Unprotected A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness
in Her Profession Endangers Every Student
by Anonymous, M.D.
Sentinel HC, 224 pp., $23.95

According to a 2004 survey by the American College Health Association, nearly half of all college students report having felt so depressed at school that they have had trouble functioning. The National Survey of Counseling Center Directors revealed last year that nine percent of all students sought help at their college mental health center. Many suffer eating disorders, self-mutilation, binge-drinking, the stress of boyfriends, exams, and broad-spectrum angst.

Inevitably, some of these afflicted souls have come to the office of Dr. Anonymous, a psychiatrist who works in the mental health clinic of a large university. They are lucky to have found her, given the bracing level-headedness and compassion she brings to the job.

In this sobering exposé, Dr. A argues that the culture on campus--and in her profession--is so steeped in political correctness that it hamstrings the ability of therapists to help college students. The doctor's frustration steams off every page: "We ask about child abuse, but not last week's hook-ups," she laments. "We want to know how many cigarettes and coffees she's had each day, but not how many abortions in her past. We consider the stress caused by parental expectations and rising tuition, but neglect the anguish of herpes, the hazards of promiscuity, and the looming fertility issues for women who put their career first."

These are just a few of Dr. A's field notes, many of them transcribed in the pressured style of someone wailing in the wilderness. Indeed, the book could just as easily have been titled "Diary of a Mad Psychiatrist." It's hard to know how many of Dr. A's colleagues share her perspective, but Unprotected suggests that their numbers are dwarfed by purveyors of ideologically correct therapy. "My profession has been hijacked," she complains.

If she is right, it is not surprising. The counseling, psychology, and public health professions have been infiltrated by those who often put their social and political agendas above the needs of their patients. Indeed, campus mental health appears to be yet another stage on which the ethos of the culture wars--victimology, diversity, hostility toward traditional sex roles and family values, and (selective) non-judgmentalism--is playing itself out. But because so much of the action goes on behind the closed doors of therapy sessions, the topic is rarely aired in public.

Dr. A does a graphic job of showing how the campus environment can be a parent's worst nightmare. As an example, she offers an explicit website sponsored by Columbia University's Health Education Program, which provides advice such as "Phone sex: Getting started," "Politics of Group Sex," and "how to clean a leather cat-o-nine tails between uses especially if it drew blood." (Answer: Hydrogen peroxide.)

In the training workshops she attends, Dr. A would like to see less focus on sexual experimentation and social oppression in the counseling of young people and more consideration of meaning, hope, and purpose. "Many would benefit from being less self-absorbed, not more," she says. Indeed, the general sensibility on campus, as the author paints it, is a jumble of mixed messages. It assumes, on one hand, that students will be overwhelmed by news of disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina, but that, on the other, they can breezily handle "hook-ups"--nearly nameless sexual encounters. It urges therapists to ask about a student's sexual preference, but not whether he is a person of faith. The prevailing wisdom says that getting an HIV test is a personal decision to be made "only if you can handle it," while an abortion is something one simply takes in stride.

The folly of the campus "wellness" movement is most dramatically underscored by these inconsistencies. When it comes to actual students, however, the thesis of Unprotected would have been more powerful if Dr. A had showed exactly how her fellow therapists have failed them.

For example, she talks about Stacey, a student who contracted HPV, a sexually transmitted disease. The girl was panicked and started cutting her arms to cope with the stress--a troubling scenario, indeed. But how did therapy ill-serve her? Had she been misguided or ill-informed by a prior counselor? It's not clear. Then there is Ned, a devout Christian. While it is true that mental health professionals are a notably secular crowd, we don't hear that the other therapists Ned saw ridiculed him for his beliefs, or tried to persuade him to relinquish his values--though, I confess, it is a scenario one can imagine.

College-bound teens (especially women) and their parents are the target audience here. But Unprotected should also be read by student mental health professionals; the leadership of the American Psychological and Psychiatric Associations, respectively; and college administrators. In reading it they will either learn about disturbing "therapeutic" trends they did not know existed--and thereby, one hopes, be moved to do something about them--or be put on notice that the biased milieu they themselves helped foster is being called to account. Or, perhaps, some would recognize themselves in Dr. A and be emboldened to speak out on behalf of students at their schools.

Social trends can be tricky to document, but Dr. A does a good job. She cites peer-reviewed studies of psychologists' political preferences, antireligion commentary contained in psychology textbooks, literature from the American Psychological Association, "educational" websites, chat rooms, and an avalanche of pamphlets available at student health centers. It's not a scientific analysis, but the PC trends are unmistakable. Also, most chapters contain informative and highly readable reviews of relevant topics, such as the epidemiology of AIDS, the biology of STDs, and the dynamics of fertility. (The discussion of protection against HPV, however, seems too negative regarding the value of condoms.)

Some off-notes are struck, however. Dr. A's description of the relationship of well-being to religious activities is a bit muddled. Yes, data reliably show that children who grow up in a religious household, pray, and believe in God are less likely to smoke, use illicit drugs, and have premarital sex than nonobservant peers. But this by no means indicates that troubled students will attain mental health if a therapist directs them to begin attending church or to pray, as she seems to suggest. I also found the tone shrill in places, and I wonder whether Dr. A's obvious personal belief that embracing traditional values of faith and family is essential to leading a rewarding life may undermine her important message for readers who don't share her convictions about how one should live.

These caveats aside, Unprotected is a significant exposé. If students are being deprived of understanding and sensitive guidance, or are not given a full picture of the potential consequences of their actions, then campus therapists are woefully derelict, if not professionally negligent.

One last issue deserves consideration: authorship. When I finished Unprotected, I thought it was a shame that Anonymous, M.D.--who explains that she used the pseudonym to insulate herself from professional retaliation--didn't bite the bullet and declare her name proudly. In the end, she did. Dr. Miriam Grossman of UCLA came out of the closet on Dr. Laura Schlessinger's radio show this fall. Now that she has laid down the gauntlet, let's hope that similarly concerned professionals come forward to press for balance in the psychological care of college students.

Sally Satel, M.D., is the coauthor of One Nation Under Therapy: How the Helping Culture Is Eroding Self-Reliance.