Comments by David Elkins, PhD

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  • Larry, thank you for this moving and courageous message. Speaking truth to power is, it seems, a lost art. The desire to “fit in” and to be sure everyone “likes” you may be the greatest sin of our time. As a professor of psychology who is also retired, I share your concerns about the way our profession has changed. I would underscore one of your examples: the idea in DSM that human beings should grieve for only two weeks after the loss of a loved one reveals a deep misunderstanding of the nature of human beings — by a profession that is supposed to be “expert” in that area. Fortunately, there are some in psychology who have a better sense of what it means to be human and just how life-giving and life-sustaining genuine love and friendship are. It takes me more than two weeks to get over a stumped toe. The idea that I should get over the death of a loved one in two weeks and that, if I haven’t, then I must be mentally ill — goodness, goodness, goodness! What have we come to???

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