Psychiatrists Weigh In On Rosie O'Donnell

David Letterman's got a great running gag: every night he makes a joke about Rosie O'Donnell which he prefaces by asking how many folks in the audience have read her new book, "Celebrity Detox." When no one claps, they break out laughing.

Obviously this proves that nobody cares about Rosie. Absolute proof positive that we don't give a damn.

Oh, except the book doesn't come out until next month.

Today the New York Post dives into gory detail about Rosie's craziness, quoting two "shrinks" about her extensive mental problems.

Ranting Rosie O'Donnell is full of rage, has a profound distrust of men, craves public adoration, shows signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and dishes out her anger mostly to women because of deep-seated abandonment issues over her mother's death, said a psychiatrist after reading her latest memoir, "Celebrity Detox."

The book is a Freudian frolic down memory lane that reveals clues to a secret trauma from her troubled childhood, two shrinks say.

O'Donnell is unable to control her neuroses or change her behavior, says Dr. Robert Butterworth, a Los Angeles clinical psychologist who specializes in childhood trauma. "Freud would have a field day with this book. . . ," he states. "Obviously, she has a whole thing with men. Donald Trump is like a substitute daddy paying for something that happened in her past."

"It's a book about her relationships with women, particularly the two 'Barbaras' -- Walters and Streisand," says Manhattan psychiatrist Susan Jaffe. "They are mother figures to Rosie. Streisand is the ideal mother, and Walters, by not speaking up for Rosie, abandoned her, like Rosie's mom did by dying. And Rosie's very disappointed in that."

Butterworth sees flashes of post-traumatic stress disorder in Rosie's angry eruptions, and says her early penchant for self-mutilation might also signal a more serious personality disorder, the doctor said, at least during her childhood.

Post "Shrinks" Diagnose Rosie

My sentiments exactly: the woman is an absolute mess. In fact, her craziness is sooo all-powerful and overwhelming it even make mental-health professionals forget about their rules of ethics:

American Psychiatric Association: The Principles of Medical Ethics With Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry

Section 7, subheading 3:

On occasion psychiatrists are asked for an opinion about an individual who is in the light of public attention or who has disclosed information about himself/herself through public media. In such circumstances, a psychiatrist may share with the public his or her expertise about psychiatric issues in general. However, it is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement.

Ethical Rules of Psychiatry

So, my opinion? Rosie's neurotic. And some doctors are unprofessional, gossipy quacks who'd sell out their parents for a few inches in the Post.

But who knows what I'd think if I'd ever gotten a degree?

Dr. Susan Jaffe, M.D.
220 East 54th Street, Suite 1C
New York, New York 10022

Dr. Robert R. Butterworth, Ph.D.
http://www.drbutterworth.net

Google to read Dr. Butterworth's opinions on Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Mel Gibson and the Olsen Twins.