An Actual Psychiatrist

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So Pat Robertson's viewers have their work cut out for them.

The famous Matt Lauer interview with Tom Cruise will not go away, and I find myself thinking about the various representatives of the 'psychological sciences' that I have been unfortunate enough to encounter in my long life.

My introduction to 'psychology' came in a college course in Salina Kansas back in about 1962. I was an airman based at Schilling AFB, and was taking night time college courses offered by a local Kansas college (Bethany?). I loved Psychology. I took Sociology and loved it too. My grades were much higher than the ones I managed to eke out in high school, probably because I found the subject matter fascinating as opposed to utterly boring.

My very first encounter with a 'psychiatrist' was something of a lark: I had discovered a lump on my ribs and had visited my physician (tap). His examination revealed that it was not cancer at all but actually a normal physical attribute. I felt extremely silly. He suggested that I see a psychiatrist. He handed me the phone number of a 'highly recommended professional.'

You, no doubt, would immediately have found a new doctor. But I was sooooo naive in those days. Also, I was intrigued: what would it be like to talk to an actual psychiatrist?