Every Therapist's Worst Nightmare: The Colorado Massacre

After the recent shootings in Colorado, it's now come to light that the shooter, James Holmes, was under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Lynne Fenton. Latest news reports don't indicate what, exactly, he was being seen for, but they are clearly pointing toward a serious disorder, such a schizophrenia, because Dr. Fenton specializes in it. (Perhaps the fact that he died his hair bright orange and called himself "The Joker" might have also given his mental state away.)

James "The Joker" Holmes

A similar thing happened in the Virginia Tech shootings. When Seung-Hui Cho's records were released back in 2009, it was apparent that he had suffered from some serious mental disorders and had ongoing suicidal ideation. Triage counselors at the psych ward where Cho was seen must have been shaking in their shoes as their exact case notes regarding Cho came to light.

I imagine the same thing will happen with court-ordered subpoenas for Fenton's notes. 


All that is known right now is that Holmes sent Dr. Fenton a package containing a notebook of some sort, and while communications between therapists and clients are privileged, if there was something in the notebook that could have indicated his plans to open fire on a group of midnight movie-goers, she would have had a duty to warn (also called a duty to protect). By the way, according to ABC, she never received the notebook.


I realize the public is clamoring for a "fall guy," a scapegoat on which to blame the tragedy. Her entire background is now circumspect, with information coming out about her being disciplined by the medical board of Colorado about poor documentation and prescribing pills to herself and family members. So she's done some wrong--who hasn't?--but it's not fair to lay everything at Fenton's feet. Lay the blame where it deserves to be lain: JAMES HOLMES. He alone made the choice to open fire.

Dr. Lynne Fenton

I've been in a couple of situations where I had serious concern about a client's mental state enough to call the police and have them escorted (voluntarily or involuntarily) to the emergency psychiatric services unit.


A client says something in my office that reeks of instability, makes my heart pound, and my gut squeeze. So I do what the law requires, and when they reach the psych ward....they sometimes are released a few hours later, b/c the client knew exactly what to say to get out of Dodge.


"I was just joking. I'd never hurt myself."


"I just said that to get attention. I'd never kill anyone."


This is NO JOKE. Mentally unstable clients know the buzz words to use. I would not be liable if a client I had concerns about was released, and then later went to kill themselves or someone else. The psych ward people would be, though. I would have documented my treatment approach, my referral (whether voluntary or involuntary) to psychiatric services, and then it's quite literally out of my hands. 


Now if a client gave me a name of someone he'd want to kill, I'd have a legal (and moral/ethical) obligation to contact that person and warn them. I'd also need to contact the police. But I'm going to assume (b/c I have the need to trust in Fenton's treatment of Holmes) that she knew nothing of his homicidal urges. And since she didn't see this alleged notebook, she shouldn't be held liable if there is something in there indicating what Holmes was planning to do.


This truly is a therapist's worst nightmare. Having your treatment decisions called into question at all--much less by the national media--is enough to ruin a career forever...even if the therapist is exonerated. There is still a taint now associated with her name. Do you think the University of Colorado is happy? Do you think she'll keep that job very long?


I just urge my readers to keep an open mind (as I'm going to) and reserve judgment until more is known about Dr. Fenton's treatment of the Holmes. 


Let's Analyze: How many public tragedies can you recall that have been pinned to a mental health professional besides the Virginia Tech shooting?


I'm going to be out the rest of the week until Friday's Free Association Chain. My parents are visiting, and I need a break! See you Friday.

Friday Free Association Chain

The words are....

IN-LAWS.

RULES: First commenter free associates (writes the first word that comes to mind) with the above word. Second commenter free associates to the first commenter's word, and so on. Remember - the FIRST thing that comes to mind.

Go!

And don't forget! Click here for a chance to win Keli Gwyn's debut nove,  A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, CA!

Exciting Trademark News!

I received notice that my trademark application was published in the Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office just yesterday! This means that I'll receive an official registration of my company's name within 12 weeks! Here's a copy from the publication:




Check that out! Pretty cool news to me, so I wanted to share! Thanks for celebrating with me!

Don't forget! Click here for a chance to win Keli Gwyn's debut nove,  A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, CA!

Review and Giveaway of Keli Gwyn's A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California

I'm honored to welcome debut novelist and friend, Keli Gwyn, to the character therapist! Keli is an amazing example of perseverance in the publishing world, and her book is such a long-awaited pleasure that I can't wait to introduce you to.

Here's a blurb from Keli's website:

An ever-resourceful widow, Elenora Watkins arrives in El Dorado ready to go into partnership with Miles Rutledge. When he refuses, Elenora becomes the competition across the street. Is this town big enough for the two of them?

Miles can’t help but stick his well-polished boot in his mouth whenever he comes face-to-face with Elenora. Can he find a way to win her heart while destroying her business?

Miles’s mother, Maude, is bent on Elenora becoming her new daughter-in-law while Elenora’s daughter, Tildy, thinks Miles would make a perfect papa. How far will these meddlers go to unite this enterprising pair?

Can't wait to sink your teeth into it, right? The premise is unusual, creative, and really appeals to my competitive streak, that's for sure. "Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you!" might as well as be Elenora's theme song.

Keli transports the reader back to the Wild West, and I could just picture Miles' and Ellie's stores facing each other, with them sneaking looks out the window at each other. Keli also has a knack for turning a phrase. One of my favorites for "putting his foot in his mouth" was "tickled his tonsils with his toes." Come on....you've got to love that alliteration and freshness.

Donning my therapist cap, Keli saddled both her characters with previous marriages that weren't all that rosy. Their past experiences (and future expectations of trying to avoid more of the same) play a large role in the two of them keeping each other at arm's length.

Kudos to Keli for driving an arrow straight into Mr. Rutledge's heart by providing a traumatic experience later on in the book that is pretty much his worst nightmare relived. And you romance lovers out there will swoon over the Ellie-Miles moment that follows. Promise.

Keli has generously agreed to gift one lucky commenter with her debut!! My giveaways are a perk for my blog readership, so please make sure to click "Follow" to the right and then leave a comment with your email address below. The giveaway will run until Sunday.

Let's Analyze: How many of you have a "meddling" in-law like Maude? Thankfully, I don't! That Maude was pretty sneaky!

Weekend Funnies: For All You Cat Lovers Out There

Sounds like the life to me!

Friday Free Association Chain

In honor of my weekend plans (hello, Sacramento Faith Writers!), 
the word is....

CONFERENCE.

RULES: First commenter free associates (writes the first word that comes to mind) with the above word. Second commenter free associates to the first commenter's word, and so on. Remember - the FIRST thing that comes to mind.

Go!

Suicide by Facebook?

I wanted to take some time to talk about suicide and social media. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US, and it's a preventable problem!

It seems that more and more deaths and suicides are being preceded by posts on Facebook or Twitter or MySpace. Simone Back updated her status on Facebook on Christmas Day, 2010, to say, "Took all my pills be dead soon bye bye everyone." She had over 1000 friends and none reached out to help. Some even posted heartless messages back to her, stating it was her choice or calling her a liar. 


Bart Heller updated his Facebook status on December 12, 2011, with this: "Someone call 911. Three dead bodies at 3229 Lima Road, Fort Wayne, Indiana. I've killed Ryann, Erin, and myself. People were warned not to play me and ruin me. They didn't listen. Sorry about your luck." 


A friend in Washington State saw the status update, looked up police in Fort Wayne, gave them the address, and they were dispatched 18 minutes after Bart's status. Unfortunately, all three were dead, just as Bart had said.

Facebook teamed with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in December 2011 to enable Facebook users to report a suicidal comment they see posted by a friend on the site. They can literally connect that person to help almost immediately.

Facebook users can go to the link to Report Suicidal Content. (You can find this link just by going to Facebook's help section and typing in "suicidal content.") You can check if the person is in the military or not, their full name, the content of what was posted (copy/pasted) and any additional info you feel relevant.

Facebook can respond directly to the user via email (if appropriate), indicating that someone on Facebook is concerned about their safety, and encourage the user to enter a confidential online chat session with a crisis counselor or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Lifeline is available 24/7.

Twitter has done something similar, allowing users to report suicidal of self-harm content here.

I thought that not only would this information benefit you as fellow humans of suffering people in the world, but also as writers. You never know when something like this might show up in one of your novels. I'm just grateful that Facebook and other social media networks are trying to address this very real problem.

Let's Analyze: Have you ever heard about a friend or yours who posted suicidal content on the web? What else do you think Facebook/Twitter/etc could do?