Wall Street psychiatrist sees explosion of drugs, alcohol, depression

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To Shannon Saylor and Ariel Zilber

11 July 2023 | 3:15 PM

Psychiatrists in Manhattan, whose clients include Wall Street traders, investment bankers, and corporate lawyers, have seen an explosion in the number of patients seeking treatment for drugs, alcohol, depression, and other mental health problems. said there is.

Sam Glaser, Ph.D., head of the Upper East Side-based therapy practice, said: told the Wall Street Journal Despite the stigma borne by financial professionals who are afraid to ask for time off because they don’t want their clients to know the problem, he said he has seen the surge since the pandemic.

“I’ve seen a lot of people who are high-ranking financial people afraid of being exposed,” Mr. Glaser, 56, said.

“There’s a culture of paranoia. ‘Would you want someone you know to be an alcoholic to manage your money?’ he added.

Glazer told the Journal that his practice had expanded exponentially during the pandemic, and he had to hire four new therapists to keep up with the demands of Wall Street’s high-stress nature.

Companies located in the financial district have long mandated employees to work a grueling 105-hour work week, a practice that has persisted for years, including the shocking suicide of billionaire investor Thomas H. Lee in February. It has been the trigger for multiple tragedies over the years.

Known as “the envy of Wall Street,” Lee was found with a single gunshot wound to the head next to a Smith & Wesson revolver in his office bathroom.

The 78-year-old philanthropist was found by a female assistant on the toilet floor of his parents’ office at the eponymous financial firm’s Fifth Avenue headquarters, police sources told the Post earlier this year. Told.

To combat depression, stress and burnout, other wealthy stock traders have also flocked to Manhattan-based ketamine therapy, administering IV hallucinogens for $750 a dose in luxurious surroundings. It is said that there are

of Jeff Ditzel Psychiatric Center The financial district legally doses patients with the drug, best known as a psychedelic party favor, Ditzel told the Post late last year.

“We have a lot of Wall Street traders,” said Mr. Ditzel, adding that 30% to 40% of his clients work in the financial industry. “I would say they come in droves. This is a stressful job and humans are performance driven.”

Big banks have rolled out initiatives to address mental health in recent years, with JPMorgan launching a new division with a $250 million investment in healthcare and introducing new initiatives.

The division, called Morgan Health, has created a better model of employer-driven health care. according to the journalfocuses on improving care services for workers’ mental health.

In 2021, Bank of America announced It announced that it has partnered with organizations One Mind, RADical Hope, and the National Alliance of Mental Illness to commit $1.35 million to support multiple mental health initiatives.

But private equity firms and hedge funds that claim to be more competitive and offer higher salaries have fallen behind in their efforts to support the mental health of their employees, the magazine reported.