Dispatches: Happiness the Patti Davis Way

For most people in therapy, the years of big bills and 50-minute "hours" lead merely to healthier, more balanced emotional lives. But for the famous and semi-famous -- for the Roseanne Arnolds, the Suzanne Somerses and the daughters of recent two-term Republican Presidents -- the rewards of painful self-reflection are more quantifiable: invitations to appear on Sally Jessy, book contracts, speaking engagements, invitations to appear on Oprah and so on. For celebrities, personal growth comes with a sense of obligation to suffer all the little inner children to come unto them, particularly if there is a fee involved.

Accordingly, Patti Davis,...