Was the Piano Man a sham?
- 22 Aug 05, 12:00 AM
Here on Ouch, we've been following the story of the Piano Man with great interest, from a mental health perspective, ever since it broke back in . Quick update: the unnamed man, who it was claimed was an excellent pianist after he gave virtuoso performances whilst in psychiatric care, was discovered wandering on Sheppey in Kent. He was taken to hospital, but had not uttered a single word to medical staff in four months. Theories for his condition ranged from a nervous breakdown that had left him unable to speak, post-traumatic stress disorder or autism.
Yet over the weekend, it appears that he was discharged from hospital and returned home to Germany.
Depending on what you believe, The Mirror is today that the whole thing was a sham - that the mysterious Piano Man "used to work with mentally ill patients and is thought to have copied some of their characteristics to fool psychiatric doctors about his own imagined illness". Oh, and he's gay too (although quite what that's got to do anything is beyond Monkey). Furthermore, it seems that the virtuoso piano-playing skills weren't quite so, um, virtuoso - he could only tap one key continuously on the piano in the hospital's chapel (but if that's the case, why was it said in the press that he was of concert pianist standard? How did that happen?)
The local health trust is apparently considering suing him for leading them to waste tens of thousands of pounds on his treatment.
It's worth pointing out that the above details do seem to be just The Mirror's rather sensationalist take on this extraordinary story at the moment. Our own is currently reporting that the Piano Man has simply been discharged from care "following a marked improvement in his condition", with West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust refusing to comment further due to patient confidentiality.
Whatever the truth is, it's still one curious story.
Comments
If this guy had been a blutwurst (black pudding) maker from Bavaria, instead of the glamorous title of concert pianist, would he have attracted all this media attention? I think not. Getting psychological/psychiatric treatment in Germany can be difficult at times. It can be easier here especially if you present yourself with a lesser known or esoteric range of symptoms. Any consultant worth his salt who wants to write something up for the journals!
The fact that the NHS Trust itself is (appropriately) unwilling to break patient confidentiality by saying anything at all about this case, but that the Mirror still accepts the word of an unofficial 'insider' who looks like s/he has decided to make a quick buck by selling an entirely unconfirmed story rings rather loud alarm bells for me. Everyone loves the idea that mental illness is either made up (attention-seeking) or a big sensation of some sort (scary crazy people with axes and knives). What a shame that someone decided to do the same with this fascinating story, whether his/her highly suspect conclusions are true or not.
I'm from the Isle of Sheppey where Piano Man was picked up. I'm particularly taken by the idea that my fellow Kent homelanders didn't know the difference between a one finger plonking on one note, and a virtuoso performance. I would like to suggest that this is because they know nothing other than the uber chavvy Invicta FM when it comes to music. Poor fella tho. Clearly he's not too well. I hope he gets the support he needs back in Bavaria - where incidentally I'm going in a few months.
This story shows that, while it is difficult to convincingly fake the real symptoms of autism, it is easy to fool people by playing to their stereotypes. It reminds me of that guy, only known as DH, who managed to trick some people into giving him an Oscar.
I liked this story about Piano Man, He sounded like a very lonely person but am glad that they identified him and that he broke his silence to go home. I wish him well for the future.
I am concerned about the reports that the Piano Man was 'faking' his mental illness. Assuming for a minute that he was 'faking it', surely the fact that someone is 1) capable of 2) willing to go to such extreme lengths to 'achieve' hospital admission and treatment indicates that there's a problem at some level. Well people don't pretend to be mentally ill, nor do they leave their whole life behind. Nor do they become mute (even by 'choice') for several months. There must be something going on, even if it's not what his care team originally thought.
I worked with Andreas, as we now know him and fought hard to get him the help he needed and am very proud of the fact that he was given excellent care in England and eventually felt able to identify himself before being able to return to his family. I have been touched deeply by this man and I will never forget him. He is young and when he came to England he was obviously very desperate. I wish him well and hope he can re-build his life
I just want to say (again) that I simply love everything I have read which was written by Crippled Monkey. Please write more.