Bad Economy is Great for Shrinks
We just heard that shrinks in New York are suffering from a slowdown in business due to widespread belt-tightening, but apparently not the ones the Observer talks to, who say that an epidemic of stress means business is good, and will likely boom as the fallout from the economic crash continues. (Of course, they might just be using their training to manipulate us: If so many people are getting therapy, maybe we should too!) But what important insights are emerging from inside the consulting rooms?
It seems that everyone is directing their angst and hatred at Sarah Palin, who is, says Upper West Side psychiatrist Harold Bronheim, "a particular object of ridicule, sort of a hot button for peoples' concerns and anxieties." Well, at least she finally has a useful purpose.
Also: Master-of-the-universe types who are no longer the breadwinners in their relationships might become wife-beaters! Warns Dr. Robert Klitzman: "[When] he no longer has his power and his way he could become angry; he could become verbally abusive and there is a potential for other kinds of violence." So there's a good sales pitch for psychiatry: Get your out-of-work husband to the doctor, or you'll only have yourself to blame when he gives you a black eye.
