I have made several changes to this story to add more detail.
This letter was just sent to members of Congress by Bandy X. Lee, the psychiatrist who edited and contributed to “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.” Lee is an assistant clinical professor and member of the voluntary and adjunct faculty at the Yale University School of Law and Psychiatry.
Since the election of 2016, an increasing number of mental health professionals have come forth to warn against President Trump’s psychological instability and its implications for national and international security. Over time, the signs of his instability have only grown worse: we have watched as Mr. Trump’s provocation of North Korea and alienation of our allies have augmented the dangers we face abroad, while his incitements and endorsements of aggression have laid down the groundwork for a culture of violence at home.
Six months ago, a group of us put our concerns into a book, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President. Since release, it has become an instant bestseller with the public. Macmillan, a top publisher, could not keep up with the demand for weeks. Everything we have warned about in the book has come true. Our ultimate concern is happening now.
The developments with the special counsel’s investigations are not just a matter of criminal indictment but of critical concern with respect to the president’s mental stability. He has shown marked signs of impairment and psychological disability under ordinary circumstances, unable to cope with the slightest criticism or unpleasant news. With additional stressors, his condition will assuredly grow worse. We fear that this difference will bring us over the brink into disaster, where even ultimate destruction will be possible.
As mental health professionals, some of us with expertise on violence, we deal with risk of harm as a routine part of our practice. When someone exhibits signs of danger to oneself, others, or the general public, it is considered an emergency. All 50 states confer to us the legal authority, sometimes obligation, to act. When someone poses a threat, our response is as follows: (a) containment; (b) removal from access to weapons; and (c) an urgent evaluation. As health professionals, we cannot choose not to treat in an emergency, regardless of whether the person is our patient or has offered consent.
Mr. Trump has far exceeded our usual threshold for detaining someone in order to evaluate for signs of danger. Just a few of these signs would be: verbal threats of violence, a history of sexual assault, incitement of violence, an attraction to violence and powerful weapons (the more powerful the weapons, the greater the temptation to use them), and the taunting of hostile nations with nuclear power. Traits that are highly associated with danger include: impulsivity, recklessness, paranoia, loss of touch with reality, a lack of empathy, rage reactions, and a constant need to demonstrate power. These traits make one incapable of thinking rationally, and the usual deterrents, such as a nuclear holocaust or even the annihilation of humankind, will not likely deter someone who is preoccupied by internal needs.
We are concerned enough to be ready to present to your office, at the soonest occasion possible, to explain our professional observations in person. While those who contributed to the book number at 27, there are hundreds of us, if not thousands, of the same medical consensus—and we are ready to communicate our case to you, should you choose to hear us. (917) 328-xxxx bandy.lee@yale.edu.
Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div. Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT plus 57 co-signers in the mental health profession
Just because I posted the text of the Bandy Lee et al (57 signatories) letter to Congress for everyone's convenience (it was posted by Michael Tansey on HuffPost too) doesn't mean I think this letter will persuade any member to change their mind about Trump having a disorder of the mind so serious that they would take political steps to remove him from power.
The power of a letter like this comes both from the political waves it makes in the media and the influence it has on legislators.
The Public
So far a Google News search has turned up only the Michael Tansey article in HuffPost about the Bandy Lee letter.
Just as the original John D Gartner petition was to be sent only to Senator Schumer, it matters how much attention the media pays to duty to warn mental health professional’s endeavors to warn and inform. The Gartner petition brought him into the media as the number of those who signed climbed from 10,000 to over 60,000 today. He became the go-to person for journalists and even had to struggle through an interview of Fox. It actually generated death threats. So much for trying to influence or education diehard Trump supporters.
We have learned the hard way that, from politicians to pundits, there are many who do not understand basic psychology, do not consider Trump’s psychodynamics when they try to understand seemingly inexplicable behavior.
Pundits
Consider the difference between how Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell interpret Trump's behavior. For someone as brilliant and well-educated as she is, Rachel seems not to grasp the basics one would learn in an undergraduate abnormal psychology course. The fact of the matter is that one can get through a Ph.D. program and a post-doc without even taking even a sophomore introduction to psychology course.
Lawrence O’Donnell, on the other hand, has made it his business to learn enough to view Trump’s aberrant behaviors as explainable by understanding his psychopathology.
While he’s had therapists John Gartner and Lance Dodes on his show, and has had Bandy Lee in an interview which also included “Art of the Deal” co-writer Tony Schwartz, he also regularly discusses Trump’s personality disorder with his guests. Of all the hosts, at least on MSNBC, he is the most cognizant of Trump’s psychopathology.
Politicians
Had I been in a position to suggest changes to the Bandy Lee letter I would have included an offer to meet in person with members of Congress in the first, as well as the last paragraph.
For example, I would start with:
"Since the election of 2016, an increasing number of mental health professionals have come forth to warn against President Trump’s psychological instability and its implications for national and international security. Members of the undersigned group will personally answer any of your questions in person, on the phone, or by email. If we are not available we will find equally qualified mental health professionals to consult with you.”
It’s the Optics
I also would have sent copies of “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” to all members of Congress, not in the expectation that very many would read the entire book, or even skim it. We can at least hope the physical book ends up on the member’s desk. This isn't a cheesy vanity press book. It's a “real book” coming from Thomas Dunne, a subsidiary of MacMillan, a publisher everyone has heard of. You can read a brief review from Kirkus here where the reviewer concludes:
As with most anti-Trump books, this one will shore up the opinions of those already convinced of his lack of fitness for the job but won’t change the minds of his supporters, the vast majority of whom won’t read it.
Good reviews can make a difference, as can word of mouth. In this case my argument is that it isn’t the content of the book so much as it’s the look of the book.
All the book had to do was make the NY Times best seller list once to be able to put this on the cover. Unfortunately it is no longer on the list. (I’ve been informed it was on the list for four weeks.)
Although Yale University did not organize this conference, it was held at Yale, which also makes for a good cover. (See here for the statement from Yale University about the conference..)
I’d be delighted if every member of Congress who received the Bandy Lee letter actually read it. I’ll be delirious if a few of them actually took her up on the offer and asked for a meeting with an informed therapist through Bandy Lee, who gives her contact information,for a consultation.
Monday, Nov 13, 2017 · 9:58:22 PM +00:00 · HalBrown
I’ve been thinking this is what it will take: Until an impossible to normalize display of being mentally unbalanced occurs we may have to keep on plugging along trying to warn and inform. Once Trump has decompensated to the point of dangerous irrationality all of our work hopefully will come to fruition. Those who observe his previously incompressible (to them) behavior will be able to grasp that he is finally proving to them that he exhibits symptoms of psychopathology.