On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 7:08 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 6:23 PM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > > On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 6:17 PM, Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> If Pinsky claimed he was doing treatment I believe the issue of patient > >> confidentiality would kick in. > > > > > > Right - that is one of my concerns (there are a couple of others). But I > > noticed that in Pinsky's quotes today he says something like "McCready" > has > > not been in treatment with me for a while" - which seemed to imply that > she > > had been in treatment with him at some time in the past - presumably when > > she was on his show? > > His reality shows were called "Celebrity Rehab," not "Celebrity Coffee > Talk With A Guy Who Is Coincidentally A Doctor." There is no doubt to > any reasonable mind that the victims were patients seeking treatment, > not merely guests on a talk show. Pinsky took advantage of people with > serious problems, convincing them the solutions were to be found on a > television series. I watched one episode years ago with my sister, > against my better judgement, and when I asked her why she watched it, > her reply was (paraphrasing), "Because I cannot believe how messed up > these people are." The show was akin to a carnival freakshow with > Pinsky as the barker luring people inside the tent to gawk at the > weirdos. > > To respond to Pgage's comment about the percentage of victims not > being relevant, I agree and think we can backcheck the archives of > this message board to see I have been against Pinsky's tactics from > murder one. It is his methods (put people on TV, ostensibly to help > them, despite any evidence that national exposure of addiction leads > to a cure) that I find sinister. I call him a murderer because > assuming his degree is genuine, he had to know a television show such > as the one he did was going to cause harm. From the innocuous (by > today's standard) Jenny Jones case to the guy with the Golden Throat > to any of the others whose issues were thrust into the spotlight, TV > is not the cure for anything. I don't think a literal charge of murder can be supported against Pinsky, but the more I read about his show the more alarmed I get. On the website for the show it emphasizes that the patients have sought actual treatment, and that Pinsky is supervising the treatment. I have not found yet where it says he is actually administering treatment - but as Kevin notes, this probably is not necessary to establish a treatment relationship. I am pretty sure that in my profession (clinical psychology), the standard is that a professional in a situation like this can be assumed to be offering treatment unless they give a clear and explicit disclaimer. I have also learned that Pinsky (or rather, I guess the producers of the show) pay the patients/cast members to be on the show, plus give them 3 weeks of free in-patient therapy (worth about $50,000). I believe this level of incentive is so high that most ethics boards would consider it to be coercive - meaning that any consent the patients/cast give is not valid. The conflict of interest here is astounding - Pinsky is most likely getting paid for doing the show, and even if he donates his time, the benefits to him in terms of fame and reputation are substantial. Thus he has an interest in the show being successful that can only be contrary to the best interests of what we must refer to as his patients. -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
