SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
In a recent email to its 3,500 members, the American Psychoanalytic Association "told its members they should not feel bound by" the Goldwater Rule, which some have characterized as a "gag rule," Stat News's Sharon Begley reports. (Photo: Molly Adams/Flickr/cc)
Psychiatric Group Tells Members It's OK to Break Silence on Trump's Bizarre Behavior
Easing "gag order" on public diagnosis, professional association entrusts mental health experts to use their "knowledge responsibly"
Jul 25, 2017
As President Donald Trump continues to behave bizarrely and erratically--attacking his own attorney general, launching into a political tirade during a speech to Boy Scouts, bringing his 11-year-old son into the burgeoning Russia controversy--a professional association of psychoanalysts is telling its members to drop the so-called Goldwater rule and comment publicly on the president's state of mind if they find reason to do so.
"Trump's behavior is so different from anything we've seen before."
--Dr. Prudence Gourguechon
The Goldwater Rule was formally included in the American Psychiatric Association's "Principles of Medical Ethics" following the 1964 presidential campaign, during which a magazine editor was sued for running an article in which mental health professionals gave their opinions on Republic presidential candidate Barry Goldwater's psychiatric state. The rule deems public comments by psychiatrists on the mental health of public officials without consent "unethical."
In a recent email to its 3,500 members, the American Psychoanalytic Association "told its members they should not feel bound by" the Goldwater Rule, which some have characterized as a "gag rule," STAT's Sharon Begley reports.
"The statement," Begley notes, "represents the first significant crack in the profession's decades-old united front aimed at preventing experts from discussing the psychiatric aspects of politicians' behavior. It will likely make many of its members feel more comfortable speaking openly about President Trump's mental health.
In an interview with STAT, former president of the American Psychoanalytic Association Dr. Prudence Gourguechon--who now works as a psychiatrist in Chicago--said the Goldwater Rule should be abandoned because "Trump's behavior is so different from anything we've seen before."
"We don't want to prohibit our members from using their knowledge responsibly," Gourguechon concluded.
Dr. Leonard Glass, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, argued that Trump's "extraordinary abundance of speech and behavior" gives mental health professionals plenty of material "on which one could form a judgment."
"It's not definitive, it's an informed hypothesis," Glass concluded, "and one we should be able to offer rather than the stunning silence demanded by the Goldwater rule."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As President Donald Trump continues to behave bizarrely and erratically--attacking his own attorney general, launching into a political tirade during a speech to Boy Scouts, bringing his 11-year-old son into the burgeoning Russia controversy--a professional association of psychoanalysts is telling its members to drop the so-called Goldwater rule and comment publicly on the president's state of mind if they find reason to do so.
"Trump's behavior is so different from anything we've seen before."
--Dr. Prudence Gourguechon
The Goldwater Rule was formally included in the American Psychiatric Association's "Principles of Medical Ethics" following the 1964 presidential campaign, during which a magazine editor was sued for running an article in which mental health professionals gave their opinions on Republic presidential candidate Barry Goldwater's psychiatric state. The rule deems public comments by psychiatrists on the mental health of public officials without consent "unethical."
In a recent email to its 3,500 members, the American Psychoanalytic Association "told its members they should not feel bound by" the Goldwater Rule, which some have characterized as a "gag rule," STAT's Sharon Begley reports.
"The statement," Begley notes, "represents the first significant crack in the profession's decades-old united front aimed at preventing experts from discussing the psychiatric aspects of politicians' behavior. It will likely make many of its members feel more comfortable speaking openly about President Trump's mental health.
In an interview with STAT, former president of the American Psychoanalytic Association Dr. Prudence Gourguechon--who now works as a psychiatrist in Chicago--said the Goldwater Rule should be abandoned because "Trump's behavior is so different from anything we've seen before."
"We don't want to prohibit our members from using their knowledge responsibly," Gourguechon concluded.
Dr. Leonard Glass, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, argued that Trump's "extraordinary abundance of speech and behavior" gives mental health professionals plenty of material "on which one could form a judgment."
"It's not definitive, it's an informed hypothesis," Glass concluded, "and one we should be able to offer rather than the stunning silence demanded by the Goldwater rule."
As President Donald Trump continues to behave bizarrely and erratically--attacking his own attorney general, launching into a political tirade during a speech to Boy Scouts, bringing his 11-year-old son into the burgeoning Russia controversy--a professional association of psychoanalysts is telling its members to drop the so-called Goldwater rule and comment publicly on the president's state of mind if they find reason to do so.
"Trump's behavior is so different from anything we've seen before."
--Dr. Prudence Gourguechon
The Goldwater Rule was formally included in the American Psychiatric Association's "Principles of Medical Ethics" following the 1964 presidential campaign, during which a magazine editor was sued for running an article in which mental health professionals gave their opinions on Republic presidential candidate Barry Goldwater's psychiatric state. The rule deems public comments by psychiatrists on the mental health of public officials without consent "unethical."
In a recent email to its 3,500 members, the American Psychoanalytic Association "told its members they should not feel bound by" the Goldwater Rule, which some have characterized as a "gag rule," STAT's Sharon Begley reports.
"The statement," Begley notes, "represents the first significant crack in the profession's decades-old united front aimed at preventing experts from discussing the psychiatric aspects of politicians' behavior. It will likely make many of its members feel more comfortable speaking openly about President Trump's mental health.
In an interview with STAT, former president of the American Psychoanalytic Association Dr. Prudence Gourguechon--who now works as a psychiatrist in Chicago--said the Goldwater Rule should be abandoned because "Trump's behavior is so different from anything we've seen before."
"We don't want to prohibit our members from using their knowledge responsibly," Gourguechon concluded.
Dr. Leonard Glass, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, argued that Trump's "extraordinary abundance of speech and behavior" gives mental health professionals plenty of material "on which one could form a judgment."
"It's not definitive, it's an informed hypothesis," Glass concluded, "and one we should be able to offer rather than the stunning silence demanded by the Goldwater rule."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.