and medical diagnostic tests.

    Psychology studies human behavior as individuals rather than groups (as sociology). It has little in the way of rational under-pinnings, the research tests may be large but the flaws of logic and experimental procedure are large, it is a field nearly always inappropriate for what it is supposedly used for. Large tests with vague results may benefit from statistical analysis, psychologists have expertise here on a par with climate scientists. The language style used by practitioners is complex to cover up the lack of content, the famous tests such as MyerBriggs have value only for entertainment. A psychological opinion does not need to be based on tests as there is little objective basis. The theory still has carry over from Sigmund Freud, one of great frauds. It belongs with the social sciences (using the word science loosely), social political diversity gender studies.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by Dobrien 5 years ago
    Psychiatry , a medical practice that never heals it’s patients. It just covers up the problem.

    Types of anti depressants Citalopram (Celexa, Cipramil)
    Escitalopram (Lexapro, Cipralex)
    Fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem)
    Fluvoxamine (Luvox, Faverin)
    Paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat)
    Sertraline (Zoloft, Lustral)
    Serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) Edit

    Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)
    Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
    Levomilnacipran (Fetzima)
    Milnacipran (Ixel, Savella)
    Venlafaxine (Effexor)
    Serotonin modulator and stimulators (SMSs) Edit

    Vilazodone (Viibryd)
    Vortioxetine (Trintellix)
    Serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitors (SARIs) Edit

    Nefazodone (Dutonin, Nefadar, Serzone) – withdrawn/discontinued in most countries
    Trazodone (Desyrel)
    Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (NRIs) Edit

    Atomoxetine (Strattera) - an NRI approved to treat ADHD
    Reboxetine (Edronax)
    Teniloxazine (Lucelan, Metatone) – also a 5-HT2A receptor antagonist
    Viloxazine (Vivalan)
    Although marketed as an antidepressant, a meta-analysis found that reboxetine was ineffective and potentially harmful.[1]

    Norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs) Edit

    Bupropion (Wellbutrin) – weak NDRI, although its dopaminergic actions are controversial; may act as a norepinephrine–dopamine releasing agent (NDRA) alternatively or additionally; also a non-competitive antagonist of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors[2]
    Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) Edit

    Amitriptyline (Elavil, Endep)
    Amitriptylinoxide (Amioxid, Ambivalon, Equilibrin)
    Clomipramine (Anafranil)
    Desipramine (Norpramin, Pertofrane)
    Dibenzepin (Noveril, Victoril)
    Dimetacrine (Istonil)
    Dosulepin (Prothiaden)
    Doxepin (Adapin, Sinequan)
    Imipramine (Tofranil)
    Lofepramine (Lomont, Gamanil)
    Melitracen (Dixeran, Melixeran, Trausabun)
    Nitroxazepine (Sintamil)
    Nortriptyline (Pamelor, Aventyl)
    Noxiptiline (Agedal, Elronon, Nogedal)
    Opipramol (Insidon)
    Pipofezine (Azafen/Azaphen)
    Protriptyline (Vivactil)
    Trimipramine (Surmontil)
    Tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs) Edit

    Amoxapine (Asendin)
    Maprotiline (Ludiomil)
    Mianserin (Tolvon)
    Mirtazapine (Remeron)
    Setiptiline (Tecipul
    Mianserin, mirtazapine, and setiptiline are also sometimes described as noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressants (NaSSAs).

    Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) Edit

    Irreversible Edit
    Non-selective Edit
    Isocarboxazid (Marplan)
    Phenelzine (Nardil)
    Tranylcypromine (Parnate)
    Selective for MAO-B Edit
    Selegiline (Eldepryl, Zelapar, Emsam)
    Reversible Edit
    Non-selective Edit
    Caroxazone (Surodil, Timostenil) was formerly used as an antidepressant, but has been discontinued.

    Selective for MAO-A Edit
    Metralindole (Inkazan)
    Moclobemide (Aurorix, Manerix)
    Pirlindole (Pirazidol)
    Toloxatone (Humoryl)
    These drugs are sometimes described as reversible inhibitors of MAO-A (RIMAs).

    Eprobemide (Befol) and minaprine (Brantur, Cantor) were also formerly used as antidepressants
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by 5 years ago
      Rhetorical question:

      Which of those are so addictive that withdrawal symptoms are worse than the condition that they allegedly treat?
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • Posted by Dobrien 5 years ago
        An excellent Question. I do have some experience with two of these drugs. I will speak of This first because it more directly responds to your Query. My daughter was on Paxil as a young adult. When planning her first child. She , after 5 yrs on it , quit taking it. The initial withdrawal was crazy. She spoke of electrical type jolts in her head and a very unsettled feeling. What followed was a nightmare of OCD during her pregnancy. She had never had OCD before the Paxil. The wife and I were never happy about the prescription but our advice wasn’t considered.
        But I did get to calm her down somewhat from 600 miles away as she sobbed uncontrollably into the phone daily for three months.
        The other experience resulted in my sons suicide.
        A friend gave him his amitriptyline to take for my sons knee pain. His classmate was prescribed it due to a nasty head injury snowboarding accident.
        After it happened I sought out what info I could find. My son had hurt his knee playing basketball. The kid gave him a large dose . We of course found this out after it was too late.In my research I found out that the chemical found most often in some ones system after death from suicide is alcohol. The next most often found in the blood system was amitriptyline.
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
        • Posted by 5 years ago
          Ouch. That's dreadful!

          I cannot imagine how I would react in a situation like like your son's. Although, I am familiar with a situation similar to your daughter's. In my case, it's like watching someone else's children playing with a Frisbee on the shoulder of a busy highway: There is nothing that I can do to stop it, but I cannot bring myself to look away.
          Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
          • Posted by Dobrien 5 years ago
            Well as a parent my instincts were to find out what happened, and then to survive the grief and to support my wife’s grief. Taking one step forward and living With a new reality. We actually did a lot of volunteering for several years to support other parents who lost a child from suicide. Most were predominantly male.
            Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
            • Posted by 5 years ago
              The situation that I allude to above is what drove me to go back and refamiliarize myself with how cults operate, particularly cults that are based by envy (socialism, feminism, etc.), as opposed to religion or mysticism.

              In my case, it is like looking into the face of a zombie that used to be a happy little girl.

              I have my suspicions about how this all came about. Preventing it would have required nothing short of a political revolution. These parasites are dug in deeper than an Alabama tick into the public school system. The Never Trump crew described in the article above are just one example of how shameless they are.
              Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by $ Stormi 5 years ago
    most psychiatrists need a psychitrists. Where were they when Hillary, who had once been hospitalized for out of control manic behavior, barked at her rally? Why is Warren a habitual liar, also give a pass. Beto is character flawed for sure. Biden likes to run naked at WH pool to make girls scream, ehibitionist? I am sure they could have a field day with Obama, who lies about his real father's name, was involved in cocaine in Hawaii and Chicago, inovlded in protitution in Hawaii, has daughter with no birth certificates, requested distastaste for him white grandma, who died during primary, as like most white women - racist? Jimmy Carter had his "killer rabbit" moment. Clinton had a sex addiction. Is there anyone who could pass their test in DC? Schumer has no idea bifocals exist, while he orchestrates hoaxes. Nancy can't accept her age, and has to get filled iwth Botox, and wear stilleto heels to pretend she is not old.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by teri-amborn 5 years ago
    There are many different psychological tests which when taken show tendencies and preferences.
    Some random psychologist's opinion (free from testing our President) should never be allowed in any proceedings.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by 5 years ago
      Those 'experts' are complete hacks! Not a single phrenologist among them.

      Donald Trump is a Gemini Fire Dog (14 June 1946: Western + Chinese Zodiac), and that makes him a good guy, even if a bit flamboyant and temperamental.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • Posted by teri-amborn 5 years ago
        Well...
        If you want to believe that I won't stop you.
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
        • Posted by 5 years ago
          It was either that or Myers-Briggs.
          Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
          • Posted by teri-amborn 5 years ago
            Strangely:

            I've had an MMPI and Meyers-Briggs and they were both relatively accurate for the goal of helping me to know myself better and to realize that I'm not as "odd" as my parents would have led you to believe.

            That's the real goal of psych evals: Helping you to build a foundation of "self".

            Nothing that Washington is about to do to President Trump has any bearing on knowledge of who he is or what makes him "tick".

            They lost control and they will do whatever it takes to regain control.

            It should be a 3-ring circus to watch..
            Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
            • Posted by 5 years ago
              Psychology is not my field. All I have to go on is personal observation and anecdote.

              My Myers-Briggs results using different online versions are fairly consistent, although many of the choices are false dichotomies. Mostly, I assume the result and choose the option that more closely fits my preconceptions.

              Above, I was half-joking about about the Zodiac thing. It is like the party game, in which one tells the attendees to look around the room and note all of the blue things, gives them a few minutes, then tells them to close their eyes and list the yellow things in the room. Because they were focused on blue things, they have a very hard time remembering any yellow things.

              Knowing that one is a Gemini Tiger, Aquarius Dragon, or any of the other 142 possible East/West Zodiac combinations can lead to confirmation bias in one's self-assessment and in one's assessment of others, in spite of knowing that the bias's foundation is complete mystical rubbish.

              For example, knowing that Trump is a Gemini Dog—assuming that one were allegedly compatible with Geminis and Dogs—if he lashes out, one might conclude that he is having a bad day, whereas, if he had been a Taurus Monkey, then his outburst would be just more proof that he is out of control and untrustworthy.

              It is this that I am mocking with regard to the radical activists posing as medical experts cited in the article above.
              Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
              • Posted by teri-amborn 5 years ago
                We're definitely on the same page there...

                I had remarked (before the election) that what we need in the WH is STRONG male
                leadership. We got it.

                Washington doesn't know what to do about a strong male outsider except to spin strength into "mental illness".

                The media does a superb job of spinning this narrative.
                Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Comment hidden by post owner or admin, or due to low comment or member score. View Comment
  • -7
    Posted by CircuitGuy 5 years ago
    I suspect President Trump is mentally ill and/or a heavy drug user (possibly alcohol). I do not see how we can have mental illness have any part in impeachment. It's too easily politicized. We need a less politicized system of holding presidents accountable. It would be wrong and dangerous to declare a president unfit and turn the job over to the VP on account of alleged mental illness. There is no guarantee US will continue as a democratic republic. It really could fall apart if we don't respect the law and elections.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by mccannon01 5 years ago
      Your suspicions are false. Trump doesn't drink or use drugs.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • Posted by $ 25n56il4 5 years ago
        In my 20's several friends had nervous breakdowns. I asked my doctor to recommend a shrink for me. He was Chief of Internal Medicine of one of Houston's largest hospital chains. He went into a ranting rage and assured me he had no intention of referring me to 'one of those crazies'.
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • -2
        Posted by CircuitGuy 5 years ago
        "Trump doesn't drink or use drugs."
        I know; he's a rare guy in the reality TV, marketing, and NYC RE world who is a teetotaler. I do not believe it. I have no evidence. To Your_Name_Goes_Here's point, I'm no expert on drinking, beyond being from the hardest drinking state in the country. In my experience, some of the worst alcoholics claim to be teetotalers.

        I'm just going by a gut feeling from his mannerisms. I suspect he's a hardcore user of alcohol, pills, street drugs, or something like that.
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
        • Posted by mccannon01 5 years ago
          Your disbelief and false gut feelings are the very fabric the I-Hate-Trump fake news is composed of. The WH leaks like a sieve and if there was an actual drug/alcohol problem, it would have been known years ago. Nobody can hide it that long, especially someone constantly harassed with teams of haters who wish to destroy him any way possible.

          In my experience, people in my life who claim to be teetotalers really are.
          Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
          • Posted by CircuitGuy 5 years ago
            "The WH leaks like a sieve and if there was an actual drug/alcohol problem, it would have been known years ago."
            That's a good point. If it were true, I would expect it to have come out now.
            Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by $ Your_Name_Goes_Here 5 years ago
      And you are a degreed / licensed psychiatrist that has counseled and diagnosed the President I trust? I thought not. Just like to ones that want to testify. Political agendas keep popping up in these discussions for some reason.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by 5 years ago
      I'm guessing that the downvotes are for the first sentence, and not for the last sentence. At least, I hope so.

      Contrarian psychiatrist, Thomas Szasz, argued in "The Myth of Mental Illness" (1960, American Psychologist 15, 113-118) that, because we cannot observe minds directly, we cannot observe directly whether someone's mind is malfunctioning. We can observe only one's actions and infer the mental processes that cause them.

      In cases of extreme autism, depression, or schizophrenia, it is easy to observe the effects of mental debilitation in the sufferers' inability to ensure their own survival and safety. However, Donald Trump does not exhibit any such symptoms. Quite the contrary, he appears to be preeminently able to feed, clothe, and house himself, along with countless relatives, employees, and vendors.

      So, what do we observe? Textbook persuasion techniques, rhetorical feints and parries, exaggerations, blustering, grandstanding, vengeance, and a host of other negotiation tactics. Are these symptoms of mental illness? We'd have to consult with mental health professionals who did not have any philosophical, political, or religious axes to grind for a reasonably dispassionate diagnosis.

      As it is, we have four psychiatrists, a clinical neuropsychologist, a neurologist, and an internist—who might or might not be fringe radicals of the psychological and psychiatric professions, which are dominated 9:1 by Democrats—who know Trump only from videos of his public statements. They have no idea what he is like in private, and they have absolutely no idea what his self-reported motives would be during a private counselling session. None of us does.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
      • -2
        Posted by CircuitGuy 5 years ago
        "we cannot observe directly whether someone's mind is malfunctioning."
        I agree wholeheartedly that it's wrong and dehumanizing to dismiss someone's ideas as an illness. I also agree with what your idea (if I understand right) that there is real mental illness and it involves cases where in ability to communicate, depression, or hallucinations make it impossible for someone to function. I further agree that even in those cases, it would be hard to trust them to evaluate a president, when there are obvious risks for political bias.

        All that being said, my gut feeling is that President Trump has some sort of addiction or mental illness. I don't see techniques and tactics. I see a troubled person who spouts random nonsense that gets a reaction. I suspect he can't support himself, and he's living on an in an inheritance and being propped up (compensating for his disability or "enabling" him) by those around him. I certainly don't know that. I'm a non-expert judging from his public persona. So it's a wild guess. I don't think my guess should deligitimize him. I would urge people to look at his public persona and vote for anyone but him in the next election.
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
        • Posted by 5 years ago
          Your gut feeling, eh? Well, then. In that case, who needs any of those pesky 'facts' and 'evidence'.

          As for voting for Anyone But Trump, I am unfamiliar with him. What party is he running under? What are his tax, social, and foreign policies? Where is his website, so that we can learn more about him?
          Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  

FORMATTING HELP

  • Comment hidden. Undo