Cohn, Trump, Group Therapy

One of the basic premises of group therapy is that once bad patterns of behavior are recognized by members of the group, that bad behavior will stop. That axiom is the bedrock of this approach to hold people accountable by what they say or do. It is rarely a comfortable experience as behaviors that we don’t even recognize in ourselves are not easy to accept.

Since a group of people were engaging in the experience, it was hard to continue to get away with unhappy parts of our personality without being called out for it. It was an important part of my training when I was at Duke Medical Center. Each of us had to engage in group therapy with our colleagues in the program. Sometimes sessions would end, and revelations made about an unhelpful interpersonal style which we needed to correct and  not repeat was to avoid unhelpful behavior with people we were there to help.

All of us have hot buttons that trigger our behavior which are developed as we move through various stages of development. Psychologists refer to this as defense mechanisms that protect how we want to be seen by others. If it results in the desired effect when we see it in others, we often try to imitate that person. It is the basis of cults.

One of the most ruthless of attorneys in our history was Roy Cohn who Trump met when Trump was still going around picking up due rent money that people owed. Trump was fascinated by Cohn’s effectiveness in his attacks on others. Cohn was one of the influences of Senator McCarthy who started the red scare in Washington. Cohn taught Trump how to make it in the world and become a success like him. On July 31, 2025, the staff of Berrett-Koehler Publishers demonstrated how Cohn’s formula is one that Trump has used since the beginning of his professional life as a developer. I would submit that if people were more aware of Trump’s strategy for success, like in group therapy, he could get called out for his unhelpful style. I chuckle when I think of him in our group at Duke Medical Center.

Cohn’s Strategy

The overall approach should be to deny, deflect, and attack.

Never apologize even when faced with irrefutable proof.

Always counterattack with greater force. Cohn said: “I bring out the worst in my enemies. That is how I defeat them.”

Use the legal system not for seeking justice but as a weapon to get your desired result.

Use the media ruthlessly. Most will remember the accusation and not the retraction.

Use fear as both a shield and a sword. Cohn helped McCarthy to develop the “red scare” in Washington with this approach.

Build a fortress of loyalty. Demand loyalty from those who you will lead. Swift punishment of disloyalty is essential.

Now take what we know about Trump. He checks all the criteria of Cohn’s strategy. What if all the media posted Cohn’s strategy and simply let everyone see it. Trump couldn’t sue for it is what it is. It would be like giving the opposing football team our playbook for the next game. Now would be a great time as the Epstein Files and Trump’s reaction to them is following Trump’s playbook to the letter.

Everyone puts Trump’s actions because of his father’s attitude toward him. That could be argued, but Cohn’s point of view can’t be. It is what it is! I have just learned that one of the fathers of group dynamics is the grandfather of one of the people reading this post. His grandfather was a medical doctor ahead of his times. He was a forerunner of Beck and Burns in the development of cognitive psychology as well.

Group therapy works. It is the basis for Cancer Support Groups and other helping support groups. It has a particular dynamic that 1 + 1 equals 3. It makes good people better and bad people worse. It’s the hidden ingredient discovered in helping others with the same challenge of making your good, better, and your better, the best that it could be. What we can’t do on our own, we can do with people in a group.