The impression I get from some of her other shows is that if you just think you're all well, you are, and any disorder that remains is only because you don't have enough faith/belief/whatever. She is a huge influence on a huge number of people, and I find that very scary. She gives all sorts of advice with little to no real world experience to back it up.
I don't get that vibe form her shows at all, Mary. Yes, she is a huge influence, and there have been times (such as Jenny McCarthy! GRRRR!) when I want to throw something at the screen, but her interview technique is largely reflection. She listens to her guest, lets them talk about what they want to promote, she asks a few questions where necessary to draw out the full story - and only sometimes does she show her own bias. When she does, her opinion is based on a combination of the pre-interview briefing from the guest and also from vast amounts of research and background work by her staff. She is a skilled and experienced interviewer and an intelligent person. So she is capable of finding out information and forming her own opinions.
Those opinions are not always right, but they are based on information as well as her own point of view.
She is now increasingly aware of the power of her influence - her trip Down Under was very much a coordinated effort with Australian Tourism Bureau and frankly was better than any attempted advertising they've done in recent years. For the last five years or more, our tourism ads have been an international joke. Even our own comedy/current affairs shows have been poking fun at them - the "Where the bl**dy he!! are you?" ad campaign morphed into a joky scare campaign about the wide open spaces and the number of mass murderers who have made their name killing tourists - it became "Australia - "Where the bl**dy he!! are you buried?" (reference - "The Gruen Transfer" - Aussie TV show which analyses advertising. Worth trying to find a podcast if you can]
Back to Oprah - she is immensely powerful and influential. I do believe she is aware of the responsibility this brings for her - she does make considerable effort to get things right. She may not always succeed, but she has a high strike rate, in my opinion.
I have not seen this episode - not sure when it will air down here. But on the mental health stats, I can tell you, from very high authority - a well-known and highly reputable mental health team here, often used as spokespersons in the media and whose research is often published in peer- reviewed journals, repeatedly report that clinical depression (for all sorts of reasons) occurs in 1 in 4 people. In a previous lifetime of mine (about 15-20 years ago) I spent a lot of time working with these guys especially in research and PR. I saw their research - epidemiological studies and longitudinal studies. That 1 in 4 statistic was just for depression. If you translate that to the number of kids in the US today, you have a starting figure. Add in other mental health conditions and their incidence and you may find that the numbers Oprah quoted may even seem conservative.
She would not have plucked the figure out of thin air. It would have been provided by medical experts advising the program.
I'm hoping she has learnt, over the years, to independently verify claims made by guests on the show. She shouldn't have to, as a reporter. But her high profile and reputation now mean she has a higher standard to adhere to. She can't afford to get it wrong any more. The world is just too vulnerable, and well-meaning mistakes are far less forgivable.
Marg
