Modified On December 14, 2006
After we posted about the forensic counselor who declared that all comedians have attention deficit (“It’s official: Standup comics are sick”), we decided to get a second opinion.
Who better to ask than Dr. Will Miller? Miller is former spokestherapist for Nick At Nite, a comedy veteran and a “recognized expert in the area of interpersonal relationships, organizational health and workplace culture!”
Here’s what he had to say:
It is always suspicious when a therapist sees others through the lens of their own diagnosis. How cheap and easy and, by the way, ethically ill-advised. I am happy that the doctor has discerned his own psychological problem and found good medication for himself. But clearly his generalizations about comedians are absurd and offensive. Of course there are comics who struggle with attention deficit and even hyper activity. And perhaps comics share some of these characteristics at a higher incidence then the general population. But he is shamelessly over-reaching with his arm-chair diagnosis. Does Emo fit the same psychological profile as Jerry Seinfeld?
Do Brian Regan and Jim Carey share a similar brain style? Where is the evidence of ADHD in Steven Wright? I never got an ADHD vibe from Paul Reiser or Jeff Foxworthy.
This is, of course nonsense. It’s bad enough when media pundits pose as experts talking about politics and culture. But it is inappropriate and unethical for mental health professionals to publicly speculate about the mental state of someone they have not seen and do not know. Any new comic will tell you that Richard’s rant, whose content was egregious to be sure, was more likely rooted in his inexperience being confronted by rude crowd behavior. And to propose letting him off the hook because of a speculative psychological diagnosis is false. His vitriol does indeed suggest racial animus more than ADHD. Richards may be a television celebrity but he is a raw newcomer to the world of nightclub standup. It took me a few years and hundreds of performances to handle interruptions with calm equilibrium. To suggest that Richards has ADHD (a ridiculous presumption) or bipolar disorder (a serious psychiatric diagnosis) tells me that this forensic psychologist needs to shut his yapper rather than trying to insert himself into a nasty media storm. I might suggest that the Doctor has misdiagnosed himself. From what I read he may well have a narcissistic personality disorder that can be treated with psychotherapy and a different medication than the one he is taking. And it is very likely that he is repressing his bitter rage that he is unable to be a standup comic himself. I mean if he too has ADHD, maybe he should get his butt onstage on open mike night. He would come to appreciate the interior strength it takes to be a standup comedian.
Just kidding, of course. You cannot diagnose someone you don’t know. Michael Richards has to work out this mess himself with the help of a professional who is actually speaking to him. CAPICE, DOCTOR?
Dr. Will holds four graduate degrees and is a practicing psychotherapist at Purdue University where he lectures on popular and organizational culture and the media. Will spent 16 years as a professional comic in New York City and, according to his email sign-off, “probably has ADHD.” to be his MySpace friend, click here.