Why Aren’t There Any Celebrity Psychiatrists?
Why Aren’t There Any Celebrity Psychiatrists?
When I was in Los Angeles recently, there was a headline article in the Health Section of the June 14 Los Angeles Times entitled “The Cult of Celebrity Doctors.” No surprise there, I guess, given the prominence of the celebrity culture in Los Angeles. However, perhaps the medical backgrounds of these celebrity doctors may be surprising, and suggest something important about the role of psychiatrists in our modern society.
Of the 7 “doctors” highlighted, 4 are surgeons. You may know them. They are: Drs Mehmet Oz, Nancy Snyderman, Atul Gawanda, and Sanjay Gupta. There was also one anesthesiologist, Dr Michael F. Roizen; one alternative medicine physician, Dr Andrew Weil, and one psychologist, Dr Phil McGraw. None were psychiatrists, although the chief commentator in the article was indeed a psychiatrist. There also were not any pediatricians or family physicians. What may this breakdown mean, at least as far as psychiatrists are concerned?
It is probably self-evident that to be a celebrity doctor requires at the minimum certain characteristics. The doctor needs to be comfortable being an authority figure and, at the same time, convey humanistic concerns. Being telegenic helps if you are on television a lot.
Certainly, surgeons, of all medical specialties, have been known to be most comfortable with authority, but in general less renowned for their interpersonal and humanistic skills. Are these particular celebrity surgeons unique, or are they more representative of some change in the culture and values of surgeons? On the other hand, as psychiatrists have become more biologically oriented, there is some evidence that we have become less humanistic.
The psychiatrist commentator, Dr Tom Linden, sans photo, was quoted as saying that such celebrity doctors succeed in part because “we project onto these celebrities traits, wisdom and other abilities that they may or may not have.” That sounds to me a lot like the transference reactions we may expect and receive in a psychotherapy relationship. If so, one might think that psychiatrists would be a natural for being celebrities. However, we may also realize that there is no opportunity to work through such distortions and that the necessary sound bites may seem too simplistic. Pop psychology, if you will. Phil McGraw, better known as “Dr Phil,” is known for such philosophical sound bites as “You’re only lonely if you’re not there for you.” Perhaps psychiatrists are also reluctant (assuming one of us would be asked) due to confidentiality concerns, intensified for us due to privacy needs and stigma.
A couple of days after this article, a possible example of the ambivalence about a psychiatrist celebrity emerged, also from Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Lakers won the national men’s professional basketball championship. Ron Artest, who previously achieved notoriety for his temper, made a surprise clutch contribution. Once, he was suspended for a season for going into the stands to attack a fan. Now, in a press conference, he thanked his psychiatrist for enabling him to relax. But who this psychiatrist is has apparently not been made public, nor what he did for Mr Artest. Wouldn’t a significant portion of our population want to know how to achieve this transformation?
The example of Mr Artest suggests to me what a loss this may be for society and psychiatry. Sure, we have had the drama of Dr Gupta performing minor surgery on a baby in Haiti after the earthquake, but what if a celebrity psychiatrist could depict the reframing of the psychological trauma for a child? Dr Oz is an advisor and spokesman for RealAge.com, but what about a psychiatrist doing something similar for an imaginary new site, RealMind.com? What if a celebrity psychiatrist could advise the nation about getting mental health checkups? Controversy about DSM-5 is a natural for brief sound bites about new diagnoses. How about the pros and cons about psychoactive medication for self-improvement? Anyone for a psychiatrist as the next U.S. Surgeon General? As far as I can tell, there has never been one. Or, are we better off behind the scenes?
I've always been a fan of Pinsky's, back from when he was on "Love Lines" with Adam Corrola - but the sad fact is that he's an internist with addictions training, not a psychiatrist! If psychiatrists are reluctant to become celebrities, then I would like to officially volunteer now to take one for the team. Seriously. V/R, Will Sauve San Diego, CA
A radio talk show that reaches the rural population, specifically addressing their issues (substance abuse, severe depression, poverty, suicide) would probably not be a bad place to start.)
I thought Dr. Keith Ablow was good. I only saw him once or twice. Dr. Thom Hartman is on FSTV wseveral times a week with his Thom Hartman Program LIVE. I believe he has written several books on ADHD. Dr. Amen is often on the PBS and does a special for their fund raiser days. Last I heard Dr. Phil lost or relinquished his license. Is so, is he still a "doctor"?
There ARE celebrity psychiatrists. However, they are not mainstream. Dr. Peter Breggin has written a number of books about the dangers of psychiatric drugs and has been on Oprah. Dr. Thomas Szasz has also written a number of books about how he doesn't believe that behavior is a disease. The late Dr. R.D. Lang also wrote about alternatives to the harsh system we have of immediately drugging people who are already evidently going through horrific emotional difficulties. I believe we need safe havens for people to go, where they try to find out the CAUSE of peoples' problems, and where they are given quality care instead of poisionous drugs that debilitate them.
The question reveals more about us than it does about our profession. It's about patients and their ills. It's not about us and our careers! As a bipolar patient for the past 27 years, stable on Lithium and able to work as a psychiatrist, I am just very fortunate to have the skillsets to help others like me. I long ago abandoned any expectations of being lauded for what I do. Let's grow up!
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In addition to the lonely celebrity psychiatrist in L.A., Drew Pinsky , Keith Ablow a forensic psychiatrist from Northshore had a talk show as well (unlike Dr. Phil, I do not need to add Dr in front of their names; we know they are) . Unfortunately it never picked up popularity. Facts don't sell; drama does. "Drama and being dramatic" is very important to be a showman/show-woman. Any psychiatrist who has the talent and thick-skin can try to be in the limelight. The real challenge comes afterwards. As soon as one becomes a public figure, all rules go away and that person becomes a fair game for all possible celebrity fame, comments, criticism amongst other things. Unfortunately unlike other celebrities, that person as a psychiatrist that will also be the target for the ethical, legal issues pertinent to a psychiatrist.
For about ten years I was a TV psychiatrist on all three network affiliates in Honolulu. Would love to have gone national and unlike "Doctors" Phil, Ruth, and Laura...would use my last name! Mark Stitham
I believe patients would have more control or at least felt like they did if they had a better understanding of just how their particular illness affects them- instead of just telling them, for example, to "quit thinking in just black or white".That's what the illness wants them to do. Family members and the public might also not judge them so harshly and see them as people with an illness and not just one big character defect like my own family does in my case.We need to begin to put more emphasis on the dignity of the human person.Stigma needs education.......
But we do have celebrity psychiatrists. There's Radovan Karadzic, for one, though he's currently under something of a cloud. And let's not forget Hannibal Lecter...
Phil, Ruth and Laura do not have degrees in Psychology or as in Phils case - ones that have not been revoked.
I, personally, would love to do "Ask the Psychiatrist," but there are obstacles. First, I will never willingly move from my current, secluded location to go to the big city to become a celebrity. Second, there are the rabid, anti-psychiatry activists. They simply do not understand what they are spouting and will not listen to any actual scientific data and explanations. I have a lot of trouble with those individuals. I did have a blog for awhile but had to shut it down because of threats from such people.
What about Carole Lieberman of Los Angeles? Edward W. Darell, M.D.
First let me apologize for this blog post, then disappearing on vacation so that I didn't have time to see all these helpful comments. (I guess I am among the dwindling few who stay away from the computer and e-mail while on vacation, but that is a subject for a future blog). So far, several themes from the comments strike me. Most (though not all) of the "celebrity"psychiatrists that have emerged briefly from time to time have tended to be "anti-psychiatry"; this has not been the case in other medical specialties. Dr. Pinsky is commonly thought to be a psychiatrist, but is not. Though complicated and potentially stressful, there are more benefits than harm that a rational and knowledgeable "celebrity" psychiatrist can do. One issue that I did not include in the original blog was the potential for a celebrity psychiatrist to address the whole matter of society's fascination with celebrities. Just recently, we had that play out in the Lebron James basketball saga and the sentencing of actress Lindsay Lohan. How can we turn our fascination and attention to more important matters?
As mentioned earlier, we have had a few celebrity psychiatrists in the past. Peter Kramer and Thomas Szasz came to my mine. I suspect that Dr. Carlat is near the tipping point of becoming a celebrity following book and NPR interviews.
Just to correct one error in your article: you say Phil McGraw is a psychologist. He is not a licensed psychologist in any state. He gave up his Texas license years ago following an ethics investigation. He is a doctor in the sense that he has a doctoral degree, but he is not a physician or psychologist. As far as I know, he does not even claim to be a psychologist.
Thanks much for the continuing comments. Timothy Thomason, in his clarification about the status of "Dr. Phil"as a psychologist, is one of the reasons such comments are so valuable; they point out what was missing, poorly clarified, or wrong in the original blog. More broadly, what he points out, adds to my concern that many who may be viewed as a celebrity in our field are somehow tainted. As to William Thorneloe's suggestions for past celebrity psychiatrists, Dr. Kramer did have some fame that came from his book "Listening to Prozac", but did come to be viewed as a more general celebrity commentator. I personally loved his old columns in Psychiatric Times and wish he would become more prominant again. Two commentators, Teresa O'Brien and Krishna Talluri, as well as my dear colleague Herb Bateman (in a private communication) mentioned Keith Ablow, M.D. I think they are right. He is probably the closest we have to a valuable and rational celebrity psychiatrist. He is one of the bloggers for Fox News Health Blog (though I'm sure some would bristle at the conservative bent of Fox News) and one of his recent blogs, "Understanding Female Pedophiles", grapples with similar issues as I tried to describe in a recent on-line article for Psychiatric Times, "Wrestling With Evil in Prison Psychiatry".
A colleague just pointed out to me a potentia new contender for a helpful "celebrity" psychiatrist. Garianne Gunter is a young psychiatrist who won a beauty contest and, at our recent APA meeting, spoke about the use of social media to educate the public what is good in psychiatry.
I've looked over a lot of the answers and I haven't seen one of the key elements that keeps me off television: neutrality. As a psychiatrist that also does therapy with my patients, it is important that I remain as neutral as possible with them. Exposing too much of my professional and/or personal life in public would undermine the therapeutic work we are doing.
is it possible to get email of dr. mota? my emial is dr.irene@comcast.net. thank you !
Actually, Dr. Moffic, for a long time I have asked myself the same question but, in fact, there is a celebrity psychiatrist in L.A., Dr. Drew Pinsky. Ironically one of his TV shows was titled "Celebrity Rehab." He is also a regular participant in several CNN shows as an expert on cases were famous people are claiming to be sexual addicts, among other things. Going back to your question, in 2007 I wrote to Sirius satellite radio to suggest the idea of the show to answer general questions from their Spanish channel's audience but they didn't like the idea. Most recently, my friend and Spanish TV celebrity, Dr. Nancy Alvarez was planning to join efforts with me and a common friend, Dr. Segundo Imbert, to launch a radio show in "La Mega." The potential producers found many obstacles to sell the show, even though we were planning to do it pro-bono. I bring this up because I think this is an important topic. Real psychiatrists should be feeding information to the public to balance the "Dr. Phil effect." I have watched one or two episodes of this business mogul's show and found disturbing how he blames parents for behaviors that are the product of a mental illness which requires psychiatric intervention, not just strong parental will. Dr. Phil's approach, in my view, leaves the parents with a sense of failure and blames children and adolescent for actions that are beyond volitional control. I equal his views to hoping for sugar control using meditation in a Juvenile diabetic. On the other hand, Dr. Frederick Godwin host "The Infinite Mind"radio show but we need more participation of our specialty in the media, hopefully on TV. Maybe Dr. Moffic becomes motivated by this discussion and starts what could be a celebrated "Ask the Psychiatrist" new show. Manuel Mota-Castillo Lake Mary, FL