Etta Bryant, MD, Et Al

What on earth are people like Etta Bryant, a San Mateo county resident, and alleged to be an MD psychiatrist, thinking?

Etta Bryant and her pals Thea Leavitt and Sam Leavitt, MD showed up in court on Monday, July 6th 2009 in support of accused child molester william ayres. Over the course of the day, they made pained faces and nervous gestures while the prosecutor and Detective Decker were discussing the particular details of the molestations. OK… What’s wrong with that? Well, it’s hard to tell given any other public explanation from Etta whether she’s making these facial contortions due to disgust about what her pal has done, and how stupid she was to be duped, or if she’s horrified that evil people could be saying these things about her friend, the “pillar of community”: ayres. I will say this though: she exhibited delight at hearing the credentials for Elizabeth Loftus, the memory expert slated to discredit the recollection abilities of ayres’ victims yesterday. She was nodding her head excitedly when the expert was explaining how she was able to force people to have false memories in clinical studies that she’s done. As best I can tell she was sitting firmly on the side of the defense.

At one point, Etta Bryant was making enough noise and commotion in talking with Thea Leavitt that the bailiff had to come over and ask them to knock it off. As a note for comparison, I was molested by ayres, who I was sitting in the same room with, and a room full of idiots who support him who were treating the event as if it were some kind of bacchanal the whole day – Not once did the bailiff have to come over and ask me to do ANYTHING. I quite effectively restrained myself from booing, laughing out loud at Weinberg or asking out loud: “What the hell does your stupid little memory example have to do with this situation??” And, at no point did I leap up and strangle the life out of ayres. I just restrained myself. It wasn’t that difficult to treat the court with a bit of respect.

This “woman” is supposed to be a professional of San Mateo county, and not only is she supposed to be a professional, but she is supposed to be a professional in mental health, of all things.

Etta didn’t bother to show up for any of the testimony of the victims, but I’m sure she’s had plenty of opportunity to read about their testimony, and yet she continues to deny the victims, who independently relayed nearly identical stories of molestations. I’m betting that she had been in his office in the past, as they worked at the same “medical” group. If so, it would also be clear to her that all of the victims who have testified were also in that office. And yet, as a professional in mental health, rather than consider any of that, she tosses it all out to support her friend.

Etta probably has heard of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (DSM) It’s the “official” book that describes mental disorders for the American Psychiatric Association. When you go to a shrink and get a bill, they often don’t even list the disorder, they just say something like: Diagnosis DSM-IV-TR 301.81 If you look up 301.81 in the book, you’ll find the info about “Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Maybe she should read DSM-IV 301.2 Pedophilia. The APA provides the following information about pedophiles (from the “American Psychiatric Association FACT Sheet on Pedophilia”):

The Characteristics of Pedophilia
According to the DSM-IV definition, pedophilia involves sexual activity by an adult with a prepubescent child. Some individuals prefer females, usually 8- to 10-year-olds.

Those attracted to males usually prefer slightly older children. Some prefer both sexes. While some are sexually attracted only to children, others also are sometimes attracted to adults.

Pedophiliac activity may involve:
undressing and looking at the child or more direct physical sex acts. All these activities are psychologically harmful to the child, and some may be physically harmful. In addition, individuals with pedophilia often go to great lengths to obtain photos, films, or pornographic publications that focus on sex with children.

These individuals commonly explain their activities with excuses or rationalizations that the activities have “educational value” for the child, that the child feels “sexual pleasure” from the activities, or that the child was “sexually provocative.” Furthermore, since pedophiliac acts harm the child, psychiatrists condemn publications or organizations which seek to promote or normalize sex between adults and children.

I’m guessing she’s already read it though. As a professional, she should have connected the dots between the descriptions in the DSM-IV and the testimony given by ayres’ multiple independent victims, and at the very least been skeptical enough to provide support to Solveig and family OUTSIDE THE PUBLIC COURT. But she didn’t. She showed up to court, made public shows of affection to ayres and his wife, and shook her head when the prosecutor spoke, and nodded vigorously when the defense witness spoke.

Etta Bryant is supposed to be a mental health professional, and should not be taking actions that harm others, if she can at all avoid it. Had she stayed out of the picture, perhaps showing up only to testify on behalf of the defense, as an expert, if she truly felt it appropriate, she would have been doing the least damage, while still showing support for her friend. She did not do that. She wrote a public letter decrying the press for reporting ayres’ out of court settlement for child molestation. She showed up in court in support on multiple occasions, and finally showed up in court, Hugged the perpetrator and his wife in front of the courtroom, and sat there and cheered on the defense, at one point disrupting proceedings enough to have the bailiff come over to shut her up. So here’s the victims perspective: Long time San Mateo shrink Etta Bryant thinks that ayres victims are deliberately trying to malign his good name and do him harm in some kind of evil plot. In my pain, as a victim, should I go to psychiatric member of the APA for help in coping? Why would I be that stupid? How would I know if a professionally trained shrink that I’m going to for help actually is treating me thinking that I’m a horrible person for accusing ayres?

Etta Bryant should be displaying a professional demeanor in public. She is not. It is my opinion that her methods and motives are suspect.