2. Psych is a sitcom in which main
characters Shawn and Gus run a
psychic detective agency that works
closely with the Santa Barbara
police department. The main
comedic premise is that Shawn, the
so-called psychic, is actually not
psychic at all. In fact, he is simply
hyper observant, having been taught
these observational skills by his
detective father. Gus is a
pharmaceutical salesman and
Shawn’s best friend since childhood.
Together, they get into various
predicaments and solve cases with a
variety of wacky hijinks, all while
continuing the ruse that Shawn is a
real psychic.
3. Season4:Episode8
Let’sGetHairy
In this episode, Shawn and Gus are interrupted in the middle of their yearly World
Wide Wrestling TV marathon by a man who bursts into their office claiming to be a
werewolf. In order to appease him (and get their fee), they tie him to a chair so he
can’t escape as the moon reaches fullness. Unfortunately, they fall asleep, and
when they awaken, he has (apparently) broken his bonds and burst through the
window into the night. The next day, two hunters are found dead and their client,
Stewart Gimbly, believes he has committed the murder.
4. In the process of investigating, they find that Stewart is taking
Haldol, has been seeing a psychiatrist for years, has been in a
therapeutic group for people with serious mental disorders, and has
other wacky beliefs, such as the idea that his father is a satanic
rabbi. Other than that, he seems to be a nice guy~
It turns out that Stewart’s evil psychiatrist, Dr. Ken
Tucker, has been setting him up, orchestrating a plan to
use Stewart to kill his mistress (another of his clients)
who is planning on telling the doc’s wife about their
affair. Dr. Tucker has been dosing Stewart with
tranquilizers and planting him at the scenes of the
supposed werewolf crimes, along with some well-placed
wolf hair from his taxidermy hobby, all as a lead up to
murdering his mistress and letting Stewy take the blame.
Shawn and Gus figure it all out in time, of course, and
good triumphs in a ridiculous manner over an equally
ridiculous evil.
6. Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is defined as a severe brain disorder
in which people may experience delusions,
hallucinations, extremely disordered thought
processes, and abnormal emotional reactions and
behavior. It is a chronic illness that requires lifelong
treatment.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-
conditions/schizophrenia/basics/definition/CON-
20021077
7. Connections to Real Life
Haldol- Haldol (Haloperidol) is one of the most commonly prescribed
antipsychotic medications. It is also used for those with psychotic disorders who
are showing signs of aggression, and is commonly used for schizophrenia.
Psychiatric care- Anyone who is diagnosed with schizophrenia is likely to be
under the long-term care of a psychiatrist. This psychiatrist would be in charge of
prescribing medication and monitoring usage, as well as the use of other
therapeutic techniques to help the patient to cope.
Group Therapy- Group therapy has been found to be useful in the treatment of
schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders and is often integrated into inpatient
treatment of schizophrenics. It is especially useful in teaching life skills and more
coherent patterns of thinking.
http://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/guide/schizophrenia-therapy
8. Delusions~
There are various relatively common delusions that appear in
schizophrenia. A few could be applied to Stewart Gimbly.
Delusions of reference occur when a patient believes that words in
text or song, etc refer to themselves. In Stewart’s case, he believed
that a newspaper article about a slaughtered lamb was a reference to
himself as a werewolf.
Somatic delusions involve the belief that the patient has a medical
condition or physical flaw that is not present. Stewart believed he
had been bitten by a werewolf and that this bite had infected him.
Bizarre vs non-bizarre delusions refer to the fact that a
schizophrenic can have either a completely improbable delusion or
one that could conceivably happen in real-life. Stewart’s belief that
he was a werewolf is an example of a bizarre delusion, whereas had
he believed that his psychiatrist was setting him up to think that he
was a werewolf so that the doctor could kill his mistress, that
would’ve been considered a non-bizarre delusion (and in this case,
actually true!).
http://www.schizophrenic.com/
content/schizophrenia/sympto
ms/schizophrenia-delusions
9. How likely is it that a
schizophrenic
would believe they
were a werewolf??
10. ClinicalLycanthropy-Yes,thereissuchathing...
It turns out that there is a disorder that is
considered to be a manifestation of schizophrenia. It
is very rare, and is characterized by the belief the
patient holds that they have or can transform into an
animal, and behaviors that reflect that belief. A
neuroimaging study of two people diagnosed with this
disorder showed unusual activation in the areas of the
brain controlling proprioception and body image,
suggesting that they do actually feel as if the
transformation is or has taken place.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_lycanthropy
11. In Stewart’s case, it turns out he is actually a well-medicated schizophrenic
who is highly functional due to meds, group and individual therapy, and
family support, but he is not, in fact, a werewolf. He also doesn’t have clinical
lycanthropy, as it is his evil and wily psychiatrist who is setting him up to
believe he’s a werewolf as opposed to Stewart’s own neurology. Psych
accurately portrays some of the treatments and potential beliefs of
schizophrenia. However, many people who suffer from this terrible disorder
are not nearly so functional. In many cases, medication fails to create
remission of the disorder. And all antipsychotics have potentially very
serious side effects. But that wouldn’t make for very good comedy, would it?
