Bush on the Couch

Infobox Book
name = Bush on the Couch
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = US cover of "Bush on the Couch"
author = Justin Frank
illustrator =
cover_artist = Rodrigo Corral Design
country = United States
language = English
series =
subject = George W. Bush, psychoanalysis
genre = Non-fiction
publisher = Regan Books
release_date = 2004
english_release_date =
media_type =
pages = 247 pp
isbn = ISBN 0060736704
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of a President" is a 2004 book by psychoanalyst Justin Frank. The central premise of Frank's book is that President George W. Bush displays signs of poor mental health which makes him ill-suited to rule the most powerful nation on earth. Frank suggests Bush suffers from megalomania, that he is probably incapable of true compassion and shows signs of sadism, and that as an untreated alcoholic, is in constant danger of a relapse. Further, in Frank's opinion, Bush manifests the symptoms of a dry drunk, principally irritability, judgmentalism and a rigid, inflexible world view. Frank also analyses, amongst other things, Bush’s tendency to mix up his metaphors and concludes Bush has substantial problems with abstract, flexible thinking.

An updated version of the book was released in October, 2007, including a new introduction and a new afterword.

Critical analysis of the book

"Bush on the Couch" has received endorsements from such distinguished professors of psychiatry as Irvin Yalom of Stanford University and James Grotstein (UCLA), who calls it a "remarkable – and frightening – piece of careful scholarship." Frank's book also has its detractors. Irwin Savodnik, a psychiatrist who teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles, described Frank's book as a "psychoanalytic hatchet job" and said that "there is not an ounce of psychoanalytic material in the entire book." [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Protected/Articles/000/000/004/644uyavx.asp Shrinking the President: A mind is a dangerous thing to psychoanalyze] , "The Weekly Standard", September 27 2004] The code of the American Psychiatric Association, of which Frank is not a current member, states that "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." [ [http://www.psych.org/psych_pract/ethics/ppaethics.cfm The Principles of Medical Ethics: With Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry] ] Although Frank had in the past written for "Salon.com", the online magazine reviewed the book unfavorably, arguing that it included "dubious theories" and that Frank had failed in his avowed intention to distinguish his partisan opinions from his psychoanalytic evaluation of Bush's character. [http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2004/06/16/bush_on_couch/index_np.html The inner W] , "Salon (magazine)", June 16 2004]

However, in interviews Frank freely admits his partisan affiliation, but claims his book is in a tradition of psychological assessments of leaders frequently undertaken, for example, by the CIA. Frank also claims that some of his readers have reacted to his book by gaining increased sympathy for Bush; for example, Joan Baez admitted this to Frank.

Reviews

* [http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/6843.html History News Network Review]
* [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=4644&r=uyavx Shrinking the President: A mind is a dangerous thing to psychoanalyze] , "The Weekly Standard", September 19, 2004
* [http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2004/06/16/bush_on_couch/print.html The inner W] , "Salon", June 16, 2004
* [http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/307/1/40/ Book Review – Bush on the Couch, by Justin Frank] , a review - "Political Affairs", October 3, 2003

References

* [http://www.worldinternetnews.net/artman/publish/spring2006/drfrankfull.mp3 "World Internet News": Interview with Dr. Justin Frank, April 2006.]
*Bush, George W., "A Charge to Keep", William Morrow, New York, NY 1999. ISBN 0-688-17441-8
*Frank, Justin, "Bush on the Couch", Regan Books, New York, NY 2004 ISBN 0-06-073670-4
*Gould, Lewis L. (editor), "American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy", Garland Publishing, New York and London, 1996 ISBN 0-8153-2585-1
*Lardner, George Jr. and Romano, Lois, July 26, 1999. "Tragedy Created Mother-Son Bond," "The Washington Post".
*Minutaglio, Bill, "First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty", Crown Books, New York NY 1999 ISBN 0-609-80867-2