Who Does Your Doctor Really Work For?

In a sidelight from another medical field, TIME Magazine has an interesting article regarding the fallout from a US DOJ investigation into kickbacks in the filed of Orthopedics. We note that the Psychiatric field is probably also great fodder for this sort of thing. But the DOJ is probably just getting warmed up ....

The past year has been a tough one for the business of orthopedics, one in which it has taken a hard, public slap from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ, you see, has discovered the "relationships" that so many orthopedic companies have established with orthopedic surgeons. Companies give money to doctors to test products, to help design or tout products and sometimes just to use a particular product (as in kickback). Orthopedists are hardly the only doctors paid by medical companies, but when the sheer amount of money being given to orthopedists came out of the shade into the sharp San Francisco sunshine last week, it did make quite a few of us blink.

The DOJ's slap was felt acutely by everyone at the convention. No more free dinners, shoulder bags, flashlights and pens. Way fewer models in leotards draped across operating tables and traction equipment. A new ruling requires every research presentation to begin with full disclosure of all monetary relationships the speaker has with any company. Every single fully trained doctor I heard speak was getting paid by a company; many of the bigger-name doctors were getting paid by three or four. How much money was still the subject of gossip — the exact amount is not required to be broadcast in these podium confessionals. The DOJ has, however, ordered companies to list the doctors in their employ, as well as the amounts paid them, on their websites. Judging by those figures, it adds up to plenty. And it got our attention at AAOS. Some doctors thought it immoral; others lamented the doubt it cast on the integrity of research. But I think most just wanted in.

Shrinks say sex with their patients is an "occupational hazard" they just have to deal with

As reported in the NY Post

Shrinks are now labeling sex with their patients an "occupational hazard."

On the heels of the popular HBO series "In Treatment," in which a handsome 50-year-old psychologist played by Gabriel Byrne falls for a gorgeous 30-year-old patient who reveals her love and lust for him, psychiatrists are airing their own dirty little secret.

About 12 percent of therapists admit to sexual contact with patients, and many who cross the line are "the last person we would expect," Dr. Glen Gabbard told a crowd at a recent Manhattan conference.

"We all have to practice as if this could happen to us - it's an occupational hazard to which we are all vulnerable," said Gabbard, a psychiatrist who treats peers for sexual misconduct.

The conference focused on the HBO show and "erotic transference," a Freudian phenomenon in which patients develop romantic feelings for their therapists.

Sex with patients is a felony in California and eight other states, but not in New York.

Sultry prison psychologist Magdalena Sanchez, 35, pleaded guilty this month to lying about having sex with a 29-year-old alleged Bloods gang member in the Brooklyn federal lockup. Sanchez, married to a Wall Street trader, was caught on tape in steamy cellphone conversations with the prisoner.

Kips Bay psychologist Mary Anastasiow, a 55-year-old married mom, had sex 10 times in her office and minivan with a smitten female patient distraught over her dead cat, Peaches.

"It was the most passionate kissing and hugging I have ever been involved in," patient Susan Yellin said of the writhing and "moaning" on the therapist's couch.

But when Anastasiow suddenly dumped her - as both a lover and a patient - Yellin was crushed. "I felt so deeply abandoned," she said.

Yellin sued and settled for a confidential sum. Anastasiow lost her license.

Psychologist is expected to plead guilty in domestic violence case

Report from the Indianapolis Star

A prominent Fishers psychologist has agreed to plead guilty in a domestic violence case involving his wife, a fellow therapist, a prosecutor confirmed Friday.

Special Prosecutor Todd Meyer said David M. Buckingham, whose wife, Beth Buckingham, also is a psychologist and behavioral therapist at Buckingham & Associates, is scheduled to plead guilty March 13 in Hamilton Superior Court.

Details of the plea agreement Meyer negotiated with defense attorney Bruce Boje are expected to be filed then.

Typically, plea agreements let a defendant avoid prosecution on one or more charges. In Buckingham's case, the attorneys say, the deal would resolve two battery charges and related charges that he violated a no-contact order.

According to the five counts of invasion of privacy filed July 3, Buckingham sent five text messages to his wife after his May 29 release from jail pending trial in the battery case.

Authorities filed the charges after deciding not to pursue evidence that he had also made threatening phone calls to his wife from the jail before his release on $10,000 bond.

Buckingham, 53, initially was arrested May 26 after Beth Buckingham accused him of attacking her.

"The accused slapped her in the face with an open hand, slammed the car door on her right foot and stomped several times on her left foot," Fishers police officer Tom Weger reported.

Sgt. Gerry Hepp said the incident involved an argument and the woman's attempt to leave home for the weekend.

The couple lived in the 9800 block of Sugarleaf Place in Rosewood.

He was charged with battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a felony, and domestic battery, a misdemeanor, and ordered to avoid all contact with his wife.
The subsequent invasion of privacy charges were filed after Buckingham sent her text messages in June.

In seeking a special prosecutor from another county, Hamilton County Prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp notified the case judge that she and her administrative chief deputy are friends of the couple and worked with them professionally.

Heath Ledger Died from Overdose of Drug Cocktail of Psychiatric Drug and Pain Medications

Hollywood star Heath Ledger, found dead in his New York apartment two weeks ago, died of accidental intoxication caused by a drug cocktail of psychiatric drugs and painkillers. As seen in this report

Ledger, who scored critical acclaim for his performance as a repressed gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain" in 2005, had six prescription medicines including the drugs marketed as Xanax and Valium in his system when he died.

"Mr Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine," the New York chief medical examiner's office said in a statement.

This echoes the drug death of Anna Nicole Smith from a somewhat similar cocktail last year.

Psychiatrist Accused of Molesting Woman

From WXIA-TV 11 in Atlanta

A woman who sought medical help for "anxiety issues" was given an appointment with a psychiatrist who, she reported to police last week, sexually assaulted her during his consultation with her.

Now police are saying that the psychiatrist may have also molested additional patients, under the guise of performing physical exams.

Lawrenceville police arrested the psychiatrist, Dr. Mohammad Uzair Qureshi, on Friday, charging him with one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual battery.

Since then, "we've had two more victims come forward that were victimized by Dr. Qureshi," popularly known as "Dr. Q," said Lawrenceville Police Captain Greg Vaughn.

According to the police incident report, the 43 year old woman had gone to Gwinnett Rockdale Newton Community Service Board, or "GRN," on Gwinnett Drive near Scenic Highway in Lawrenceville, last Thursday, "to consult with a physician about anxiety issues."

The doctor who saw her was Dr. Qureshi who, she complained, "conducted what she felt was an unnecessary breast exam" during her first and only appointment with him.

The report says "Dr. Qureshi unexpectedly grabbed her left wrist for what she assumed was done to check her pulse. She then stated that Dr. Qureshi asked her to pull up her shirt" and "reveal her breast from her bra. At which point, Dr. Qureshi began touching both of her breast [sic]."

The woman immediately complained, and GRN called police.

"There's no reason in the world," Capt. Vaughn said Monday, "that a psychiatrist would need to take a female top off to do some type of examination."

Dr. Qureshi was released over the weekend on a bond of $33,200 as police intensified their investigation of him.

Capt. Vaughn said detectives are checking out the complaints of the two women who came forward following Dr. Qureshi's arrest, and that the doctor may face additional charges.

The address that Dr. Qureshi gave police when he was arrested is an apartment complex off of Lawrenceville Highway, just west of Lawrenceville. An employee of the complex said Dr. Qureshi has moved out. 11Alive News was unable to reach Dr. Qureshi by telephone for comment.

GRN released a statement Monday that Dr. Qureshi "was not an employee of GRN, but was an independent contractor supplied to GRN by a private company that provides psychiatric services" to GRN.

The statement goes on to say that the medical director of that company talked with Dr. Qureshi about the complaint and then fired him.

A check of the state medical board website shows that there have been no medical board investigations of Dr. Qureshi in Georgia and no disciplinary actions taken against him in Georgia.

But Lawrenceville police are asking women who believe "Dr. Q." had inappropriate physical contact with them during an appointment, but have remained silent about it, to call Lawrenceville police.

"This man is a doctor," said Capt. Vaughn. "And we all trust our doctors. And we all listen to them. So Dr. Qureshi was, obviously, he could convince these ladies that they needed some other type of exam" and they may not have realized, at first, Vaughn said, that the physical exam was not part of a psychiatrist's normal procedure.

60 Minutes Report: Who Killed Rebecca Riley?

Last night 60 Minutes broadcast a report on the death of Rebecca Riley, and on the storm of controversy that has resulted when it was found out that the 4 year old died as a result of an overdose of psychiatric medication for bipolar disorder, the disease formerly known as Manic Depression.

Bipolar disorder in a 4 year? Are the psychs crazy? In my opinion, yes they are.

The full 15 minute report is available on the website, including streaming video through CBS's own Flash player and a transcript. It is too long to provide in full here. Instead, we can provide some snippets that we find interesting.

"According to the medical examiner, her heart and lungs were damaged, and this was due to prolonged abuse of these prescription drugs, rather than one incident. Prolonged abuse of these prescription drugs," Couric remarks.

"Yes. And the doctor had Rebecca on .35 milligrams, daily, for months. And I didn't know anything about dosages. How much was fatal," Riley says.

The medical examiner ruled that Rebecca died of a drug overdose from a mix of medications. And that the amount of Clonidine alone would have been fatal.

Today, awaiting trial, Carolyn Riley says she now knows more about bipolar disorder than she ever did when her daughter was alive.

Asked if she thinks Rebecca was really bipolar, Riley says, "Probably not."

"What do you think was wrong with her, now?" Couric asks.

"I don't know," she says. "Maybe she was just hyper for her age."

---

The prosecutor alleged at their arraignment in February that they were overdosing Rebecca by repeatedly giving her more medication than she was prescribed. "It was used on Rebecca, her sister and her brother for one simple purpose by these defendants: to knock them out and make them sleep," the prosecutor claimed.

But the Rileys claim that they were following doctor's orders. 60 Minutes wanted to talk to the psychiatrist, Dr. Kayoko Kifuji, but she declined. Instead 60 Minutes got a statement from her hospital: "The care we provided was appropriate and within responsible professional standards."

60 Minutes did obtain a copy of Rebecca's medical records. In them, Dr. Kifuji notes Rebecca's increased risk of mental illness because of her family history. She diagnosed Rebecca after Carolyn said her daughter was - quote - "driving me crazy" and her mood switches within a minute. She would eventually prescribe the preschooler more than ten pills a day.

Riley says she did feel that that was a lot of pills for a little girl, but she says she went ahead and gave Rebecca the prescriptions. "I trusted the doctor," she says.

Dr. Kifuji has stopped practicing, pending a ruling by the state medical board. But her lawyer has said she was just practicing mainstream psychiatry. It's now estimated that nearly one million children like Rebecca Riley have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, or manic depression. And while some psychiatrists told 60 Minutes that early diagnosis is saving lives, a growing number of doctors say it is being over-diagnosed.

---

Dr. John McClellan [...] says the children's psychiatric hospital he runs in Washington state is filled with kids who have been misdiagnosed as bipolar. He says it has become a catchall for aggressive and troubled children.

"I think it's a problem to label kids with a major adult psychiatric disorder when they're five years old or when they're three years old," Dr. McClellan says. "Little kids are not adults. And little kids do things that if an adult did them, it would be evidence of a mental health problem."

"Having said that, if someone is bipolar and it presents later in life, doesn't it make sense that these issues exist really from birth?" Couric asks.

"No, that does make sense," McClellan says. "The problem is symptoms like irritability or recklessness or high energy when you're an eight-year-old don't necessarily predict in the long run developing bipolar disorder. Some might. Do you expose all those kids to medications to prevent the one kid that's going to get it?"

Maybe we need to ask if psychiatry kills. After all, the psychiatrist is not being investigated by law enforcement, and maybe psychiatrists should be, especially when there is a death involved. The death of a child.

Prenatal Antidepressants Linked to Preterm Births

Via the NewsMax News Wire

Antidepressant drug use during pregnancy, but not depression itself, is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth and lower fetal age at delivery, according to results of a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

"Depressive symptoms are not uncommon during pregnancy, and...symptoms may occur more frequently during pregnancy than in the postpartum period," write Dr. Rita Suri and colleagues from the University of California, Los Angeles. Depression during pregnancy and just after delivery "has been associated with low maternal weight gain, increased frequency of cigarette, alcohol, and substance use, and ambivalence about the pregnancy."

To further investigate, the researchers examined the effects of maternal depression and antidepressant drug use on fetal age and risk of preterm birth in a study of 90 pregnant women.

The women were divided into three groups: 49 women had major depressive disorder and were treated with antidepressant medication for more than 50 percent of their pregnancy; 22 women had major depressive disorder and were briefly treated or not treated with antidepressants during pregnancy; and a comparison group of 19 healthy pregnant women.

The average fetal age at birth was 38.5, 39.4, and 39.7 weeks in the three groups, respectively. The groups also differed in the rates of preterm birth (14.3 percent, 0 percent, and 5.3 percent) and rates of admission to the special care nursery (21 percent, 9 percent, and 0 percent).

No significant between-group differences were observed in actual infant birth weights or Apgar scores.

Based on these findings, the presence of depression per se during pregnancy did not adversely affect outcomes. "This result was surprising to us, as we had anticipated that depression and anxiety during pregnancy would be associated with an increased risk of preterm birth," Suri and colleagues write.

"The two groups of women with depression -- those who were treated with antidepressants and those who were not -- had similar degrees of depression and anxiety during pregnancy," they note.

These findings suggest that antidepressant use, rather than mild-to-moderate depression, was associated with lower fetal age and an increased risk of preterm birth.

SOURCE: American Journal of Psychiatry, August 2007

The truth behind the increase in child suicides

As seen a Psychiatric Services News Report of the American Psychiatric Association

"In 2003, U.S. physicians wrote 15 million antidepressant prescriptions for patients under age 18, according to FDA data. In the first six months of 2004, antidepressant prescriptions for children increased by almost 8 percent, despite the new drug labeling."

The CDC reports an increase in youth suicide from 2003 to 2004 and some "experts" are blaming this increase on the decline in antidepressant use among youth. However, the Black Box warning was not approved until September 2004 and, even then, it took months before the use of antidepressants among youth began to decline.

Data Courtesy of the SSRI Stories Website

End result? The experts are blaming an increase in suicides on a decrease of antidepressants that did not take place.

UPDATE (via the Furious Seasons weblog)

On September 12th the National Center For Health Statistics (a branch of the CDC) released preliminary death data for 2005 (see Table B of report here).

The suicide rate dropped from 10.9 per 100,000 in 2004 to 10.6 per 100,000 in 2005, a decrease of about 3 percent--still unacceptably high. 2005 was the first full year of the black box warning of possible suicides and suicidal ideation, which technically only applied to ages 0 to 14 at the time (it's been expanded through 24 year olds more recently). The new data won't be broken out by age groups, genders and race until next summer, so for now it isn't possible to say how the 2004 and 2005 suicide data compared.

Which confirms the national trend

Psychiatrist, wife die in murder-suicide

As Reported in the Battle Creek Enquirer - under apparently mysterious circumstances, where the psychiatrist, sadly, could not heal himself.

The deaths of a Livingston County couple, one a psychiatrist who practiced in Battle Creek, have been ruled by police as a likely murder-suicide.

The bodies of John M. Lowenbergh, 65, and his wife Nancy, 62, were found Monday in their burning home in Livingston County's Hamburg Township, where they lived 23 years.

John Lowenbergh practiced at Battle Creek's Behavioral Health Resources at 3630 Capital Ave. S.W., a part of Summit Pointe.

Nancy Lowenbergh died of a single gunshot wound to the head before fire broke out, said Hamburg Township Police Chief Steve Luciano. Her death was ruled a homicide.

John Lowenbergh also had a gunshot wound to the head that police said likely was self-inflicted. But autopsy results indicated he was alive when the fire started and died of smoke inhalation, Luciano said.

"We continue searching for any potential motive or explanation why this terrible tragedy occurred," Luciano said. "Everyone continues to tell us that the Lowenberghs were good people."

Erv Brinker, chief executive officer of Summit Pointe, said Lowenbergh was a part-time contractual employee for the past 18 months, working 20 to 30 hours a week.

"He used computers and technology looking at brain waves," Brinker said Friday. "He was interested in how the brain worked."

Brinker called Lowenbergh an intelligent man. "He was fairly reserved and he worked well with staff and was a personable gentleman. There was no indication there was a problem."

Brinker said word of the deaths was a surprise.

"The staff who worked with him were surprised and greatly saddened," Brinker said.

Before coming to Battle Creek, Lowenbergh was a community faculty member of the Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies.

Lowenbergh had an apartment at the Arbors of Battle Creek at 10 Rambling Road on Battle Creek's south side. Hamburg Township police searched the apartment Friday.

The fire was reported by a man who arrived to plow the Lowenberghs' driveway and saw smoke coming from the home's roof vents. The fire apparently had been set in an upstairs guest bedroom, Luciano said.

The Lowenberghs were found lying side-by-side in their bed, Luciano said. Two dogs in the home were rescued by neighbors.

Firefighters reported that the house was locked and there was no evidence that anyone else was inside. Nothing appeared missing and police said they didn't know of threats against the couple.

A semi-automatic handgun which had been fired twice was found in the bedroom near the bodies, police said.

The couple had been married for 35 years. John Lowenbergh was a practicing psychiatrist and an Army veteran who served in Vietnam. Nancy Lowenbergh was a registered nurse who worked for the University of Michigan Health System.

A memorial service was scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Knox Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor.

Psychiatric unit is forced to quit taking new patients due to complaints against doctor

A story we missed from the ST. Louis Post-Dispath of February 17th.

State officials have ordered Jefferson Memorial Hospital to stop accepting new patients in its psychiatric unit until complaints by two patients against a doctor are resolved.

In a surprise visit to the 40-bed psychiatric unit at the hospital in Crystal City on Feb. 9, investigators with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services determined that actions by the doctor could have created "an immediate and serious threat" against patients, department spokeswoman Nanci Gonder said Friday.

"We did find concerns related to the safety and well-being of the patients there," Gonder said.

Neither she nor Mark Brodeur, Jefferson Memorial's chief executive officer, would discuss the nature of the complaints or any specific allegations against the doctor.

The doctor, who was not identified by state or hospital officials, no longer works at the psychiatric unit, Brodeur said.

He declined to say whether any disciplinary action was being taken against the doctor. No patients in the unit were harmed in any way, he added.

"The state always acts very swiftly and very strongly" in response to such complaints, Brodeur said.

"We have a very thorough corrections plan that we're ready to present to the state," he said.

If the state accepts the corrections plan, the psychiatric unit can resume accepting new patients, Gonder said.

For now, Jefferson Memorial is referring new psychiatric patients to St. Anthony's Medical Center in south St. Louis County or other hospitals in St. Louis County, he said.

The UCLA Psychiatric Sex Scandal - An Overview

Since we have had a lot of folks stopping by here for information, here is a list of our blog entries about the UCLA Sex Scandal Trial of February 2007

• Who really needs the therapy in this cuckoo's nest? Psychiatrists gone amuck in UCLA Sex Scandal
• The trial of the sensory - the sexual harassment case that exposed the private lives of UCLA psychiatrists goes to the jury for its analysis.
• More on the Psychiatric Sex Scandal at the UCLA Medical Center
  
• Jury Rules in UCLA Sex Scandal Case - Nobody wins
• More Tongue Wagging on the UCLA Psychiatrist Sex Scandal Verdict
  

The names of the two main characters in this tawdry saga are Dr. David Martorano, Psychiatrist; and Dr. Heather Krell, Psychiatrist. (Krell is best known for being Winona Ryder's shrink after the shoplifting case)

The best pretrial summary is this from that first link:

According to reports of a steamy sexual harassment case in trial in Los Angeles, a male psychiatrist claims he slept his way out of the chief residency when he ended his relationship with his female supervisor. He also claims the woman damaged his reputation by denying they'd had a sexual relationship, thus branding him a liar.

She, in turn, countersued him for libel and slander, claiming the supposed affair with her was just a fabrication aimed at luring a second psychiatrist into a relationship, and there's a third psychiatrist who is reportedly going to testify under a code name that she had a sexual relationship with the busy resident Casanova.

It gets better.

The woman, who was the supervisor in the first case and claims she didn't sleep with the would-be chief resident, is suing UCLA in a separate action claiming harassment by a different male psychiatrist who, she says, engaged in sexually degrading and demeaning behavior toward her, and she claims she was retaliated against when she complained about it. This is all coming on the heels of another case UCLA just settled for $2.9 million — sexual harassment and discrimination brought by yet another psychiatrist. These are, need I add, the people who are supposed to fix the rest of us.

And the end result after two week of titilating testimony? It wound up like a typical People's Court dispute where neither side had enough evidence to prove their case, and so both side lost on their claims. He couldn't prove harrasement, and She couldn't prove slander.

Best guess as to an outcome? Someone should make a hollywood movie out of this. It could be a great gritty drama, showing the underbelly of the beast.

More Tongue Wagging on the UCLA Psychiatrist Sex Scandal Verdict

So it seems that this chapter in the story abound the oversexed psychiatrists at UCLA is finally drawing to a close (although more chapters loom in the future) - Among the assorted links we have:

• UCLA's press release on the verdict
• This later report in the LA Times
  
• This report from the Lompoc Record
  
• Another comment from Darleeneisms
  
• And This commentary: So Did An LA Jury Say That 35-Year-Old Women DO Go Down in Cars?

We have to quote the item at the last link, which notes that

The curious case of the handsome UCLA doctor and his Supervisor-with-(alleged)-benefits has come to an end.

Yesterday an LA jury denied Dr. David Martorano's claim that UCLA had passed him over for a coveted position as "chief resident" at the Neuropsychiatric Institute because he broke up with his former supervisor, Dr. Heather Krell.

The jury also denied Dr. Krell's counter-suit that Dr. Dave made the whole affair up, including the ludicrous claim that Krell would give him oral sex in a car.

[Krell's lawyer, Donald Garrard] also argued that jurors should not believe Martorano's claim that Krell had performed oral sex on him parked in an Audi in front of her apartment, because a 35-year-old physician would obviously choose to go to her apartment rather than stay in the car.

Garrard urged jurors to punish Martorano for acting like "a 14-year-old boy" by awarding Krell punitive damages.

Martorano's attorney, however, argued that the evidence that Martorano and Krell had an affair was hard to dispute. He pointed to dozens of phone calls, social events they attended together and testimony that they watched a movie about a porn star titled "The Fluffer." - LA Times

According to the Times, UCLA, Krell and Martorano still have more days in court ahead of them.

UCLA is being sued by Krell for sexual harrassment from another UCLA doctor, and Martorano is being sued by his next door neighbors in Malibu for killing a dog and videotaping their kids.

UPDATE: We now also have an interview with Psychiatrist David Martorano defending himself. Even though he complained of the ugliness of Dr. Krell, with whom he says he had an affair, it seems fair enough to say that that there was more than enough ugliness to go for everyone.

This is another case where the ugly side of Psychiatry has been exposed for everyone to see. Is this the only side that Psychiatry has?

Jury Rules in UCLA Sex Scandal Case - Nobody wins

The verdit is in. This is a complex case with lots of cross accusations. It wound up like a typical People's Court dispute where neither side had enough evidence to prove their case, and so both side lost on their claims. He couldn't prove harrasement, and She couldn't prove slander.

Here is the first report from the LA Times on the jury's verdict

A Los Angeles jury Thursday found that UCLA's psychiatry department did not sexually harass a former resident who alleged that he lost a coveted job because he had an affair with his supervisor.

But the jurors also did not believe the supervisor's assertion that Dr. David Martorano slandered her by making up the affair, which Martorano testified included oral sex in parked cars. The supervisor denies it.

Martorano brought the suit, alleging that after he broke off an affair with the supervisor, Dr. Heather Krell, and rumors of it began to circulate, UCLA took away the job of chief resident, which had been promised him.

He also said Krell damaged his reputation by accusing him of making up their affair. Krell countersued for invasion of privacy and slander.

In the end, neither party was awarded any money after a two-week courtroom drama that included the appearance of no fewer than nine psychiatrists, along with women testifying about their sex lives under code names to protect their privacy.

Some jurors said the testimony, which was so graphic that it sometimes caused even the judge to grimace, made them uncomfortable. But they waded through it anyway, and many said that they became convinced that Krell and Martorano had had an affair.

"I think they started off willingly, both of them," juror Ruven Domenech said. But then, he said, when they got caught in the affair, which violated UCLA's policies, Krell lied about it.

Still, Domenech said, that did not constitute sexual harassment. By a vote of 10-2, the jury agreed.

The jurors were unanimous in their conclusion that Krell had not been slandered.

All of the parties found something to like about the verdict.

"I'm so happy," Krell said. "I'm glad I'm vindicated after all this."

UCLA officials said they were pleased, although in a statement they said it was "unfortunate" that they had to go to a courtroom to "defend our actions against baseless accusations."

And Martorano's lawyer, Steven Pingel, said jurors had vindicated his client's claim that he had not lied about his affair with Krell, something Martorano had been seeking for years. Still, they expressed some disappointment that the jury had not found evidence of sexual harassment.

In his closing argument, UCLA's lawyer, Alan Zuckerman, devoted nearly an hour to laying out a point-by-point analysis of flaws in Martorano's character. He accused the psychiatrist of bringing the suit because he has narcissistic personality disorder and could not handle that Krell would not admit they had had an affair.

But Martorano disputed that. "I did this because I believe it was the right thing," he said, adding that he believes UCLA did not treat him fairly when the job of chief resident was taken away from him.

As to the things that were said about him during the trial, Martorano, now in private practice in Malibu, said: "I've been through a lot of training, and I know who I am."

Maybe it was the intimate nature of the testimony, but many jurors said they developed close relationships with one another. Some exchanged numbers and promised to stay in touch.

Two women, Celia Ayala and Bertha Rocha, said they had discovered they had a lot in common — including a feeling of discomfort at hearing such graphic talk about sex.

But it could have been worse. As Judge Judith Chirlin told jurors before dismissing them: "You could have been here on some boring contract case."

The trial of the sensory - the sexual harassment case that exposed the private lives of UCLA psychiatrists goes to the jury for its analysis.

Breaking news: A Los Angeles jury today ruled against a former UCLA psychiatric resident who claimed the school unfairly rescinded its offer of a coveted job because he broke off an affair with his supervisor. We will post a full story with links when these become availble

See our earlier reports here and here. There are several links and items in this report, so it is worth while scrolling down just a little.

This commentary is worthy of quoting

Dr. David Martorano, a former opera singer who did his psychiatric residency at UCLA, is suing his supervisor (Dr. Heather Krell,) and UCLA for sexual harassment. Several questions need to be answered. Did they have sex? (He says they did, she says they didn't) Did it cost him a promotion? (He says yes, she says no) Did he really break into operatic aria at a climatic moment? (He says yes, she says…..no, I won’t go there)

Also, for the curious, we have the following:

• it seems that Psychiatrist David Martorano also has a webpage on Friendster, which was spotted via the darleeneisms blog, and which exposes some juicy bits.
• The website of his Malibi practice
• He also has tried his hand at writing Musical Comedy
• There is also this earlier report from the start of the trial.

Dr Heather Krell is slightly more interesting, in that she does not have an extensive online presence (must be a generational thing). She did appear on Good Morning America discussing Celebs Stealing for Kicks?, has been a consultant for a computer game, and was best known as the shrink that Winona Ryder went to after her shop lifting escapade hit the news a few years back.

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Now for the Update from the LA Times:

For those who suspect that psychiatrists are at least as crazy as the rest of us, the sexual harassment trial that went to a jury Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court has provided no end of material.

Jurors listened to two weeks of testimony, including psychiatrists testifying about their sex lives under code names and accounts of them allegedly attending porn parties and having oral sex in cars. Now the jury must decide who is telling the truth.

Dr. David Martorano, a handsome Columbia University-educated physician and a former psychiatric resident at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute, alleges that he had an affair with his supervisor and that after he broke it off and rumors of it began to circulate, he lost a coveted post as chief resident, and his reputation was ruined. He sued the supervisor, Dr. Heather Krell, and UCLA.

Krell says there was no affair. Her lawyer accused Martorano of making the whole thing up to seduce yet another psychiatrist. Krell countersued Martorano for slander and invasion of privacy. The jury will consider both claims at the same time.

UCLA's lawyer, meanwhile, said it didn't matter from a legal perspective whether Martorano and Krell had an affair — university administrators acted properly when they revoked the offer for Martorano to become chief resident after rumors began to fly because it was unacceptable for there to be even the perception that he was getting a job based on a sexual affair at the institute, one of the top facilities of its kind in the country.

Testimony was so explicit that Superior Court Judge Judith Chirlin allowed several women to testify under code names, a decision she acknowledged was unusual but necessary to protect their reputations.

At times, the witness box seemed more like a psychoanalytic couch — and not just because witnesses often faced not only a judge, jury and lawyers but also at least two psychiatrists.

Testimony and court papers included Martorano's depiction of himself zipping around Malibu on dates in a two-seater, as well as an internal UCLA report that said that people who worked with him said he "frequently spent his downtime … talking about his sexual conduct." Jurors also heard his personal psychiatrist's assessment that he was "addicted" to having women fall in love with him.

Narcissistic traits

At one point, UCLA's lawyer, Alan Zuckerman, asked Martorano, a former opera singer and the son of a psychiatrist, if he thought he had a narcissistic personality disorder. As Zuckerman later told the jury, narcissists have a grandiose sense of self, lack empathy for others and take advantage of them.

Martorano replied that he would never call himself narcissistic but that "there are traits of narcissism that I possess."

In his closing argument, Zuckerman went point by point through the nine attributes of narcissistic personality disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and explained how each attribute fit Martorano. He then accused the doctor of filing the lawsuit because his narcissistic personality couldn't handle that Krell would not admit that she had slept with him.

In response, Martorano's lawyer, Robert Scott, said that "some lawyers want to become psychiatrists." Later, he referred to Krell's lawyer, Donald Garrard, as Dr. Garrard.

Garrard, meanwhile, enthusiastically endorsed the diagnoses of Martorano as a raging narcissist, offering several examples of his own.

Then he turned to evolutionary psychology in his attempt to impugn Martorano's testimony, saying that it wasn't believable that Martorano couldn't recall details of sex he allegedly had with Krell. "The genes we come with are programmed for little else," he said as the judge and members of the jury and gallery burst into laughter.

He also argued that jurors should not believe Martorano's claim that Krell had performed oral sex on him parked in an Audi in front of her apartment, because a 35-year-old physician would obviously choose to go to her apartment rather than stay in the car.

Garrard urged jurors to punish Martorano for acting like "a 14-year-old boy" by awarding Krell punitive damages.

Martorano's attorney, however, argued that the evidence that Martorano and Krell had an affair was hard to dispute. He pointed to dozens of phone calls, social events they attended together and testimony that they watched a movie about a porn star titled "The Fluffer."

Then, when rumors of the affair emerged, he said, Krell created a hostile work environment for Martorano by criticizing him excessively and by spreading rumors that he was a liar, a misogynist and manic depressive. And he was denied the job of chief resident. Then, Scott said, UCLA tried to "sweep it all under the rug" to protect itself.

Other lawsuits

This is not the only sexual harassment claim facing UCLA's medical school and its psychiatry department.

Krell has also filed a separate sexual harassment suit against UCLA, alleging that she was subjected to an onslaught of sexual comments and sexually degrading and demeaning behavior and gestures from Andrew Leuchter, another psychiatrist at UCLA.

She also alleged that department administrators retaliated against her when she complained. UCLA denies the allegations. The case is to go to trial next fall.

The university recently lost an appeal of a third, unrelated sexual harassment and discrimination case in which a female psychiatrist was awarded $2.9 million.

Martorano now runs a psychiatric practice out of his home in Malibu, where one of the things he specializes in, according to his website, is couples therapy. But that has not been trouble-free.

He and his new wife are embroiled in a legal dispute with a neighbor.

His next-door neighbor recently accused him of killing his dog and videotaping his children. In a countersuit, Martorano denied the allegations and accused his neighbor of telling his patients he was a dog-killer and child molester.

More on the Psychiatric Sex Scandal at the UCLA Medical Center

There are these additional reports

• As seen in the Daily Bruin
  
  A trial has begun in the case of Dr. David Martorano, a resident in the psychiatry department at UCLA’s medical school who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against UCLA and his female supervising physician, Dr. Heather Krell.
  
  Martorano asserts that he and Krell had sex numerous times, and also alleges that one of the instances was not consensual and in that case Krell forced him.
  
  Krell says she and Martorano never had sex.
  
  “Dr. Martorano’s claims are ludicrous. There was never any affair, and there was never any sexual harassment,” Krell’s lawyer Donald Garrard said in a statement.
  
  “Bringing this lawsuit is an abuse of our justice system. This case should never have been filed, or have gotten to court.”
  
  According to the Los Angeles Times, Martorano was to become the chief resident of Krell’s clinic, but he holds that, after he ended the affair with Krell, he lost the job.
  
  “Martorano was removed as chief resident because, whether or not Martorano and Krell had sex, even the perception that people are getting chief residencies because they are sleeping with people is not acceptable,” said University of California attorney Alan Zuckerman, who is representing UCLA in the case.
  
  Krell, for her part, has filed countersuits against Martorano, alleging libel and slander. She is also no longer working at the UCLA hospital, though for unrelated reasons.
  
  Krell has also filed a separate suit against UCLA, asserting that she was sexually harassed by Dr. Andrew Leuchter, another psychiatrist at UCLA.
  
  According to the Los Angeles Times, jurors will not only be asked to decide whether Martorano and Krell had sex and whether he lost a job because of it, but also whether the university’s response to the situation was proper.
  
  UCLA does not take a stance on whether or not the two doctors had sex, and is only concerned with the harassment issue, Zuckerman said.
  
  “No matter what is decided, whether or not Martorano and Krell had sex, UCLA holds that Krell did not sexually harass Martorano,” he said.
  
  So far, the prosecution has focused on portraying Martorano as “sex-obsessed,” as Garrard referred to him.
  
  The Times reported that in testimony Martorano said he attended a private party thrown by adult entertainment companies and spent time in Malibu going on dates.
  
  According to the Times, notes from an internal investigation into the incident conducted by UCLA reveal, “persons who worked with Martorano ... report that (he) frequently spent his time ... talking about sexual conduct.”
  
  And another female psychiatrist in the department admitted that she and Martorano had an affair, though she wishes to remain confidential and the judge in the case decided she will be referred to by a code name throughout the trial.
  
  Several other female psychiatrists in the department will remain confidential to protect their professional lives, since they will be testifying to details of their sex lives, the Times reported.
  
  The case is expected to last through next week.
  
  
• This report from the LA Times
  
  Forget about the steamy scenes in the television shows "Grey's Anatomy" and "ER." In a Los Angeles courtroom this month, allegations began unfolding of sex among residents and doctors in the psychiatry department at UCLA's medical school that rivals anything in those hospital procedurals.
  
  The allegations are part of an unusual sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a male resident against UCLA and a woman who was one of his supervising physicians.
  
  During the trial, jurors will be asked to decide whether the Columbia University-educated doctor and his supervisor had sex (he says they did, she says they didn't); whether the resident lost a coveted post because of it; and whether university officials responded properly.
  
  On the one hand, this is the latest example of employers grappling with the complications of alleged workplace affairs. But this case has a few twists — among them a male employee who claims his career was hurt because he had sex, not because he refused advances. Another is the spectacle of research psychiatrists forced to discuss their sex lives under oath.
  
  Testimony is expected to be so explosive that one of the parties tried to convince the judge to close the proceedings and seal the records. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Judith Chirlin said no, but ruled some physicians could be referred to in court by code names, a decision legal experts described as unusual.
  
  "I would be concerned about why you would have witnesses in a trial whose identity would be masked in any way," said Kelli Sager, a lawyer who represents The Times and other media companies.
  
  Chirlin acknowledged it was an unusual ruling, but noted that she wanted to protect the privacy of women not involved in the suit who would be forced to reveal intimate details of their sexual histories.
  
  The harassment action was brought by Dr. David Martorano, a former opera singer and the son of a psychiatrist who did his residency at UCLA — and, according to testimony, found the time to zip around Malibu in a two-seater going on dates and attending a private party thrown by adult entertainment companies.
  
  In his suit, Martorano claims he and his former supervisor, Dr. Heather Krell, had a liaison. He was all set to become chief resident of Krell's clinic. But the job was taken away from him after he broke off the affair, and rumors of it began to circulate, Martorano claims. He also contends that Krell smeared his reputation and painted him as a liar by claiming no affair ever took place.
  
  Krell countersued Martorano for libel and slander. Her lawyer, Donald Garrard, claims Martorano is "obsessed with sex" and that "from the moment he arrived at UCLA, what was most important to him was to be known as a cocksman." Martorano made up the story of sex with Dr. Krell to help him seduce another attending physician at UCLA, Krell's lawyer claimed. Martorano also had an affair with a third psychiatrist in the department. According to court papers, this liaison is not in dispute, and the woman is expected to testify under a code name.
  
  Krell, meanwhile, has filed a separate sexual harassment suit against UCLA, alleging that she was subjected to an onslaught of "sexual comments and sexually degrading and demeaning behavior and gestures" from yet another psychiatrist at UCLA, Dr. Andrew Leuchter. She also claims that department administrators retaliated against her when she complained of the abuse. UCLA disputes the allegations. That case is set to go to trial next fall.
  
  The new allegations come on the heels of a $2.9-million sexual harassment and discrimination verdict against UCLA brought by another psychiatrist in the department.
  
  In the current case, UCLA does not take a position on whether Martorano and Krell had an affair. Attorney Alan Zuckerman told the jury that administrators decided not to let Martorano become chief resident because even the "perception that people are getting chief residencies because they're sleeping with people" is not acceptable.
  
  Zuckerman also told the jury that UCLA tried to resolve the matter so "these two people wouldn't have their careers ruined."
  
  UCLA did launch an internal investigation into whether the affair took place. No final report was issued, but notes from investigator Pamela Thomason with section headers such as "The Sofa" and "Telephone Call to Establish Prowess" suggest the level of intimacy that was plumbed.
  
  The report, which is in the court record but will not be entered at trial, also noted that "persons who worked with Martorano … report that [he] frequently spent his down time … talking about his sexual conduct."
  
  So far, only Martorano has taken the stand. Handsome and well-spoken, he occasionally interrupted his own lawyer to ask him to clarify his questions. Other times, sentences flew out of his mouth in such rapid, clause-filled streams that the judge repeatedly ordered him to slow down.
  
  Krell sat in the audience with two female companions. Across the aisle sat a lawyer from the University of California's general counsel's office in Oakland. The lawyer, Michael R. Goldstein, listened as expressionless as an archetypal analyst in the face of testimony about psychiatric residents attending nude Jacuzzi parties at professional retreats and Martorano's alleged sexual acts in cars parked on the side of the road.
  
  The case continues this week and is expected to last into next week.

Who really needs the therapy in this cuckoo's nest? Psychiatrists gone amuck in UCLA Sex Scandal

As seen in this report by columnist Susan Estrich

Could you be the father of Anna Nicole's baby? Why not? Potential father No. 5 has now stepped forward; her former bodyguard says, "there's always the possibility" that he could be the baby's dad. He says Anna always wanted to have his children. There's also her dead husband's sperm as a contender. Weird and wild. Crazy people.

But no weirder or wilder than what was allegedly going on among the shrinks at UCLA, the people who are supposed to treat the crazy people. According to reports of a steamy sexual harassment case in trial in Los Angeles, a male psychiatrist claims he slept his way out of the chief residency when he ended his relationship with his female supervisor. He also claims the woman damaged his reputation by denying they'd had a sexual relationship, thus branding him a liar.

She, in turn, countersued him for libel and slander, claiming the supposed affair with her was just a fabrication aimed at luring a second psychiatrist into a relationship, and there's a third psychiatrist who is reportedly going to testify under a code name that she had a sexual relationship with the busy resident Casanova.

It gets better.

The woman, who was the supervisor in the first case and claims she didn't sleep with the would-be chief resident, is suing UCLA in a separate action claiming harassment by a different male psychiatrist who, she says, engaged in sexually degrading and demeaning behavior toward her, and she claims she was retaliated against when she complained about it. This is all coming on the heels of another case UCLA just settled for $2.9 million — sexual harassment and discrimination brought by yet another psychiatrist. These are, need I add, the people who are supposed to fix the rest of us. Plainly, more than one flew over this cuckoo's nest.

The university is taking the position that they don't know whether the supervisor had an affair with the resident or not, and it doesn't matter. The lawyer for the university told the jury that it was enough that there was such a perception: the "perception that people are getting chief residencies because they're sleeping with people" is unacceptable.

If you can't even be perceived to be sleeping your way to the top, there's only one place to sleep your way to: the bottom. Or the door. Once you embark on the path, the destination becomes almost inevitable.

According to the lawyer for the woman psychiatrist, "from the moment" the young resident arrived at UCLA, "what was most important to him was to be known as a cocksman."

If he thought sexuality was a route to power, he thought wrong.

As so many before him have learned, when you succeed, you fail.

If you believe the lawyer, or credit the evidence, he lived by the sword, died by the sword and wants to be rescued by the law. No such luck. Sexual harassment law was never meant to guarantee your right to sleep to the top, or at least to try, free from the consequences of failure. Playing with fire, a girl can get burned. Or a boy.

Because sex harassment law puts its emphasis on the "welcomeness" of the sexual advance, there are many who have a false sense that it is all that matters; that sex is somehow protected as long as it's consensual.

It doesn't work that way, not one bit. You're protected against coerced sex, not against the consequences of consensual stupidity. Sexual harassment law doesn't make sex appropriate where it isn't, even if the two people involved don't seem to know that.

If the flight attendant welcomes the movie star in the bathroom on the Qantas flight, she loses her job. If she's your girlfriend, you can't sponsor the program, even if you would otherwise. Seduce the supervisor, and she's liable to tell you she can't play favorites, at least she will if she's smart. Even the best "cocksman" may discover he's only one of many, with no legal claim to show for it. Just ask the gold diggers who found the gold digger who found gold. They're all still digging.

Notorious Psychiatrist Now a Political Candidate in New Hampshire.

[A updated repost of an earlier item, now that the original source article has returned online.] As originally seen in the Free Republic. The original poster has removed their post, but now it has returned. And now can be seen here

On Tuesday, September 12, 2006, Dr. Edward L. Rowan of Exeter won the Democratic nomination for the New Hampshire House of Representatives in District 13 which includes Exeter, Stratham and North Hampton.

Ed Rowan is a retired psychiatrist. He was sanctioned by the medical board for having a sexual relationship with a patient. He appealed the decision to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, claiming the board had no right to sanction him.

(Note that the State did not agree with this)

Of course, the major controversy for the Free Republic is that the ex-shrink is a Democrat, with the suggestion that he once wrote a book promoting masturbation. We consider this criticism catering somewhat to the purient interests of their readership.

Our problem with him is that he was sanctioned for sexual relations with a patient, which display extraordinary lack of concern for another human being trusted to his care. As an illustrative example of a character flaw, this does not bode well for his ability to handle a public trust, such as a public office.

As for the flaw of having once been a psychiatrist, our concerns should be obvious.

Footnotes:
1) see the NH Primary Winner's list, Rockingham County, District 13
2) the book: The Joy of Self-Pleasuring
3) Portsmouth Herald write-up on the candidates
4) State Supreme Court: Opinion vs Dr. Rowan