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Fort Hood Shooter Was a Psychiatrist: When Mental Health Professionals Have Their Own Problems

By HERWriter
 
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The Fort Hood shooter was a psychiatrist. Sound ironic to anyone? One news station from Ghent, W.V. realized the importance of this connection.

A psychologist quoted in the article talked about the shooter possibly getting shooken up over his close deployment date. The fact that he had to listen to stories from other military personnel about their fears as well probably didn’t help, and he most likely didn’t deal with his stress in the correct way. Instead, he possibly relieved his stress by shooting people.

As the psychologist states, mental health personnel are people too. They’re not perfect and can be affected by what is told to them.

So this brings up the important questions: Did he have mental issues before becoming a psychologist?

According to an article on PsychCentral, the main reasoning behind his stress was the conflicting roles of his religion and his slight opposition to the war. The articles says, “He psychologically had difficulty with accepting his conflicting roles as a Muslim and as someone who would be called upon to heal those who are actively fighting Muslims.” He also didn’t have very many friends and wasn’t in close contact with his family. Though he did get some help from others, he apparently didn’t use the advice.

Although it is not certain if the shooter had a true psychological disorder, it could be assumed that he had something abnormal going on up there. Was this before or after he started working for the military, though? This brings up another question: should people with mental problems be allowed to work in the mental health field?

I personally have depression and still plan on going into the mental health field as a psychologist. Although I am not certain whether I want to do more of research or counsel people, I think I would be able to benefit others with similar problems that I have (depression, anxiety, stress, etc.), since I have personally gone through it myself. Then again, I am mostly a high-functioning individual who just happens to have some mental health problems.

There is a difference between a person who can function and cannot. I think this is the main distinction. However, what about those people who hide an even worse problem that could end up hurting others? What if a mass killer is hiding in the form of a psychologist?

It seems that a lot of psychologists have suffered from and currently deal with mental illnesses, according to an article from the APA Monitor. One psychologist was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was told he would be good as a psychologist if it weren’t for his illness. This motivated him to pursue this career and he hid his illness, according to the article. It seems he was a highly-functioning individual if he could hide his illness so well.

Not much came up when I searched for psychologist who had major mental illnesses, though I’m sure it’s not uncommon.

An interesting article I did find from the Daily Mail was about an unprofessional psychologist who might have had problems of her own. The psychologist had sex with one of the inmates she was treating, who had paranoid schizophrenia. She was pregnant with his child and decided to keep it, though she was married at the time. According to her testimony, she was “lonely, vulnerable, had low self- esteem and was not thinking clearly.”

This confirms the fact that psychologist also can have their own problems. However, it is expected that those in the mental health profession keep it professional and seek help when there are problems, just like any of their patients would.

Sources:
http://www.cbs59.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=69844
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/11/09/the-psychology-of-hasan-the-ft-hood-shooter/
http://www.apa.org/monitor/Oct99/cf1.html
http://www.apa.org/monitor/Oct99/cf1.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-514170/Married-prison-psychologist-fell-pregnant-affair-mentally-ill-inmate.html

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Rheyanne Weaver
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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.