
Is It Time to Reconsider the Restrictions of the Goldwater Rule?
Should we be more accepting of mental health professionals offering opinions about political figures based upon vast amounts of data and well-founded, applicable theories of psychopathology?
FROM OUR READERS
While I read out of curiosity Ronald W. Pies, MD’s, commentary on Russia and the applicable label of
Psychiatrists at times have offered opinions about public figures and have received criticism from their colleagues for doing so. When Senator Goldwater ran for president, a number of psychiatrists warned their fellow citizens about that candidate’s character and potential recklessness. More recently, psychiatrists and psychologists warned Americans about our most recent past president having dangerous mental illness at a Yale University conference held in 2017. While there was much information available in the public domain, there was criticism of those mental health practitioners for violating the Goldwater Rule. Similarly, a now deceased colleague, Jerrold Post, MD, published in 2019 his last book, Dangerous Charisma: The Political Psychology of Donald Trump and His Followers,2 which raised ethical concerns. While well researched, that analysis of a president’s character was critiqued for offering opinions in a manner that violated the
I found the opinions offered by Dr Pies to be worth considering, yet psychiatrists should be careful about using our understanding of individual human behavior to develop formulations of governmental bodies. If Dr Pies may offer his perspective on Russia having PGD, then maybe we should be more accepting of mental health professionals offering opinions about political figures based upon vast amounts of data and well-founded, applicable theories of psychopathology. I suggest it is time for the APA to reconsider its restrictive
Respectfully submitted,
Robert C. Larsen, MD, MPH
Dr Larsen is director of the Center for Occupational Psychiatry and a retired clinical professor at the UCSF School of Medicine.
References
1. Pies RW.
2. Post J. Dangerous Charisma: The Political Psychology of Donald Trump and His Followers. Pegasus Books; 2019.
Newsletter
Receive trusted psychiatric news, expert analysis, and clinical insights — subscribe today to support your practice and your patients.