They’re Just What Every ‘Survivor’ May Really Need: Shrinks

Though “Hollywood Squares” hasn’t come calling yet, there’s no doubt that San Diego psychologist Gene Ondrusek is a man in demand.

The morning news shows on CBS and NBC and dozens of radio disc jockeys clamored to interview him over the summer, and his name appeared in such publications as the New York Times and Entertainment Weekly. A new Fox series called “Love Cruise” put him to work behind the scenes. And earlier this month, he was a panelist on the resurrected TV game show “I’ve Got a Secret.”

It’s all because Ondrusek flew to an island called Pulau Tiga to help 16 “Survivor” castaways handle the strain of being stranded with little food and lots of intrigue. In doing so, he became a founding member of a new club of show-biz shrinks: reality-show consultants.

As “Survivor” clones flood the TV scene, producers are enlisting psychologists like Ondrusek to gauge the emotional well-being of potential contestants. But their unprecedented work has created dilemmas for the psychologists, who are advising shows that pose the real risk of mental or physical harm to contestants.

“It was a fascinating quagmire for us,” said Richard Levak, a Del Mar psychologist who worked with Ondrusek on “Survivor” and is on board for the sequel shooting in Australia, though he manages his counseling from his California base.

“If psychologists don’t get involved,” Levak continued, “will that do more harm? Will that discourage people from doing the show?”

Reality-show producers are well aware that things can go wrong. In 1997, the first contestant banished from “Expedition Robinson”--the Swedish inspiration for “Survivor”--committed suicide by throwing himself under a train. His widow blamed the show. With that tragedy in mind, the producers of “Survivor” approached Ondrusek last year.

“Survivor” producer Mark Burnett learned of Ondrusek when the two men appeared on a National Public Radio series about the mind. Both talked about thrill-seeking behavior. So when Ondrusek was asked to become involved in “Survivor,” he jumped at the chance not only to try such an unconventional assignment but also to portray psychology in a positive light. He quickly recruited Levak to work alongside him.

“I was fascinated but kind of scared about doing it,” Levak said. “My reputation is important to me, and I had no idea how this would play out. It seemed kind of irregular.”

But Ondrusek reminded him that if they refused, “someone less qualified might do it and ‘Survivor’ would go ahead,” Levak said. “We might as well make sure no one got on the island who wasn’t fit to go.”

“Survivor” was an intriguing “client” for Ondrusek and Levak.

Ondrusek, with a doctorate in psychology from the University of Texas, has been in private practice since 1983 and works mainly with corporations. Levak, with a doctorate in psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego, has been in private practice for 15 years.

The two set up psychological tests for the show’s applicants, designed to screen out those who weren’t resilient or “hardy.” Each finalist underwent as many as seven hours of testing and the process took 10 days.

“We ran across some folks who had a whole lot of stress back home, and we said, ‘No, this is not a good thing for you to do,’ ” Ondrusek recalled. “You’re in bankruptcy, your wife is on welfare, this is not the best thing to make your life stable.”

Ondrusek then went to the South China Sea for the filming. He debriefed the contestants after they walked down a trail after being banished by their fellow castaways. Both psychologists were impressed by their level of involvement in the show.

“Usually we’re seen as advisors,” Ondrusek said. “In this one, we were involved from pre-production planning, casting and assessment all the way through being asked to look at dailies during the run of the show. Even now we’re following up.”

Ondrusek recently finished his most recent reality-show assignment, helping producers pick contestants to take part in “Love Cruise.” The Fox show about 16 young people who must banish participants off a cruise ship in the Caribbean is scheduled to be shown early next year.

The counselors face their own problems when they sign on to do these shows. Close interaction with producers can create divided loyalties as consultants may become torn between their responsibilities to the producers and to the contestants, warned Arthur Caplan, a medical ethics expert and director of the Center for Bioethics in Philadelphia. The situation is similar to that of athletic doctors whose job is to get players back on the field regardless of what’s best for them in the long run, he said.

Doctors and psychologists should make their allegiances clear to the contestants, he said: “They should be saying, I’m not your doctor. I’m working for the show.”

Though their high-profile work can help ordinary people better understand the mental health profession, reality-show consultants do have to guard their autonomy, said Chicago psychologist Kate Wachs, who frequently appears on talk shows and advises colleagues about working with the media.

“You don’t want to give the studio types the idea that they can just hire a shrink who will lend credibility to the show and be manipulated,” she said. “You’ve got to be ethical and stay that way. You’re not something somebody orders up on a menu. You have to play a responsible role.”