I agree with you that in several of her columns that Dowd seems to be hurting. A good psychoanalyst would do wonders for her. I think that there are other issues at play here than the story she has written. Sounds to me like some childhood demons are nipping at her heels and she is refusing to look at them.
Hard to find. And she won't look where they can be found. She won't look anywhere probably because she doesn't seem to think anything's wrong with her.