I notice that Wallace constantly (in my interpretation) shows the medical (specifically psychiatric) field as relatively useless and foolish. I find it highly amusing, even on a personal level, but at the same time I silently ask the author “why do you dislike counselors so much?” Not only are tons of characters addicted, they also can’t seem to get any decent professional mental help. I’ll list the things that make me think of this as a theme:

-Hal’s father had that whole “professional conversationalist” stunt that sort of set up a lack of faith in the title “professional”.
-The whole thing with the grief counselor and Hal (we’ve talked about it in class, so I don’t think I need to say much more).
-The school shrink being constantly described as terrible and rarely consulted for real problems (if it can be avoided). Then there’s the hysterical conversation between Dr. Rusk and Stice on page 550 (I loved that part) where Rusk clearly needs help herself.
-Mario and Lyle are the ones who unofficially serve as the school’s mental health department. They are the most useful. But Mario is described as only average and naïve. Yet he has more insight on people than those who study the human mind. And then there’s the fact that Lyle licks people’s sweat and is…well…that’s just really really weird.

The idea of “trained personnel” seems like a complete joke to Wallace.