Psychotherapist On Fox News Reveals Just How Much ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ Now Shapes Sessions
A New York City psychotherapist told Fox News over the weekend that he’s seeing a sharp rise in patients experiencing significant stress and anxiety tied to President Trump.
Jonathan Alpert, appearing on Sunday Briefing with Peter Doocy, emphasized that the phrase “Trump Derangement Syndrome”—often used by Republican lawmakers to dismiss criticism of the president—is not an actual clinical diagnosis. Still, he said the emotional struggles some of his patients are facing, driven by their anger toward Trump, are very real and increasingly alarming.
Alpert, who recently wrote about the trend in The Wall Street Journal, said divisions over Trump have strained families and friendships. “We see great division in families and friendships broken up over how someone may feel about Trump,” he explained.
On Fox News, Alpert described symptoms he encounters in his practice that resemble those of other disorders: “People are highly anxious, they’re angry, they can’t sleep. One person even said she couldn’t enjoy a family vacation as long as Trump is out there.” He said these patterns are serious enough that he would “go so far as to call this a mental-health epidemic, and in some ways the defining pathology of the past decade.”
To help patients who feel overwhelmed by their anger toward President Trump, Alpert said he works with them to “separate fact from fiction” and recognize when their thoughts are becoming distorted or ungrounded.
Some patients bring up Trump within moments of starting a session, he said, while others who appear anxious or depressed ultimately trace their distress to a fixation on the president. “Trump dominates probably about three-quarters of the sessions of the patients that I have,” Alpert noted.
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