Moral, communication and media - please post your opinions

[C Elegans]

BBC's idea to make a TV serious out of famous and highly ethically controversial experiments in social psychology, made me think of a personal incident that happened about a year ago.

The national television rang me up at work and wanted me to participate in a new TV series they were going to produce. The series would be about psyciatric problems and their treatment. Each program was devoted to a certain problem, and the idea was that an actor played the person with the problem, and a real psychologist played the psychologist who treated the person. The wanted a real psychologist, not another actor, since the focus of the program was to show what a real treatment program against this or that would look like.

They claimed that the aim of the series was educative, to inform people about psychiatric conditions, how they can be treated and how to get treatment. Every show would also end with a telephone help-line people could ring, and that would be broadcasted for a while, then continue for an hour or so without being broadcasted. They pushed a lot for the "informative" aspect.

I asked what conditions they planned to show. They said they hadn't decided everything yet, but the first program was going to be about sex-aholics, ie sexual addiction.

I also asked where they had got my phone number from and why they rang me - I'm not a clinician and I'm not a licensed therapist. I got no real replies to this, only some vague comment about they thought I was suitable.

Now, my question to you: what would you have done in my situation, and why?

I don't think you have to ask what my decision was

[fable]

I'd have turned 'em down. I suspect the approach (dramatic, as opposed to documentary) was not intended for a serious audience, and I would have been highly suspicious of anyone without a good reply as to why I was called, and how they got my number.

[Gwalchmai]

As Fable has pointed out on several occasions, documentary channels such as the Discovery Channel run programs that are highly variable in quality and accuracy. With news programs and pseudo-news programs blurring the line between objective reporting and sensationalism, its no wonder that 'documentary' programs would do the same. Starting with a disorder such as sexual addiction is a good indication that this program intended to lean toward the sensational. I suppose other disorders they would have chosen to investigate would have been based on appeal to the lowest common denominator rather than providing really useful information on disorders that are either more common or more miss-understood.

Now, if they call back and want you to pose as a therapist for a large group of spam-addicts, I would hope that you would agree to help out. This disorder is as insidious as it is damaging to careers and relationships alike.

[C Elegans]

Fable and Gwally, thank you for your thoughts. I should perhaps mention that the question I asked myself was the information value, chance of reducing "taboo" of psychiatric disorders and psychotherapy by making a popular TV show, etc versus the "emotional entertainment", risk of some kind of freak show sensationalising of psychiatric disorders.

Originally posted by Gwalchmai:
<STRONG>Now, if they call back and want you to pose as a therapist for a large group of spam-addicts, I would hope that you would agree to help out. This disorder is as insidious as it is damaging to careers and relationships alike. </STRONG>

LOL Of course - that's another story altogether

[Xandax]

IMO - this smells to much like "reality popular tv" - just thrown on the screen because a large percentent of the population seems to like watching other peoples problems instead of dealing with their own.

The fact that they will deal with "sex-addicts" in their first program should make some alarms ring.
What will be the next? How will they top this? - IMO this would decay into Jerry Springer topics

Also since they adress you, without saying why or being vage, also seems to strange and IMO alarming.
Instead of choosing a clinician or licensed therapist.

I'd turn it down, big time (unless I got an obseen amout of money to do it )

Just out of curiosity - what chanal was it that contacted you?

[Yshania]

I would have turned it down, too suspicious. In fact, given their unprofessional approach, and lack of planning I would not have been convinced it wasn't a wind up...

If their request was genuine, then alarm bells would have been ringing as to why they had not fully decided on the subject study and why they had not approached a registered clinician, did you ask who else they had approached?

I would have thought/hoped that TV companies making a documentary about such sensitive matters would already have on board a qualified advisor and have an idea on the way the series would be moving forward...

How did they conclude that you would be suitable for a programme about sexual addiction? and, more to the point, get your number

I would have been ringing my colleagues to see which one of them was responsible for the wind up

BTW - which is the BBC programme you are referring to?

[CM]

I would not have taken it seriously, and i would have declined.
This was a hoax in my opinion.

[C Elegans]

It's nice to see that you people support my decision Some of my friends have critised my decision because they thought I should have taken the opportunity to add something serious and helpful to popular television.

by Xandax:
<STRONG>Just out of curiosity - what chanal was it that contacted you?

</STRONG>

It was SVT, the Swedish state television. Had it been channel 3,4 or 5 I wouldn't even had bothered to listen to their idea.

posted by Yshania:
<STRONG>If their request was genuine, then alarm bells would have been ringing as to why they had not fully decided on the subject study and why they had not approached a registered clinician, did you ask who else they had approached?

</STRONG>

The request was genuine - I happened to be very busy when they first called, so I got their phone number and rang back later to SVT:s main office.

I of course asked them why they contacted me and not a licenced therapist, but they claimed they had had a person who was lic therapist who had abandoned the project. I remember I said something about there being hundreds of other licensed therapists around, but I got so proper reply. Perhaps somebody had gave them a tip about me for some reason - I can easily be reached by phone through my institution if you just know my name. I also asked them why they had chosen sexual addiction since this is a very uncommon problem compared to depression, panic disorder or generalised anxiety and a long list of other conditions, but I got no good motivation for that either.

Months later, I saw in the newspapers that the show was broadcaster, so I watched the first program and it turned out that my suspicion was correct. The show started out with an actor playing a man with sexual addiction. He was shown in infidelity situations, surfing the web for porn etc. They they showed his therapeutic treatment, and this was done is a realistic and documentary fashion. After that, it totally deteriorated into talk show style, and they also broadcasted live phone calls from people who wanted to talk about their sexual addiction anonymously in TV. The person who conducted the phone call dialogues was NOT the psychologist, it was the TV show leader, and IMO it got very sensationalistic.

I hate emotional entertainment, I view it as modern gladiotor games

posted by Ysh:
<STRONG>BTW - which is the BBC programme you are referring to?

</STRONG>

Something mr Sleep told me about in another thread, and I later checked out. BBC is planning to restage the famous Stanford Prison experiment and other classic experiments in social psychology, but in a milder and more controlled form. Of course they are making "reality TV" out of it. The series is going to be called "The human zoo".

Read about here at Stanford Uni:
[url="http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/may2/zimbardo-52.html"]http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/may2/zimbardo-52.html[/url]

[ 10-28-2001: Message edited by: C Elegans ]

[Yshania]

@CE - but the Human Zoo was televised a couple of months ago...is this a new series? BTW it was rather interesting I will watch out for the follow up...