Tom Holland’s Most Emotional Moment Ever | The Crowded Room

The mind is an extraordinary thing, capable of extraordinary transformations. Not just voices, but bodies, skills, playing an instrument, mastering chess, speaking a foreign language, lighting up a room. These aren't things that people can just fake. These are people who come from every walk of life, every race, every age. They're people who have nothing to gain from a diagnosis that carries social stigma. MPD is real, and patients with MPD have suffered in ways that most of us cannot comprehend. They deserve empathy and compassion. And how have they suffered? Can't anyone just claim to have other personalities inside them? The literature is clear for the diagnosis to apply. The patients must have experienced severe childhood trauma, usually sexual. At a point in their lives when they are the most vulnerable, the most in need of protection, they are betrayed, usually by somebody that they trusted. A child's mind isn't equipped to handle this. It can't manage all the contradictions. So the psyche fractures. And that's the first alter. The child goes away. Somebody new comes in. Someone better equipped to navigate a terrifying world. And that's how it begins. It's a defense mechanism against horrific, unfathomable pain. Can you tell me about Danny? I first met Danny at the police station after his arrest. Only it wasn't Danny, it was Johnny. And who's Johnny? Johnny is one of Danny's alters. He's a literal escape artist. So when the shackles came out, so did Johnny. So are these descriptions of Danny's so-called personalities facts or speculations? They're my clinical judgments. Did Danny ever tell you he thought he had multiple personalities? No, but it doesn't... In fact, wasn't it you who first introduced the idea to him? Yes, because his symptoms supported the diagnosis. So you say. Then you know a lot riding on this, don't you? I'm not sure what you mean. Who pays for your research? How do you make a living? Most of my work is funded through grants. Grants like the Reiling Grant? Yes. Which expired last year. Yes. And is it true the university just turned down a request from you for additional funding? There's only so much to go around, but I'm going to reapply in the spring. You have tenure? I'm up for it next year. So with your funding drying up, your major grant expiring, and tenure on the line, would it be fair to say that this is a make-or-break moment in your career? Objection. Withdraw the question. Would it be fair to say that a high-profile case like this one could be a real opportunity for you? A chance for you to make a name for yourself? I don't see my patients as opportunities. Don't you? Then why else did you walk into that police station? Was it because you were having a sexual relationship with a detective who leaked Danny's case to you? Sustained. Take care, Counselor. Withdraw. Tom, why did you follow the defendant to Rikers? There's a term lawyers use to solicit business like that. Ambulance chasers. Objection. Sustained. Let me put it another way. When you walked into that police station, what were you hoping to find? I wasn't hoping to find anything. I'm sorry, but I find that hard to believe. You get a tip about a kid. You drop everything. You run halfway across Manhattan. What did you take? The bus? The train? I took the train. You mean to tell me you're not sitting on that train hoping that this is the one. The one who makes you famous. The one who puts you on a national stage. Objection. How do you know it worked? Your Honor, the witness is not on trial. Sustained. Move on, Counselor. Okay, Doctor. One last question. The defense claims you claim that the cause of Danny's so-called multiple personalities was sexual abuse in childhood. In all of your sessions with the defendant, has he ever told you he was sexually abused? Dr. Goodwin, has anyone ever told you or has the defendant ever claimed he was sexually abused? It's a yes or no question. No. No further questions, Your Honor. The defense is not on trial.