S2e10- Noël (Yo-Yo Ma Rules!)

A Christmas episode with very little Christmas in it.  Instead, we loop all the way back to the beginning of season 2, only to find that several months later, Josh isn't doing very well.  In fact, he is in crisis.  I should note that we have two wonderful guest stars in this episode- Adam Arkin, who plays Dr. Stanley Keyworth, and Yo-Yo Ma, who plays himself- and the cello.  Two quick bits of West Wing trivia:

1. Aaron Sorkin clearly thinks that all members of the Mental Health field are named Stanley.  In S1e5- The Crackpots and These Women, Josh goes to see his old therapist, who is named Dr. Stanley Maxwell.   Stanley means "stone clearing" in old English, so there's no onomotological reason that I can see (yes, onomotology is the study of the meaning of names).
2. Apparently, Yo-Yo Ma didn't want to mime playing the cello, so played the piece for every piece.  Between all the shots and takes needed, this meant playing the piece around 45 times.  Hence Donna's line: "Yo-Yo Ma Rules!"

As I said at the outset, though, the main focus of this episode is on Josh, who is clearly struggling- he yells at the President and cuts himself badly when he puts his hand through a window in his apartment.  Dr. Stanley the psychologist knows that Josh is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder within 5 minutes of meeting Josh, despite him being a huge pain in the neck the entire time.  While I am fully aware that this is a depiction of therapy for entertainment purposes, but the opportunity to display the effects and nature of PTSD on prime time television is pretty incredible.  More importantly, Josh brings up the stigma of PTSD by suggesting to Dr. Stanley that he wouldn't be able to continue in his job, but Leo makes it clear why that would never be the case:

"This guy's walking down a street, when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep. He can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes him a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole! Our guy says "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here!" and the friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out." 

As long as I got a job, you got a job, you understand?"

Yes, this is a television show, and certainly; these characters are fictional.  That being said, it reminds me of the Homeland Security airport motto: If you see something, say something.  We should all be this vigilant with our friends and loved ones as Donna and Toby are, and have the same amount of care and compassion that Leo shows, and insist that anyone in our lives who needs it, seeks out the help they need- like any good psychologist named Stanley would.  

What's Next?  S2e11-The Leadership Breakfast

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