Diagnosing from a Distance

John Martin-Joy, M.D., is a psychiatrist in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a part-time lecturer in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts.

• Introduction. An ethical dilemma; 1. Psychoanalysis, media, and politics from the rise of Hitler to the 1950s; Part I. Diagnosis from a Distance and Libel Law in the 1960s: Goldwater v. Ginzburg: 2. Ralph Ginzburg: provocateur; 3. 'To remove this precedent': Barry Goldwater sues for libel; 4. Ginzburg, Goldwater, and the Supreme Court; Part II. Professionalization and the Rise of the Goldwater Rule; 5. 'To protect public figures': the APA and the Goldwater Rule; 6. The CIA and the White House: adventures in assessment; 7. Furor: the debate over Donald Trump; Conclusion. On history, ethics, and pluralism; Appendix. The Goldwater Rule in 1973 and today; Acknowledgments; Notes; Works cited; Index.

'Psychiatrists are often asked in casual conversation for a diagnosis without a personal examination. Using many primary sources rarely discussed in previous surveys, John Martin-Joy provides a detailed and far-reaching analysis of the implications of such a scenario. Fascinating, thought-provoking, and highly recommended.' Thomas G. Gutheil, Harvard University