‘Trump derangement syndrome' and the Goldwater rule for psychiatrists
A bill was recently introduced to the Minnesota legislature to categorise 'Trump derangement syndrome' as a mental illness. The proposed bill defines the syndrome as characterised by 'verbal expressions of intense hostility toward' Donald Trump and 'overt acts of aggression and violence against anyone supporting [Trump] or anything that symbolises [Trump].'
Such a bill obviously infringes on our constitutional right to freely criticise our elected leaders and can serve as a stepping stone towards labelling and punishing political opponents under the guise of utilising a variety of compulsory psychiatric interventions. However, this bill is reminiscent of anti-Trump mental health professionals who have opined that President Trump poses a great danger because of a severe personality disorder.
Clearly, a psychiatric diagnosis can only be made by mental health professionals who are licensed to do so, and only after having examined a patient. It poses great danger to our society both when legislators use their political power to impose a psychiatric label on their political opponents and when mental health professionals misapply their expertise to give a psychiatric label to those whom they fear.
In the 1960s, many psychiatrists opined on the mental health of the Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. As a result of that controversy, in 1973 the American Psychiatric Association developed the 'Goldwater rule', which applies to public figures. It states that it is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a proper authorisation for such a statement.
This rule is still in effect, though much too often broken. Perhaps we need to develop a comparable national rule prohibiting political personnel, both elected and appointed, from creating psychiatric diagnoses as a tool against their political opponents.Leon Hoffman Psychiatrist, New York City, US
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