The Psychiatrist Was Pointlessly Annoying And Badly Written.

Why would a medical professional goad a mentally unstable person the way he did in the film?

It would have been more interesting and suspenseful if the people at the radio station reacted realistically, with the psychiatrist and the radio host using their respective positions to both learn more about and try to diffuse Norman, while the crew tried to contact the authorities.

Instead we get an unproductive, lazy, manufactured conflict between the two characters, where they seem to fall right in line with politically correct stereotypes, like the old white man is bad and the young black woman is good. The media is good. Psychiatry is bad. Talk-show-hosts chain-smoke, etc.

Also, the scene where they argue around the table (with spinning camera) looks like a blatant knock-off of Talk Radio. Too bad Oliver Stone didn't direct this one as well.