Psychiatrist Prosecuted

As repoted here. Apparently, as time went on, the patient mysteriously was diagnosed with more and more dis-orders, requiring more and more personal attention from the psych.

A Morro Bay psychiatrist is being prosecuted by the state for alleged negligence after he reportedly became infatuated with a patient and refused to end her therapy.

Douglas Peter Murphy is being accused of gross negligence and violating confidentiality, according to a complaint filed by the state Medical Board that is being prosecuted by the state Attorney General’s Office.

State prosecutor Isa Rodriguez said Wednesday he could not elaborate on the details of the case filed Oct. 25, but said he received the complaint about a year ago regarding alleged incidents that happened from 2001 to 2003.

Murphy is not facing criminal prosecution but allegedly violated state business and profession codes.

Murphy said Thursday in a phone interview that he plans to dispute the allegations and referred questions to his San Luis Obispo attorney Mark Connely, who said that his client denies any wrongdoing. Connely declined to elaborate.

State Medical Board records show Murphy has a valid physician and surgeon license that was originally issued in 1998. He has practiced locally since 2000 and has an office in Morro Bay.

The state Medical Board records showed no previous disciplinary actions against Murphy.

According to the complaint, a woman came to Murphy in January 2001 and asked to be seen every two months to obtain sleeping and panic disorder medication. She told Murphy she was receiving psychotherapy elsewhere and had been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder and borderline personality disorder, the complaint says. The complaint identified the woman only as Patient B.

At the time, Murphy worked at Coastal Psychiatric Care on Portola Road in Atascadero.

Despite the woman’s request for bimonthly visits, Murphy scheduled sessions once a month, eventually increasing them to five times a week, according to the complaint. Additionally, he diagnosed her with a range of disorders that included post- traumatic stress disorder, major depression, panic disorder, agoraphobia, obsessive- compulsive disorder, anorexia nervosa and avoidant personality disorder, the complaint said.

"As therapy continued and the frequency of the sessions increased, (Murphy) became overly involved in Patient B’s life and with her illness, to the point of infatuation," the complaint read. "(Murphy) would see Patient B outside the office at the Rock in Morro Bay, California, and on Chalk Mountain, ostensibly for therapy where they would have lunch together."

Murphy also took the patient shopping, bought her gifts, such as religious tapes and compact discs, and brought her to a church he attended, the complaint read.

"At times (Murphy) would play his guitar and sing for Patient B during therapy sessions. (Murphy) began calling Patient B by telephone at home in the early morning and in the evening along with sending sometimes lengthy, almost daily emails," the complaint read. "On the weekend (Murphy) would be in contact with Patient B by pager, telephone and email."

Murphy allegedly divulged confidential information about the woman, without her consent, to another person, the complaint said.

When the patient tried to stop therapy with Murphy after he reportedly yelled at her during a counseling session, he sent long e-mails to her, the complaint said. The woman sent Murphy six written requests asking that he stop contacting her, the complaint read.

During one of the last meetings with Murphy, which was at Chalk Mountain in Atascadero, he told her that he missed her, hugged her and kissed her on the cheek, according to the complaint.

The last time the two met was on Nov. 5, 2003. It was unclear how the therapy ended.

Prosecutors are asking for Murphy’s medical license to be revoked or suspended and are alleging Murphy violated professional rules of conduct by failing to maintain appropriate boundaries with the patient.

In addition, Murphy allegedly violated the patient’s confidentiality and failed to respect her request to end therapy.

A hearing date has not been set in the case, Rodriguez said.