General Discussion

Your excellent question to Dr. Lee about whether episodes of intense stress can trigger psychosis—and her answer—will help some of us to understand why psychiatrists who’ve studied Trump never touch the subject of how to access Trump’s weak points or exploit them to gain a psychological advantage or throw him off balance. That’s been one frustration for those of us who read books like “Dangerous Case” and “Dangerous Charisma” trying to ascertain ways to identify, access and trigger his psychological vulnerabilities (and pass them onto people who are in a position to do so).

A responsible psychiatrist would never provide advice on this because of the inherent risk, and because the “Duty to Warn” is counterbalanced by the duty to “Do no Harm.” And since one outcome might be a psychotic episode, the consequences are unknowable and potentially hazardous. It would likely be gross professional misconduct and the repercussions (not to mention the liability) could be immense. Therefore, it’s understandable that mental health professionals like Dr. Lee are reluctant to go near this subject.