For a safer world

World Mental Health Coalition Documents

The first edition!
27 psychiatrists and mental health experts are among the first to warn
against a dangerous presidency as a public health problem for the nation.

World Mental Health CoalitionWorld Mental Health Coalition

The second edition!
37 psychiatrists and mental health experts warn against the social, cultural,
and geopolitical consequences of Trump’s psychological dangerousness.

World Mental Health Coalition Documents

Read about how such a flawed, disturbed, and even deadly candidate
as Donald Trump could be so popular!


Dr. Lee explains this in terms of the spread of “Trump Contagion.”

World Mental Health Coalition DocumentsThe More Dangerous Case of Donald Trump

A new release!


40 psychiatrists and mental health experts give their dire warnings that
another Trump presidency would pose a unique threat to the nation
and the world

Statement on Cognitive Concerns in the Presidential Election

We are a group of medical and mental health professionals with expertise in aging, mental fitness, and how these relate to the capacity for leadership and ensuring our national security. We feel an obligation to express concerns about the manifestations of poor cognitive function in former President Donald J. Trump.

While we cannot make a formal diagnosis without direct examination, his repeated public behaviors and speeches demonstrate strong evidence of significant cognitive decline, aligned with common signs of an early dementia, and include:

o Deterioration in language skills, such as simpler vocabulary, incomplete and incoherent sentences, grammatical errors, and paraphasias (substituting words)

Impaired memory/recall, such as confabulation, where memory gaps are filled with false or fabricated details

Tangential thinking, where speech often drifts to unrelated topics in an erratic manner

Inappropriate or vague statements that lack connection to reality

Perseveration, where thoughts or ideas are repeated without a relevant trigger

Rigidity in thinking, evidenced by an inability to adapt or revise opinions, often manifesting as “doubling down”

Amplification of maladaptive personality traits, such as paranoid (invented threats), narcissistic (excessive focus on self), or antisocial (criminal and dangerous) personality traits

Disinhibition in speech, such as the frequent use of vulgar, profane language or hate speech

Disinhibition in behavior, such as impulsive decision making or aggression and violence

We believe these observable and repeated behaviors warrant public awareness of their implications.  The multiple signs and symptoms we have observed in Mr. Trump comprise critical information for America’s 2024 presidential voters.  We submit this informed opinion by fifty (50) nationally renowned professionals in the interest of public trust and safety.

Voters should consider these facts.

Sincerely,

Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div.
President, World Mental Health Coalition
Harvard Program in Psychiatry and the Law

Diane E. Meier, M.D.
Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

James R. Merikangas, M.D.
Neuropsychiatrist and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
George Washington University School of Medicine

Anthony Back, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
University of Washington

Alan Blotcky, Ph.D.
Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Frederick M. Burkle, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.
Former Professor, Harvard University and School of Public Heatlh
Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, elected ’07

Eric Chivian, M.D.
Former Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Director Emeritus, Center for Health and the Global Environment

Jennifer I. Downey, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Ravi Chandra, M.D.
Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association

Howard H. Covitz, Ph.D.
Former Training Analyst, Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies
Former Director, Institute for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapies

Lance Dodes, M.D.
Retired Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Harvard Medical School

Edwin B. Fisher, Ph.D.
Professor of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Henry J. Friedman, M.D.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts Medical School

Nanette Gartrell, M.D.
Retired Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Retired Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco

James Gilligan, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York University
Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University

Leonard L. Glass, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Attending Psychiatrist, McLean Hospital

Vincent Greenwood, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Washington Center For Cognitive Therapy

Anne McLean Griffin, M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Weill-Cornell Medical College

Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Director, Program in Psychiatry and the Law

Chiara S. Haller, Ph.D.
Clinical Neuropsychologist and Founder, Cognicreate Clinic
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University

Steven Hassan, Ph.D.
Fellow, Fielding Graduate University
Harvard Program in Psychiatry and the Law

Judith L. Herman, M.D.
Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association

Ellyn Kaschak, Ph.D.
Faculty, San Jose State University
Faculty, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica

Kevin Kelly, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and of Ethics in Medicine
Weill-Cornell Medical College

Jerome Kroll, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus
University of Minnesota Medical School

Rosanne M. Leipzig, M.D, Ph.D.
Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Robert Jay Lifton, M.D.
Lecturer in Psychiatry, Columbia University
Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association

Francis Lu, M.D.
Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of California, Davis
Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association

Craig Malkin, Ph.D.
President, YM Psychotherapy and Consultation
Lecturer, Harvard Medical School

Dee Mosbacher, M.D., Ph.D.
Retired Professor of Psychiatry
University of California, San Francisco

Laura Mosqueda, M.D.
Professor of Family Medicine and Geriatrics
University of Southern California School of Medicine

Hattie Myers, Ph.D.
Faculty, Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research
Former Faculty, New York University School of Social Work

Seth D. Norrholm, Ph.D.
Director, Neuroscience Center for Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma
Translational Neuroscientist, Wayne State University

Denis J. O’Keefe, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.
Professor of Social Work, New York University
Past President, International Psychohistorical Association

Jennifer C. Panning, Psy.D.
President, Mindful Psychology Associates

Claire Pouncey, M.D., Ph.D.
Past President, Association for the Advancement of Philosophy and Psychiatry

Bruce H. Price, M.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Chief of Neurology, McLean Hosptial

Larry Sandberg, M.D.
Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Weill-Cornell Medical College

Robert C. Sharpe, M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Loyola University of Chicago School of Medicine

Stephen Soldz, Ph.D.
Professor, Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis
President-elect, Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology

Thomas Strouse, M.D.
Professor of Palliative Care Research and Education
University of California-Los Angeles School of Medicine

Michael J. Tansey, Ph.D.
Former Assistant Professor of Psychology
Northwestern University Medical School

Adele Tutter, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Lise Van Susteren, M.D.
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, George Washington University
Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association

Robert J. Waldinger, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Director, Harvard Study of Adult Development

Richard M. Waugaman, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown University
Training and Supervising Analyst Emeritus, Washington Psychoanalytic Institute

Drew Westen, PhD
Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry
Emory University

Richard Wood, Ph.D.
Director, Thornhill Multidisciplinary Assessment Center

Frank E. Yeomans, M.D., Ph.D.
Honorary Member, American Psychoanalytic Association
President, International Society for Transference-Focused Psychotherapy

Elisabeth Zoffmann, M.D.
Forensic Expert experienced with dementia-related disinhibition
Retired Associate Clinical Professor

Bandy Lee Conference for Fit Leadership

____

FATE OF AMERICA

FATE OF HUMANITY

Panelists of the National Press Club conference, “The More Dangerous State of the World and the Need for Fit Leadership,” have issued the following collective statement:

National Press Club Conference Statement

This election comes at a most important turning point in the nation’s history.

For these reasons, top national security experts and leading mental health experts came together as never before, on September 27, 2024, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, to participate in an unprecedented conference.

The theme was, “The More Dangerous State of the World and the Need for Fit Leadership,” organized by the World Mental Health Coalition and led by Dr. Bandy Lee.

The experts feel it is most important to inform the country of the conclusions they collectively reached:

  • Mental fitness is a medical issue, not a political one.
  • The immense powers of the presidency require that anyone elected to that office be mentally fit.
  • In the Nuclear Age, a president must understand that there is no security without mutual security.
  • Fitness for duty and dangerousness are different evaluations than diagnosis of mental illness.
  • Donald Trump has demonstrated signs that may make him unsuitable and dangerous for the White House.

The experts tackled how our country is governed, by whom our country is led, and whether the institutions of our democracy are sufficiently resilient and self-correcting to meet the dangers and challenges of our time.

We urge all Americans to watch the 1.5-hour video summary of the conference, at DangerousCase.org.

We urge all Americans to ponder, as each of us had to do, why we all decided to come together for this singularly important gathering at the National Press Club at this critical time and decided to jointly endorse this urgent statement.

Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div.

Violence expert and president of the World Mental Health Coalition

Gen. Stephen Xenakis, M.D.

Retired brigadier general and Medical Corps officer for the U.S. Army

Matthew Bywater, M.Sc.

Scholar of authoritarian societies and human rights activist

Claire Finkelstein, J.D., Ph.D.

Director of Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School

Henry Friedman, M.D.

Psychoanalyst and associate professor of psychiatry at Tufts and Harvard Medical Schools

James Gilligan, M.D.

Former chair of President Bill Clinton’s National Campaign Against Youth Violence

Steven Hassan, Ph.D.

Undue influence expert and author of ‘The Cult of Trump’

Judith Herman, M.D.

Senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School and author of ‘Trauma and Recovery’

Peter Kuznick, Ph.D.

Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University

Robert Jay Lifton, M.D.

Lecturer in psychiatry at Columbia University and author of ‘Nazi Doctors’

Ray McGovern

Former CIA officer and chair of National Intelligence Estimates

James Merikangas, M.D.

Clinical professor at George Washington University School of Medicine

Richard Painter, Esq.

Former chief White House ethics counsel of the George W. Bush administration

Hon. Claudine Schneider

Former five-term Republican congresswoman from Rhode Island

Stephen Soldz, Ph.D.

Past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility and leading anti-torture activist

Drew Westen, Ph.D.

Professor of psychology and psychiatry at Emory University and author of ‘The Political Brain’

WHO WE ARE

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH COALITION

In 2017, we saw that mental health associations were abdicating their responsibility under political pressure and keeping silent about an unprecedented public health emergency.  As a result, we decided to form our own organization and to step in where others placed self-preservation and profit over their ethical duty to protect society.  We now know that an overwhelming majority of mental health professionals agree with our stance.  This is how we became the nation’s first and largest mental health professionals-only organization to address the issue of dangerous leadership and our professional societal responsibility.

However, despite our warning against a “Trump Contagion” that would continue to spread in the absence of proper intervention, the silencing of the most relevant experts of our era—mental health experts—continued.

As a result, our turning our focus to prevention during the Biden years, trying to improve societal mental health as a whole and expanding our vision more globally, the dangers only increased, and we now face a third Trump candidacy.  What could happen if Donald Trump loses the 2024 election is almost as alarming as what will likely occur if he wins, as we now live in a much more dangerous world.  We hope that you will join our mission to preserve our collective mental health, American democracy, and the survival of humanity.