At one point, following his consecration Robinson gave an interview in a gay bar in New York City, but in these days of Episcopal openness and inclusivity, no one saw this as anything unusual. After all he was merely hanging out with 'his people'. "I'm not embarrassed about being a gay man. I'm not embarrassed about being in a place with other gay folk," said Robinson. But what did he drink, how much did he drink, did he leave the bar smashed?

"Entering treatment can be a convenient cover," the psychiatrist told VirtueOnline. Is there 'another shoe' to drop that we will learn about?

And why didn't Robinson's history come to light in background checks when he was running for bishop? Did the former Bishop of New Hampshire Douglas Theuner know about Robinson's condition and conceal it?

This writer once worked for the late Bishop of Virginia, Robert B. Hall and saw first hand the concealment that goes on where an alcoholic bishop is concerned. Everybody knew he had a problem and all his staff covered for him. Watching him get through a Eucharist was an exercise in fear that he would simply collapse and start babbling incoherently. The name of the game was control and when it was over, the bishop (and everybody else) breathed a hearty sigh of relief.

But there is much irony in the case of V. Gene Robinson's self revelation. Clergy wellness has long been a focus of Robinson's ministry, and in the Nineties he developed the "Being Well in Christ" conference model for the Cornerstone Project, and led clergy conference in over 20 dioceses in the U.S. and Canada!

"Did that curriculum include a discussion of the well-known causes of alcoholism? If it did, I cannot fathom Robinson's purported long-standing misunderstanding of this ailment," wrote a priest who knew him.

Said Robinson: "I will be dealing with the disease of alcoholism-which, for years, I have thought of as a failure of will or discipline on my part, rather than a disease over which my particular body simply has no control, except to stop drinking altogether."

But there is no taking of any personal responsibility in this statement and this worries a number of professional therapists.

Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, in his book - "Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth", said it was no secret that practicing homosexuals have a rough row to hoe than the rest of us. Drug addiction in that segment of the population is 50% higher than the general population. Alcoholism is 50% higher. Suicide rate is 50% higher and the life expectancy of a practicing homosexual is on average 20 years less than the general population, he wrote.

A retired Episcopal psychotherapist and priest who lived and worked in Michigan for many years and counseled countless priests from Roman Catholic dioceses and a religious order for addiction and sexual problems, as well as conducted weekend retreats in six or seven retreat houses - primarily for recovering people, had a different take on things.

"Robinson's 28 day inpatient treatment is not a quickie fix. Based on LONG experience as a psychotherapist who specialized in Addiction Disease, patients do not grasp and hold onto sobriety if they have serious other psychological problems to address. (E.g. sexual identity, sociopathy, depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, and other issues.)"

"I am not diagnosing Robinson as I do not have the man's psychosocial history, but there are indicators screaming for attention and I think I now grasp the basis of the New Hampshire problem -- to date. There is also the chance that Addiction Disease is being used as a cop-out and a cover, (attorneys have gotten juries to justify all sorts of nonsense). I will guarantee you one thing regarding a worthwhile prognosis: A lack of values clarification is detrimental to a sound therapeutic response in treatment. Also bear in mind that there is an infallible way to tell when a practicing alcoholic is lying -- his lips are moving. This is why recovery programs make such an absolute issue of rigorous honesty."

"In my professional experience, an honest open relationship with God and other people is mandatory in recovery. These relationships cannot be established until the patient accepts having character defects and shortcomings, and acknowledges that he does not know all of the answers. Indeed, he does not know most of the questions. Then, and only then, can the patient honestly and humbly ask God to remove the defects of character or shortcomings (also called sins) and begin the path of recovery."

Speaking to VirtueOnline on the grounds of anonymity he said, "I spent years as a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Addictions Counselor, Certified Alcoholism & Drug Counselor, and Marriage & Family Counselor. I have an earned doctorate. I was the psychotherapist for all licensed health care professionals (MDs, DDSs, RNs, etc. - anybody with a health related state license) in the central part of the lower peninsula of Michigan. They successfully completed treatment with me or permanently surrendered their licenses to practice. (This was called 'motivation.') They were then monitored for the rest of their careers because relapse is an ongoing threat."

"It concerns me that some of our people with limited or no medical/psychological education or experience want to argue with the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association and other authorities regarding Alcohol Dependence as a diagnosable disease. It is so defined, and treatment based on the 12 Step philosophy of A.A. in the Minnesota Model is still the most successful route for recovery, he said.

The psychotherapist said that AA's 12 Steps are based on Scripture but have been stripped of all Christian or religious vocabulary. "AA is not and never has been a Christian organization. The cofounders happened to be Christians. They tried recovery through their Church and the Oxford Group (not the Oxford movement) where they were not accepted as people of worth. They turned away from the Church (both happened to be Congregationalists from different parts of the country who did not know each other) and they deliberately refused to affiliate with any Church or other organization as AA. Affiliation always fails in dealing with chemical addiction. As a couple million sober alcoholics will testify today, A.A. works."

The doctor begged everyone to "pray for this [Robinson's] tortured soul (who many of us have come to detest) and for Episcopalians of New Hampshire and for our Anglican Communion that has been injured."

"Bishop Robinson has done two things for all of us: He has brought alcoholism back into the public forum, and the second Anglican Reformation is now in progress."

END