Physician, Heal Thyself!

The recent Ft. Hood tragedy was startling in a number of ways, not least of which was that the gunman was a mental health professional at the the highest level.  Psychiatry is one of the most education-intensive of medical specialties.  It made me think back to the HBO series "The Sopranos", and Dr. Melfi, the psychiatrist who treated Tony Soprano and who also periodically underwent therapy herself.

Does anyone know if psychiatrists are required to undergo therapy themselves at any point before or after they are licensed to practice on their own?  It was the impression I carried with me from the show, but I may have inferred something that wasn't there.  And a variety of differently worded google searches on the question have come up empty.

Nowhere in the extensive reporting on the Ft. Hood shooter have I seen any mention of him having undergone any therapy personally, which would obviously be of significant importance to investigators if he had.  His survival and the doctor-patient privilege notwithstanding.

Comments




  • who knows what the real answer is now. there are gonna be so many "voices" in his ear now.

    kingborg, 4 months ago | Flag
  • Teasing is a mild word.  I've known people who say something negative with a smile on their face, then add, "just teasing."  It puts the recipient between a rock and a hard place.  Object, and you're a poor sport or accused of taking a bit of fun too seriously.  Let it pass without a response and the teaser gets the dig in, but you don't have an emotional outlet of response for it.  Add up a number of such instances of "teasing" against the same individual, and you help create a potentially serious problem.


    There is a lot more investigation that needs to be done before there are any definitive answers as to what set off the Ft. Hood shooter, but I somehow doubt that simple teasing is one of them.

    ladyjean, 4 months ago | Flag
  • only reason i am holding judgement on the guy is the "teasing" he got. thats why i think he went off like this. if he was in a bad state of mind plus the teasing .................

    kingborg, 4 months ago | Flag

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