T he consultation was an interesting one from the get-go.
“Someone thinks my husband has an anger problem” said Rebbetzin Elbaz.
Every psychiatrist has his specialty; I find I’m personally drawn to yeshivah bochurim who are struggling with anxiety. My dear friend Dr. Pesach has made a career of assessing patients with Jerusalem Syndrome. My best buddy from back at Harvard is out in San Francisco working with business executives facing their midlife crises.
On the other hand every psychiatrist also has the kind of patient they generally find challenging to work with. Some of my colleagues loathe to treat patients with addictions and alcoholism others could never wrap their head around schizophrenia or issues of treatment nonadherence. I’ve personally never been shy about taking a tough case but any time I hear the term “anger issues ” I need to ask a few more questions. I want to make sure that my personal safety won’t be compromised by taking on a violent patient. Therefore I found it necessary to ask Rebbetzin Elbaz in as respectful a way as possible to clarify a few things.
