A psychiatrist’s view: Kavanaugh’s behavior at Senate hearing ‘appalling’

In my final year of medical school, I interviewed for psychiatry residency programs. This process ultimately led to “Match Day,” which determined where I’d complete my medical internship and specialty training. Unfortunately, my school had given me no preparation for the interviews. In essence, I winged it.

I often found the process pleasant and informative. However, on occasion, I encountered a stress interview, in which a professor of psychiatry attempts to push a candidate to the brink to determine if he or she can withstand the rigors of residency.

My first experience with this was at Northwestern Memorial, where a psychiatrist, whose name I quickly forgot, questioned my grades, asked probing questions about my childhood, criticized my parents, demeaned my childhood and critiqued me mercilessly. I did my best to maintain some degree of composure, even dignity, and avoid any display of anger or retribution. As I left the room, somewhat demolished, and politely thanked the interviewer, I saw a classmate of mine waiting for his interview. He quickly asked for my take on the experience, was waved in, smiled, and said, “Wish me luck.” Thirty-five minutes later, he exited with the psychiatrist’s hand on his shoulder, the two of them laughing. He described the process as having started out much as mine had, but shared that he’d successfully used humor to defend himself.

I learned much from this experience and improved my performance in future stress interviews. In none of my interviews, however, did I behave like Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate hearing. Whether Judge Kavanaugh lied, whether he did or currently does suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence, whether he is or isn’t guilty of sexual abuse in the past, his interview behavior alone was, in my opinion, appalling and disqualifying. Despite extraordinary coaching in preparation for his testimony, he behaved with hostility and belligerence. He was, at times, demonstrably abusive.

If we view that Senate hearing as a stress interview, Judge Kavanaugh failed. In fact, I cannot imagine any employer, for any company, interviewing Mr. Kavanaugh and determining his presentation to have been even minimally acceptable. Certainly, if he were a candidate for a psychiatry residency and I had been stress-interviewing him, I’d have urged him to seek psychiatric or psychological care, given his disturbed mental status.

As a candidate for the Supreme Court, he failed the interview and should no longer be considered.