"Oh let me taste your tears. Your tears are so yummy and sweet. Oh the tears of unfathomable sadness...mmmm yummy!"
Posted on 11/16/2004 3:38:10 AM PST by johnny7
Post Election Selection Trauma is a real problem, Florida clinicians say
Mental health officials in South Florida blasted Rush Limbaugh on Monday, saying the conservative talk show host’s offer of “free therapy” for traumatized John Kerry voters has made a mockery of a valid psychological problem.
“Rush Limbaugh has a way of back-handedly slamming people,” said Sheila Cooperman, a licensed clinician with the American Health Association (AHA) who listened Friday as Limbaugh offered to personally treat her patients. “He’s trying to ridicule the emotional state this presidential election produced in many of us here in Palm Beach County. Who is he to offer therapy?”
The Boca Raton News reported last week that more than 30 distraught Kerry supporters in South Florida contacted the non-profit AHA following their candidate’s Nov. 3 concession to President Bush. AHA officials have diagnosed the disorder as Post Election Selection Trauma (PEST) and have scheduled the first of several free group therapy sessions for just after Thanksgiving. Cooperman, whose professional practice is based in Delray Beach, said the election-related symptoms she sees in the Kerry supporters more than quality PEST as “a legitimate syndrome or disorder within the trauma spectrum,” according to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. “Rush Limbaugh has no clinical qualifications to counsel anyone,” Cooperman said. “He’s not only minimizing PEST, but he’s bastardizing the entire psychological field and our clinical expertise.”
Rob Gordon, AHA executive director, said Limbaugh’s radio musings caused the charity to receive hundreds of calls and letters from gloating Republicans. But he said he also received a small batch of letters and e-mails from people who said they understood why some Kerry voters would need therapy. A man named Paul wrote to AHA, “I too was very depressed, and I knew a lot people who felt the same way. You have to understand that to many of us, this was the key election about the future of our country, and with a Bush win that future is pretty much destroyed. Naturally, there’s going to be some significant grief.” “The people here in Palm Beach County now in therapy or support groups are the canaries in the mine shaft,” Gordon said. “There could be thousands of others, even Republicans, who need to be in therapy over this election.” Gordon said the AHA on Monday also received its first out-of-state call – from a fixed-income woman in Texas who is “absolutely terrified of what Bush will do” – and scheduled a free telephone therapy session with her for today.
Douglas Schooler, the Boca Raton trauma specialist who treated 20 people with hypnotherapy following Kerry’s loss, said he believes many people suffering from election-related symptoms are still afraid to step forward.“The Republicans want Kerry voters to shut up and pretend they’re not feeling anything,” Schooler said. “But many people have serious emotional pain over this election and it’s unhealthy to stuff it down inside of you. Therapy is the best way.” Although Schooler said he never listens to Limbaugh, he said he has been deluged by similar phone calls and attacked on South Florida’s radio talk shows. “Most of the calls I’m getting are from Republicans making fun of the whole thing,” Schooler said. “One guy wrote me a letter saying I should tell people to vote Republican and save themselves the stress. Republicans want to minimize the whole story of election fraud and voter anger.” Schooler said he did not expect the Republican gloating to stop anytime soon. Limbaugh, a Palm Beach County resident who owns $26 million worth of property in the area, read the two Boca News exclusives on his nationally syndicated radio program last week.
“So if anybody on the left wants some serious therapy here and counseling, I’m more than willing to offer my assistance as well,” Limbaugh said on Nov. 9. On Nov. 12, accused by Gordon of picking up the story to rub it in the faces of Democrats, Limbaugh said, “Now, my friends, I didn’t do that. I reached out. I offered a hand of friendship. I offered my own counseling services.” AHA officials, listening to the taped broadcasts, described Limbaugh’s tone of voice as sarcastic.
The depression of these libs is truly heart rendering. The therapists ought to immediately start using "big hug" therapy for all of their patients, the hugs to be provided by 20' reticulated pythons.
"I can't believe that the liberals were stupid enough to name the "stress disorder" as PEST."
In their eagerness to include the word "selection", they over looked the obvious. What losers.
Thank you.
If they are free of charge I would love to attend a session or two just to see what happens there and to make fun of them.
I am a psychologist and I've been mocking these losers for awhile. Unfortunately far too many in my profession are filled with condescension and self-importance so not surprisingly they are mostly liberals. I know of only two other psychologists who are conservative and both of them (like myself) are criminal/forensic psychologists which tend to draw a more "law and order" type of practitioner. The rest tend to be girly, french guys, and manly, Russian women.
When I first read this, I thought I must be reading The Onion. PEST! LOL!
These are Rats, you need industrial strength "De-Con" to eradicate these PESTS. RAID just won't cut the mustard. :-)
These people don't need to be treated for stress, they need to be treated for delusions.
bump
Okay. One man says something sarcastic, and now it's "The Republicans" who want Kerry voters to shut up? Why would we want that? Where would PJ-Comix get material for the DUmmie FUnnies if they shut up? I want them to keep talking!
Oy vey, you can't make this stuff up!
"Oh let me taste your tears. Your tears are so yummy and sweet. Oh the tears of unfathomable sadness...mmmm yummy!"
As someone with a Pscyh degree I can tell you "It sounds like some partisans are trying to pretend to be mental health officials."
Hypnotherapy Mr Douglas? They might as well employ Phrenology while breaking out the Tarot card deck.
When a therapist is perpetuating the delusions by saying, "Republicans want to minimize the whole story of election fraud and voter anger", then the therapist is neglext.
Is their voter anger? Yes. Is it realistic? No.
If anyone is acting inappropriately, it is the therapists cited in this story. They are reinforcing a delusion. This will only cause their patients to spiral further and further down.
The only thing I could suggest is that the therapist and his patients read my after-election commentary...
That's Rush!
"The Leary kid's in therapy again; their yard looks fabulous!"
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