disequilibrium1

Though ethics discussion covers a couple of basics, client information seems to fail to get specific about possible internal states that cause harm. They might talk about unequal power but not how a client relinquishes judgment, as Jan Wohlberg says, it’s the grooming that causes harm.

I only recall forms listing rules for clients, all to protect the therapist and assure he is paid. The psychoanalytic clinic mentioned a grievance process, at least.

I think much of what mine did was unconscious. Then too a therapist operates from the pseudo-world of “theory” which I believe distorts their interactions beyond human recognition.

1 hour ago, Eve B said:

I think therapists would just say that it's a rare incident, so it's not worth talking about.

Eve you’re probably right. However though this particular exploitation is extreme, I’d wager idolization and a therapist’s over-control are pretty common. Though I wonder how many practitioners would see the connection.

My therapists’ misjudgments were confined to the consulting room. However they happily colluded in their disproportionate sway over my life and decisions. Their “grooming,” as it were, was faking an omniscience no human can possess. So though they didn’t move into my house or have me do their typing, I was victim to their mystification on a more limited scale. I still feel snookered.

I wish the “profession” would explore both for colleagues and the public the major and minor  issues this podcast raises.

Mary, is the difficulty the Wondery link or The NY Times?

If the Wondery link, scroll down until you see the Update podcast. 

The NYtimes article “Celebrity Crazy,” NY Times, Nov 26,  2006, by Shalom Auslander, describes the author taking a party bus to his psychiatrist’s Hamptons house, the pool and band, the walls of celebrity photos as well as the author’s flustered feeling as an uninteresting patient. It corroborates parts of the podcast.

Pardon the redundancy. I didn't beat the clock to edit my post. I tried to write:

Another article  has emerged around The Shrink Next Door:
'The Shrink Next Door': New revelations about the Jewiest, screwiest podcast ever - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

There now is an "Update"  podcast with a grab bag of topics include an interview with TELL's Jan Wohlberg on psychiatric abuse in general.  She mentions seeing many cases where the therapist "took over the life" of a patient. She says she's seen therapists use patients for tax returns, legal advice and baby sitting. She talks about how (both sexual and non-sexual) grooming and isolation going hand in hand. The topic begins   22:36 in the update episode below.

Wondery - Feel The Story >> The Shrink Next Door

The Update also says that after episode 6 Marty finally was contacted by a lawyer from the New York Department of Health. 

Two new articles have emerged around The Shrink Next Door, a new one...
'The Shrink Next Door': New revelations about the Jewiest, screwiest podcast ever - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

...and this one from 2006 which corroborates and important aspect of the podcast's assertions:
Celebrity Crazy - The New York Times

Though the psychiatrist isn't named, author Auslander does so in other writing.

Without naming him, One of the psychiatrist's parties is described by author Shalom Auslander in 2006.
His other writings reveal his provider is or was the notorious Dr. Ike.
The podcast author also reported on Twitter last week that the psychiatrist resigned from the NYU faculty.
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/magazine/26funny_humor.html?fbclid=IwAR0kxrzSRzdrIGe9670_lDf6AFftQVy2HosXC0Oxxw9SQAVHoKOiNWXBeT4

 

I do think some percentage of the client population treats therapy as religion, the therapist as their priest, the relationship as authoritative structure and the process itself like sacred purification.
I envy people who can  serenity, respite, guidance and community at a house of worship. I tried, but it never worked for me. Hearing from those who needed to leave their faith, force conformity, censure and authoritarianism were often the problem. An ideal has to be interpreted by people, and people inevitably have hierarchy insecurity and power needs.

2 hours ago, Mary S said:

My experience was that even therapy within office confines created a "therapist-in-my-mind" that interfered with my normal life. Getting rid of that "therapist-in-my-mind" has been very difficult; I"m not entirely rid of it yet.

Likewise, Mary. The authoritarianism, condescension and contempt live with me.

I wouldn't have dreamed of therapy outside office confines. From my reading, 24/7 communications channels cause innumerable angst for both clients and therapists. From my outsider viewpoint, these channels bring the therapist out from the consulting room and into the client's life. 

My therapy relationships were the opposite of informed consent. We only discussed appointment and payment policy. After that I plunged into a game that was never explained with no understanding of the risks or offer of choices. Therapists knew best.  Though cynically, I'm unsure how therapists can explain risks if they don't understand them themselves. I've never seen a satisfactorily concrete explanation of how therapy works.

The six and final episode has been posted, though there is the promise of more in reaction to the series. Rolling Stone just published a story about the podcast.
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/shrink-next-door-new-podcast-psychiatry-wondery-846474/

I stand corrected. A link was posted several days ago on the r/therapists Reddit, but it generated  scant  discussion.

Article in the tabloid New York Post has a bit more information. Apparently Marty has an active complaint.

https://nypost.com/2019/06/08/how-a-celebrity-shrink-allegedly-conned-himself-into-patients-wills/

A fifth episode, which explains Marty's last straw, was posted Tuesday and the last in the series will be posted this coming Tuesday. I've watched the internet for consumer and professional discussions and have found nothing so far, save my own forum post. I shake my head that this hasn't prodded professionals to any conversation, at least that I could find in a search.

Google searching Lilienfeld +harm is a very fruitful for finding reading reading around therapy's risks.
I found another article about potentially harmful and unsupported modalities.
Some of these therapy schools have fanatical adherents, so as usual, mileage may vary. (I personally found acupuncture relaxing, but not miraculous.)
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ911995.pdf

Here's another Lilienfeld article urging students and clinicians to be cautious about "breakthroughs.
https://teachpsych.org/page-1784686/6375500

And here's a book chapter about science and pseudoscience.
https://www.guilford.com/excerpts/lilienfeld.pdf?t

And bad news, dolphins aren't therapy.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071218101131.htm

One of Herschkopf's letter to the editor is archived here.
http://nymag.com/nymag/letters/n_9706/

Ironically, it's about the corruption of celebrity.

As I listened to the psychiatrist’s  justification for his exploitation,  I wondered if he had the slightest shame or limits for how he treated his patients. Marty’s story is just one view of one iceberg. It’s horrifying to consider a larger picture.

While I have many disagreements with my upbringing, I’m thankful to go through  college before 25 percent of kids arrived on psych meds, and the leaving home was treated like some arduous process. We went to class and had a good time and didn’t worry about “support services.” Did I miss something?

At risk of being harsh, these people’s intense focus on their kids still sounded all about the parents. 

Thanks.  I'll  listen when I'm settled and can give its due. Can't wait.

Oh, I see the clue of what foiled the plot. " Why, two years later, had the lawyer become cautious? The lawyer had been visited by another patient of Herschkopf’s, who had also changed her will to benefit his family."

Eve I agree. I wonder if the authors are angling for that. It’s also interesting that Marty extricated himself before the journalist really was involved.

I feel the same way. He’s done this to others?