PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS
As we covered in the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting in downtown Los Angeles video and a follow-up column “Rally for Mental Health: Boldly Going Where Psychiatry Has Never Gone Before,” our nation’s public mental health seems increasingly at risk. The rally put together by some of us psychiatrists was unprecedented. I wore my own designed red T-shirt stating, “Make America Sane Again.” Gratefully, it was well-attended and peaceful, with police walking by with barely a second glance.
In a sign and collective symptom of what is developing, about 3 weeks later, a much more conflictual rally occurred—and continues—in the same downtown over the past weekend. This one was about a concern for our country’s new immigration law and procedures. How and why it developed is an ongoing consideration. However, it is clear that our federal and state governments differed in how to respond. After calling in the National Guard, hundreds of marines are now being deployed over the opposition of the state of California. This, too, may be unprecedented, even for what happened in the 1960s, as well as being at the other extreme of our peaceful psychiatrists’ rally. At stake is the mental health and more of some immigrants who are unduly threatened with being detained and then deported out of the country, along with the ripples of that onto loved ones and others concerned. Last night the protests against ICE spread to San Francisco, where the police arrested more than in Los Angeles.
There have been other public mental health concerns, too. Those with a trans identity are being targeted with decreases in resources and opportunities. Many college campuses continue under duress, including DEI program dismantlement. Public media and cultural institutions like the Kennedy Center are being defunded or taken over.
Upcoming this Saturday is a rare military parade in Washington, DC, the headquarters of the APA. It is said to be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States Army. It also happens to be President Trump’s 79th birthday. It seems to me, as a proud Army veteran and psychiatrist, as if our government is suggesting what else could happen to future protests and protestors. I suppose that if you did not know where such a parade was occurring, you might think you were in another authoritarian country where such events are common. Here, counterprotests seem likely for now, along with more conflict and violence. What may be the “end game” of such law and order? Can it be a desired slope toward martial law in the United States?
Organized psychiatry and individual psychiatrists have an opportunity now to react not only to the recent rallies, but the upcoming military parade, and also to prepare to provide any necessary follow-up clinical help for undue psychological trauma. To do so, it seems essential to be able to distinguish between necessary courage and naive foolishness in any response.
If it is not clear what and why there should be psychiatric concern, 2 recent major publications should be of educational help. One is the cover stories in the June hard copy monthly issue of Psychiatric Times. The other is the recent publication of the fourth edition of the books that the psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee, MD, has edited since 2017, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, going from 27 psychiatrists and mental help experts to now 50, one of them being myself discussing the drawbacks of the Goldwater Rule as I see them. In my chapter and elsewhere, I recommend the establishment of an expert group of psychiatrists that can lead the way back against the increasing national risks of violence. Lee has pointed out the terrible irony, but also educational opportunity, of June being:
- National Safety Month
- PTSD Awareness Month
- International Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Month
However, there are some obvious reservations and learned helplessness in the face of these developments. The article, “The Beautiful Danger of Normal Life During an Autocratic Rise” in the June 9 New York Times discussed the human tendency and ability to try to maintain a normal life in the time of a serious crisis.1 One term used for now is “shock exhaustion,” which refers to an ongoing series of crises and traumas. Democratic institutions usually take time to respond. An acute onslaught of new policies makes assessment of their validity more difficult. Standing by passively provides implicit acceptance of the developing risks, including the risk of being in the opposition.
What I would not recommend is humiliating anyone; that often leads to revenge. Just look at Russia’s recent devastating attack after their bombers were sabotaged inside of Russia by Ukraine.
There was a commercial about car maintenance that presented the choice of paying now or paying more later if not doing the necessary preventive work. The same seems true of mental health: do what is needed now or it will be more extensive and expensive later.
There is also an old popular song from the musical theatre show, “Carousel.” It is titled, “June is Bustin’ Out All Over.” It is full of summer idealism, optimism, and romance. This June is shaping up so far for many to be a month of cynicism, pessimism, and conflict. The weather in June in Los Angeles is often called June Gloom. The conflict and leftover destruction from the fires makes it more of a June Doom. Let’s do what we can to help restore the original meaning of the song.
Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.
Reference
1. Leonhardt D, Gessen M. The beautiful danger of normal life during an autocratic rise. New York Times. June 9, 2025. Accessed June 10, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/opinion/trump-shock-exhaustion.html
