Psychotherapist to Young Hollywood Says Male Stars in Psychological Trouble Get a Media Pass as Compared to Fe...( Former Olympic Coach Now Works to H...),Health

Former Olympic Coach Now Works to Help Hollywood 'Stay Sane in an Insane

Industry'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Rebecca Roy, M.A., "The Industry Therapist" (http://www.theIndustryTherapist.com) is asking the question why the death of Heath Ledger is being treated differently by the media than Britney Spears' mental illness.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071219/NYW522)

"Heath Ledger's death is being treated with kid gloves, for instance, yet Britney Spears is afforded no privacy at all in dealing with her issues," Roy said. "It's as if there are jackals at the gate just waiting for her to commit suicide. It's a travesty."

It seems that male stars get a pass when they are in trouble, but female stars are practically drawn and quartered if they have real human needs and problems. "Not only do the women have to deal with an impossibly high body image standard, but they are savagely attacked when they don't meet expectations on that front," Roy said. "Add this pressure to perhaps a pre-existing mental disorder and you have the makings of a very tortured soul."

Because Heath Ledger was a wonderful actor and highly respected, no one wants to delve too deeply into his death. The same was true of Owen Wilson's recent hospitalization.

But many of the women have had their mental health and substance abuse issues paraded before the world. "Though women sometimes express pain more openly than men, they also deserve some respect and understanding that they deal with enormous pressures that are simply different than men's pressures in this Industry. They are human beings too," Roy said.
Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Rebecca Roy, M.A., MFTI