Sure, this part doesn't last long. But the worrying and the fear never stops; it only takes new forms. I believe people when they say it's worth it, but that means it's worth it for them.
I may have kids yet, and I think it would be a great joy. I also think that the money, time, and anxiety saved, not to mention the places I will live and trips I will take will also be a great joy. Shit, I just got offered a six-month work stint in South Africa TODAY. I asked my boss if he wasn't interested in taking it. "I'd love to," he said. "But I've got kids."
Biltong, baby. MMMMM.
I remember him being called to the hospital at crazy hours in the middle of the night through my childhood, and I would find out things years later from my mother ('oh, there was a rash of PCP use in the early '90s'), and I remember him being very quiet and reserved ('one of your father's patients killed himself'). That's the limit of the info I would get. He takes his responsibilities to his patients very, very seriously. So while he couldn't and wouldn't discuss his patients with us, he could talk to me about other, published case studies. I assume he had a supervisor with whom he discussed his own patients and his experience as an analyst.
Long response short - I think demystifying this is a good thing. Not only crazy people go to therapists. They see all ends of the scale and some raw edges of humanity to which we're not all privy. It IS possible to share and discuss this stuff without violating patient confidentiality, and I am in favor of this the ideas behind this series.
The concerns you raise are all valid and grave, but I am both interested in this and inclined to give it the ethical benefit of the doubt, because these 'specific' examples are actually not specific at all.
With absolute respect for your very genuine points, I hope my perspective makes some sense as well.
These are extreme examples. If the series continues, I would expect the therapist would present more common issues (this post seems a bit more sensationalist, as a hook). I see it as an attempt to edify and demystify the therapeutic experience.
If it turned out these were existing patients, then yes, that's unethical. But I seriously doubt that's the case.
Google 'rhyming slang' and you'll find a slew of these. And I can confirm, as a native Texan and U.K. resident, that I get called a Yank with some regularity. You best believe I shut that shit down.
But really, if she she had a scary reaction (if this is at all true), it may be because she's in generally ill health. She certainly looks... brittle, lately. I've never cared for Demi, but have serious love in my heart for G.I. Jane. She clearly has inner resources of awesome, and I hope she digs for them.
I found it blood-boiling. To wit:
''The increasing number of men in receptionist and other traditionally female roles, such as PAs, represents a dramatic breakdown of the Mad Men office image of submissive secretaries like Joan - played by Christina Hendricks - working for alpha male executives.
And the recession has helped remove the stigma from being a male receptionist, with banks and law firms giving the role far more responsibility - and pay to match.'
Ignoring that fact that Joan is hardly a submissive secretary and that I am all for men working in 'female' employ - that's great! - that this is directly linked in the article to pay rises made me gnash my teeth.
I haven't seen 'Angry Boys' yet, so will reserve judgment, but I'm cautiously optimistic. I thought with SHH, Lilley proved that he's a hell of a lot more than a cheap laugh in orange tanner and a curly wig. I thought that was genuine social commentary.
Side note: I have apparently picked up 'povo' as part of my vocabulary, thanks to J'amie. Jokingly, of course, but need to be careful with that one. Hmmm.