Andrew Yang Policy on CLOSELY MONITOR MENTAL HEALTH OF WHITE HOUSE STAFF

[Sherman A1]

Working in the White House, by all accounts, is a stressful job. It can exacerbate existing mental health issues, or trigger latent ones.

While mental health can be improved and those who suffer from issues are often productive members of society, staying well requires constant work. Additionally, the information that flows through the White House, and the work done there, is of utmost importance.

There should be a White House Psychologist group whose job it is to monitor the mental health of employees serving in the executive branch. All those employed – including the president – should undergo regular mental health evaluations, and the psychologists should be free to make recommendations as to each individual’s fitness for whatever office they hold and refer people to the White House Chief of Staff.

"Being a senior government official is a stressful job. It stands to reason that there should be a psychologist on staff who is able to treat people, help them sort through issues and flag potential problems. My brother is a psychology professor—I believe in the power and good that the discipline can do. We should be 100% confident that people in power don't have severe psychological problems. This will also help reduce the stigma around counseling for those who would benefit from it, which is pretty much everybody."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/white-house-psychologist/

[calimary]

1. I bet most of THIS White House staff is messed up, bigtime.

Or is that “bigly”?

[sprinkleeninow]

2. They must be to associate with the orange one. eom

[JNelson6563]

3. It would be simpler at this point

To just turn WH into an asylum.

That aside, I agree with the point of mental health maintenance for WH.

[Ramsey Barner]

4. "You mean there's a catch?"

"Sure there's a catch," the White House psychologist replied. "Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of this White House isn't really crazy."

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. The White House staffer was crazy and could be furloughed. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to perform more missions. The staffer would be crazy to perform more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane, he had to perform them. If he performed them, he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to, he was sane and had to. The Fox News reporter was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

[Ilsa]

5. I don't agree about requiring mental health exams.

The WH could provide a list of counselors who've been vetted for security purposes so the client can be open and frank in their sessions.

The proposal requires personnel to provide health information to a medical professional who has not earned the trust of that person on a personal basis. They will be less than forthcoming.

I think this is a bad idea.

[Sherman A1]

6. I have the opposite viewpoint

and believe it to be a good idea. A condition of employment to work in what is certainly a pressure cooker of a workplace. Just as many employers require drug testing for safety reasons, I find this to be along the same lines.

[Ilsa]

8. A lot of psychological testing is

Objective observation and subjective reports from the subject. Comfort level and trust are critical to getting good data to make a judgment on. This is why there is very little psychological testing for jobs. I don't think a fair evaluation of everyone is possible.

Furthermore, who is going to decide which psychologist or psychiatrist is worthy of making that judgment, or if they won't use their position of authority for personal gain?

You could have someone in a job that is hardworking, knowledgable, and effective, but still be a narcissist or a unpopular person that other people complain about. The psychiatrist could do what they want with their assessment, just like trump's MD has done.

As for stress, it resides in most disciplines. An OR is a pressure cooker. Air traffic controllers and SWAT teams live with daily stress. We give guns to people in security and military who've never talked to a shrink.

I think we have more safeguards in the WH than at the local sheriff's office!

[BannonsLiver]

7. Not unlike a lot of Yang's ideas.

They seem to be geared more toward low info voters looking for simple solutions to complex problems. Unfortunately that’s not how the world always works.