Lawsuit describes string of sex assaults at Seattle Children's Hospital - Hospital staff failed to help girl abused in psychiatric ward

From a report in Seattle PI

Much more information at the link

A former patient at Seattle Children’s Hospital has sued, claiming hospital staff failed to notice as she was repeatedly, sexually assaulted by another patient.

Attorneys for the young woman claim at least three other children have been sexually abused at the Laurelhurst neighborhood facility in recent years. Despite assurances of reform from hospital managers, they contend too little is being done to protect children there.

Writing the court, attorneys Steve Berman and Marty McLean said their client was just one of an unknown number of children abused while locked in Children’s inpatient psychiatric unit.

“Sadly, (she) is not the first child-patient who was sexually victimized while admitted,” Berman said in the lawsuit, which was filed earlier this week. “Publically available records confirm that (she) was at least the fourth patient in a five-year span to have been sexually victimized while under (Children’s) care and custody.”

Berman, a nationally prominent attorney specializing in class-action lawsuits, went on to say he believes “there are more children who have been victimized, as well.”

A spokeswoman for Seattle Children’s declined to comment on the lawsuit. Attorneys for the University of Washington-affiliated nonprofit have not yet responded to the allegations in court.

New rules set for ‘boarding’ psychiatric patients by the Department of Social and Health Services in Washington State

As seen in the Spokane Review

Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services said it complied with a Friday deadline set by the state Supreme Court to stop “warehousing” mentally ill people in emergency rooms and hospitals just because certified treatment facilities are already full.

[...]

The state had been keeping people in regular hospitals or emergency rooms without treatment while waiting for space to open up. The average length of such stays was about three days, according to the state. The high court struck down that practice, called “psychiatric boarding,” in August. It gave the state until Friday to comply.

[...]

Under rules that took effect Friday, noncertified hospitals that offer a bed for a psychiatric patient must state that they’re willing and able to care for the patient, set up a mental health treatment plan and provide a mental health professional to see the patient daily.

A King County civil jury has ordered Overlake Hospital Medical Center to pay $950,000 in damages to a mentally ill woman who was assaulted while undergoing psychiatric treatment

As Reported in the Seattle Times.

Substantially more details at the link

A King County civil jury has ordered Overlake Hospital Medical Center to pay $950,000 in damages to a mentally ill woman who was assaulted by another patient while undergoing psychiatric treatment at the Bellevue hospital.

Civil attorneys Lincoln Beauregard and Steven Fogg filed the lawsuit last year, alleging that Overlake was negligent because no one was monitoring the video-camera surveillance system in the psychiatric unit where the assault took place. They also alleged that the hospital was not checking in on the mentally ill patients on a regular basis.

“You have a vulnerable 27-year-old woman who was trying to be stabilized. She wasn’t supposed to be sexually assaulted,” Beauregard said Tuesday. “Overlake Hospital repeatedly pointed the finger at her. They said she had opportunities and choices and should have screamed louder.”

The jury reached its verdict Monday after an eight-day civil trial in Superior Court.

Beauregard said his client, who had prior diagnoses of schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is even more emotionally damaged as a result.

“She now has exacerbated PTSD. She’s severely mentally ill. She’s a fighter who is doing really good trying to get her mental illnesses under control,” Beauregard said.

“This is an unfortunate situation,” Kipepeo “Pep” Brown, the hospital’s director of marketing, communications and community outreach, said in an email Tuesday. “Overlake Medical Center is currently considering our options for appeal. At this point, we cannot comment further on the details of the case or the judgment.”

List of Complaints Against Mental Health Practitioners and Counselors In Washington State

In April 2006 the Seattle Times ran a series under the title "License to Harm" exposing sexual abuse in the field of medicine in the the State of Washington. Using their online database of offenders, we were able to generate a list of those practitioners who are/were involved in the field of mental health in some capacity.

Out of 443 original complaints in the database, 159 were from the field of mental health. This is more than one third of all complaints, which is more than their fair share of the offenses.

These we detail below. We have preserved the individual links to the online database for each person in the list below. These are sorted by Specialty first, then by Name

License type	Name	State complaint
Applicant - Registered Counselor	CHARD, RALPH K.	Failure to disclose criminal conviction
Applicant - Registered Counselor	MERCER, MATTHEW G.	Application denied for prior criminal sex conviction in Montanna
Applicant - Registered Counselor	PLATT, VERNON W.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of 2nd degree rape of a child and 1st degree child molestation"
Applicant - Registered Counselor	REYES, GABINO M.	"Prior to license, criminally convicted of 1st degree rape of a child"
Chemical Dependency Professional	ABILD, GORDON W.	Sexual contact with a patient
Chemical Dependency Professional	BANKS, NATALIE B.	Sexual contact with a client
Chemical Dependency Professional	BROTHERTON, MICHAEL D.	Sexual contact with a client
Chemical Dependency Professional	DISMORE, ROBERT D.	Sexual contact with a client
Chemical Dependency Professional	GAMBER, JOHN B.	Sexual contact with a client
Chemical Dependency Professional	HARRIS, STEVEN C.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of 1st degree child molestation"
Chemical Dependency Professional	LAYCOCK, KIMBERLY M.	Sexual contact with a patient
Chemical Dependency Professional	LINS, LINDA C.	Sexual contact with a client
Chemical Dependency Professional	MCDONALD, THOMAS E.	Sexual misconduct
Chemical Dependency Professional	TRIPLETT, DOROTHY M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Certified Marriage/Family Therapist	DONNEN, MICHAEL L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Certified Mental Health	DEVINCENT, JACQUELYNE A.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Certified Mental Health	TURSKY, STUART P.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Certified Mental Health	WHITE, LAWRENCE N.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Certified Mental Health	WOLFE, CONSTANCE	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Marriage/Family Therapist	COWAN, A L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Marriage/Family Therapist	SHELTON, DAVID L.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	ADAMS, HOMER S.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	ARAD, HEMDA	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	CARBARY, PRESTON L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	COLEMAN, PATRICK L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	DITTY, BYRON D.	Inappropriate physical contact with a patient
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	NEELY, ROBERT M.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	PEARSON, ROBERT P.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	PRITCHETT, GREGORY E.	Transmitted child pornography to patient via computer
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	REYNOLDS, MICHELLE D.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	RUSCIGNO, VICKI L.	Sexual misconduct with client
Counselor - Registered	ALEXANDER, RONALD W.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BARRETT, OWEN V.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BATES, JAMES L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BAUER, COREY M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BAUER, GWENDOLYN S.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	BECKSTROM, DIMITY P.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BLANK, DENNIS C.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BOUTON, DEAN O.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BRADY, LARRY G.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	BROWN, JOHN W.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BROWN, LAURA L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BURFORD, JAMIE L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BURR, KENNETH A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	CARLSEN, LISA J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	CLARK, JOHN E.	Making sexual advances to a patient
Counselor - Registered	CLINE, RICHARD T..	Inappropriate physical contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	COOK, JOHN R.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	COVELL, LARRY C.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DANIEL, TIMOTHY D.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DAVISON, GORDON A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DELAGASSE, RENE C.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DESHAZO, RICKIE L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DOWNEY, CYNTHIA J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DUNAWAY, DAVID M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DURHAM, JAMES F.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of lewd conduct involving juveniles"
Counselor - Registered	DYER, THOMAS G.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	ERICKSON, BEAU	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	FERGUSON, DANIEL S.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	FISHBACK, MICHAEL A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	FOX, DANNY E.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GARDNER, KATHY D.	Inappropriate physical contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	GIESE, JENNIFER L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GOFF, JAMES H.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GOODMAN, PETER J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GORDON, KATHY	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GRANT, ANTHONY W.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GRAVES, KEVIN R.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	HADDAD, EMILE F.	Inappropriate physical contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	HAMILTON, CHARITY A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	HARRAH, NATALIE A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	HAWLEY, STEVEN J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	HAYTE, PAUL A.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of sexual contact with a minor"
Counselor - Registered	HELLMANN, JAMES A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	HOOKS, ANDREA L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	IGEIN, GODWIN O.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	IRVING, WILLIAM S.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	JASSO, SERVANDO	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	JOEHNK, DANIEL W.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	JONES, JUDITH E.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KAVANAUGH, DONAL M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KELTY, JAMES G.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KEOUGH, MICHAEL P.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KESTER, CAROL A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KINSEY, OSCAR L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KLINK, WILLIAM R.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KOCH, WILLIAM A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KORNELIS, CLARICE J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	LEGGEE, RICHARD B.	Investigated for prior criminal conviction
Counselor - Registered	LOUDEN, JOHN R.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	LUDLOW, KENNETH W.	Inappropriately touching juvenile
Counselor - Registered	MARVIN, TERRY A.	Inappropriate physical contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	MASSEY, WILLIAM R.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	MCBRIDE, GREGORY T.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	MEYER, EVELYN J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	MILLER, ALLAN	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	MILLER, RICHARD A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	NEFF, STEVEN G.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	OLSON-HERNANDEZ, BECKY S.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	PARKS, FRED A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	PARLOTZ, ROBERT D.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	PETERSON, STEVEN W.	Kissed underage girl and sent sexualized messages
Counselor - Registered	PICHETTE, WILLIAM J.	Failure to disclose criminal conviction
Counselor - Registered	PRICE, JOHN A.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	RADECKI, JOHN C.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	RAINERI, JOSEPH V.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	RICE, GREGORY R.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of possessing child pornography and sexual exploitation of a minor"
Counselor - Registered	RIDOUT, TRACY M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	RITCHIE, PAUL C.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	RODRIGUEZ, DAVID A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	ROSMARIN, EDWARD T.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	ROSS, DONALD R.	"Failure to disclose numerous criminal convictions, including 2nd degree rape."
Counselor - Registered	SALO, LINDA D.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	SASET, MEHAN	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SCROGGIE, DANIEL C.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SHELTON, LARRY E.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SITEK, JEFFREY J.	Sexual contact with client's mother
Counselor - Registered	SKEATES, TERENCE R.	Sexual abuse of a patient
Counselor - Registered	SMITH, DREW	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SMITH, ISAAC	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SMITH, TERRANCE L.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	SORENSEN, RONDA M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SOSBEE, ROBERT E.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SPEES, MARK A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SPENS, MICHAEL R.	Failure to disclose prior discipline for sexual misconduct of a client in Oregon
Counselor - Registered	STACY, SHEILA M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	STEPP, MERVIN L.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of 1st degree child molestation"
Counselor - Registered	STRATTON, LAWRENCE G.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	STURZENEGGER, DALE E.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	TRAVER, RAYMOND R.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	TRAYLOR, JOHN M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	TUCKER, PAUL D.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	VANDERGRIFF, CHARLES M.	Inappropriate physical contact with client
Counselor - Registered	VANVOORST, PHILIP K.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	WILES, DUANE B.	Failure to disclose previous criminal conviction for indecent liberties
Counselor - Registered	WOOD, JOSHUA G.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	YARBROUGH, RICHELLE L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	ZAFERATOS, TAMARA S.	Sexual contact with a client
Hypnotherapist - Registered	ANDERSON, ROSS E.	Sexual contact with a client
Hypnotherapist - Registered	HUGHES, PHILLIP S.	Sexual contact with a client
Hypnotherapist - Registered	PATCHELL, TEGWITH E.	Failure to disclose criminal conviction
Hypnotherapist - Registered	PRINGER, BYRON C.	Sexual contact with a patient
Hypnotherapist - Registered	SPEED, LANCE E.	Sexual misconduct
Psychologist	ANDERSON, M. D..	Sexual contact with a patient
Psychologist	BROWN, NATHAN C.	Sexual contact with a patient
Psychologist	DESEVE, KENNETH L.	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	FORD, BRIAN L.	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	FRESE, GLEN A.	Sexualized treatment sessions
Psychologist	HOWLAND, CHRISTOPHER S.	Inappropriate physical contact with client
Psychologist	KUBACKI, STEVEN R.	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	LAZERE, RICHARD	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	LEKSA, BRUCE J.	Sexual contact with a patient
Psychologist	MAST, PHYLLIS B.	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	O'DONNELL, PATRICK G.	Sexual contact with a patient
Psychologist	PESKIND, ARTHUR W.	Sexual misconduct
Psychologist	SCOTT, MONTE L.	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	STALLONE, THOMAS M.	Sexual contact with a client
Social Worker - Licensed	CRANE, EDIE	Sexual contact with a client
Social worker - Licensed	VANDENBUSH, WILLIAM	Sexual contact with a client

Another Psychiatrist Investigated for Child's Drugging Death, Loses Medical License

As reported in the Tacoma News Tribune. Sadly, this is a case where not much information is immediately available online. in comparison to other cases such as the sad situation of the late Rebecca Riley

The state medical board Friday suspended the license of a Tacoma psychiatrist after his alleged misuse of 13 medications over two months “possibly caused” the death of a 17-year-old girl under his care in 2002.

Messages left Friday by The News Tribune with the answering service and at the home of the psychiatrist, Dr. Andrew Hwang, were not returned.

State documents allege Harris prescribed a series of psychiatric and other types of medication to the girl, whose name was not released, and did not respond properly when she started to show severe side effects.

On Jan. 26, 2002, the documents state, the teen felt very confused, and did not feel well. The next morning, her parents found her in her room, stuperous and nonresponsive.

“She was taken to the hospital, where she was found to have suffered severe brain damage,” the documents state. “She was taken off life support and died Jan. 29.”

The case resulted in a malpractice lawsuit. The settlement of the suit was reported to the state in September 2006, leading to a state investigation, said Peter Harris, a staff attorney involved with the state Department of Health.

Hwang “has not changed the way he treats patients following (the girl’s) death,” the state alleged, making the suspension of license necessary.

He can appeal the state’s actions and seek reinstatement of his license, Harris said.

Psychologist who evaluated sex offenders resigns over child pornography

Seen in the American Chronicle. As the seamy side of psychiatry becomes more well-known, practitioners are starting to get nervous.

A psychologist in North Dakota who conducted sex offender evaluations for the state has resigned over a self-admitted child pornography compulsion. Joseph Belanger had run the state's Sexually Dangerous Individual (SDI) civil commitment program. In that capacity, he evaluated sex offenders and testified in court that they were sexually dangerous and should remain hospitalized.

It was unknown what triggered the investigation against Dr. Belanger, but Homeland Security officials recently seized his home computer, according to the Forum newspaper in Fargo, ND.

Dr. Belanger had worked for the state hospital for more than 20 years.

He is at least the second forensic psychologist this year to be tarnished by accusations of sexual deviancy.

In July, prominent forensic psychologist Stuart Greenberg killed himself after being arrested on suspicion of voyeurism; he had allegedly secretly videotaped a woman in his office bathroom. Greenberg was known for his expertise in child custody evaluations, but he was also a consultant for the Archdiocese of Seattle in sex abuse cases.

In addition to their connections with the burgeoning sex offender industry, another commonality in these cases in that both men allegedly used modern technology to further their deviant interests - Greenberg using a concealed video camera and Belanger using the Internet.

[...]

What is relevant to the field of forensic psychology, however, is that the revelations will likely cause scrutiny of cases in which the two men were involved as expert psychologists. This scrutiny is already occurring in Greenberg's case, with parents protesting unfavorable child custody court decisions that were based in part upon his opinions. In King County (Seattle), the presiding judge anticipated a flurry of legal challenges to cases in which Greenberg was a court-appointed evaluator. Although Greenberg's arrest would not be sufficient to reopen a case, a parent could argue bias if Greenberg's custody recommendations hinged on a parent's sexuality. Similar challenges by civilly committed sex offenders evaluated or treated by Belanger in North Dakota can be anticipated.

[...]

Spokane psychologist accused of seducing patient

From KREM and KING 5 TV, with a video report available on at the link.

UPDATE: More in this report from the Spokesman review, which also has a copy of the complaint

---

A lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Spokane Monday claims a Spokane psychologist used his position to seduce a patient.

According to the complaint, the Dr. John Moulton committed multiple acts of malpractice and negligence while treating a female patient.

Malpractice cited in the legal complaint against Moulton includes: seeing the patient outside of treatment sessions, buying her alcoholic beverages, consuming alcohol with her, and other boundary violations and negligent acts of both a sexual and non-sexual nature.

Among the allegations detailed in the complaint, Dr. Moulton sent emails to the patient where he admitted to her that he acted like an abusive predator: "I have acted like an abusive predator, which may be the most despicable kind of person there is."

The alleged malpractice began after the patient, who suffered from severe depression, checked herself into Spokane's Sacred Heart Medical Center in April of 2005. The hospital assigned Moulton to be treating psychiatrist. During this two-week hospital stay, the psychologist administered a series of nine electro-shock treatments to patient.

Following discharge from the hospital, the patient returned to her family in Alaska. On June 1, 2005, she again traveled to Spokane and re-entered Sacred Heart for additional treatment for depression. Again, Dr. Moulton was assigned to be her treating psychiatrist, and according to the patient's attorney, Michael S. Kolker, who said it was during the second hospital visit that Moulton told the patient he had feelings for her.

Upon her discharge from Sacred Heart on June 12th, Moulton arranged for the patient to spend time at an in-patient facility in Lake Chelan for continuing treatment for her depression. According to Kolker, Moulton drove the patient to the Spokane airport for the flight to Lake Chelan, and kissed her before she boarded the plane.

On June 23, 2005, the patient returned to Spokane to stay at the home of her brother for continued outpatient treatment with Moulton, whose boundary violations and acts of malpractice continued.

According to Kolker, for nearly a month while he was supposed to treat the patient for depression, Moulton saw the patient almost daily outside of therapy sessions. He took her out to bars and restaurants, consumed alcohol with her, fondled and kissed her.

"When a psychiatrist does it to a patient, it's not dating and it's not a relationship. It's a boundary violation and it is abusive," said Kolker.

Moulton then told the that he loved her and tried to convince her that she was in love with him. They made plans for the future. The suit said Moulton did all of this, knowing the patient was married and the mother of three children. He also knew she was on medication and had giving her multiple sessions of electro shock therapy.

In August, the patient's husband discovered Moulton's malpractice and confronted him. According to allegations in the complaint, Moulton sent the patient and her husband a number of emails in which he admitted and apologized for his misconduct. Excerpts of some of those emails are included in the complaint.

The complaint further alleges that Moulton's negligent conduct caused the patient exacerbated depression, pain and suffering and two suicide attempts.

UPDATE: More in this report from the Spokesman review, which also has a copy of the complaint

Zyprexa: 'I couldn’t care less if I lived or died'

As seen in this report by Heidi Turner

Patients who are diagnosed with depression may feel a sense of shame about their diagnosis. That feeling may be compounded if they begin to feel suicidal, which can happen to people who take Zyprexa.

However, many people do not realize that they are not [alone], that other people taking Zyprexa have felt suicidal. The problem is with the drug, not with them.

"I am ashamed of taking Zyprexa," says Kendall Lewis. "In 1999, when I was 34 years old, I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I was losing my memory and was tired a lot and I didn't have the strength to do the job I normally did. My doctor suggested I quit work and go on social security. He immediately put me on Zyprexa. When he doubled the dosage it made me whacky and I told him I was hearing voices." But worse than that, Kendall's family said he was showing a violent side.

"Ask anyone and they will tell you -- I am a very passive person and I love my family," adds Kendall. "But on Zyprexa, it was like I was edgy all the time, I had zero tolerance and I didn't sleep.

"I didn't know how to handle confrontation with the kids. I would lose my temper; I'd yell and scream--this behavior was out of my control. During one of my visits to the doctor, the psychiatrist's assistant asked me if I felt like living. 'I couldn't care less if I died or not,' I said. I never felt suicidal until taking this drug.

My wife and I had a fight. I got into the car and I started speeding; I remember crying uncontrollably and felt my life was over; I wanted to crash the car and die. But I have always gone to church-- if it wasn't for God and if I had continued with Zyprexa, I would have been dead soon after that day. I woke up one morning in prayer, asking God what was wrong with me. I felt that God spoke to me and that I didn't have clinical depression—he told me to throw the pills away and come back to church to serve him. When I opened the bible I read the scripture about oppression: I had spiritual oppression, not clinical depression.

I lost 40 lbs within three months after throwing away Zyprexa. The years from 1999 until 2002 are a complete blur—I don't know where they went. I was having even worse memory problems and then suicidal tendencies on that drug; one night they even took me away in the ambulance. I don't know how to explain the pain of wanting to kill yourself; when you're not thinking clearly, there is nobody in their right mind who wants to commit suicide.

I am ashamed of saying that I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I was a happy person—everyone who knew me would say so. I was outgoing, a salesman. I owned a car lot and dealt with the public every day. I thought 'clinical depression' was just a term they used, but in reality, all that was wrong with me was that I didn't have any energy or strength.

And I had high blood pressure. The doctors told me that if I was stressed out, that could make my blood pressure go up. I wish I had gotten a second opinion, gone to another doctor. My treatment with Zyprexa made things worse, not better. Instead of shoving these pills onto me, I should have had alternate choices.

Now, my goal is to help someone not to take this drug - there are alternate routes. And maybe I can help save a life if someone reads my story."

60 Minutes on Rebecca Riley and Bipolar Prescriptions

In a run up to their Sunday 60 Minutes show, Katie Couric had a news story to night on the tragic psychiatric drugging death of Rebecca Riley. As seen in this report/ press release We will have to see if this is an honest investigation, or free advertising for the drug companies. The online video seems to indicate that this is a damage control news item for the drug companies.

A mother charged with murder for what she claims was medicating a child diagnosed as bipolar, says her dead four-year-old daughter probably wasn't suffering from the disorder after all.

In her first interview, Carolyn Riley tells her story to Katie Couric for a report on the increase of bipolar diagnoses in children to be broadcast this Sunday, Sept. 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. PT, on 60 Minutes.

[...]

It's estimated today that one million youngsters in the U.S. have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which was once thought to affect only adults. Couric's story explores this phenomenon by talking to parents of diagnosed children and to doctors like Dr. Joseph Biederman, head of pediatric psychopharmacology at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital.

Psychiatrist's license under review

From the Cincinnati Enquirer

The Ohio Medical Board notified Cincinnati child psychiatrist Leo D’Souza on Thursday that it will review his medical license after determining he inappropriately touched five male patients.

The board also determined he improperly told one mother her child could take medication prescribed for another child and he failed to seek medical help for a patient.

The allegations are detailed in a three-page letter to D’Souza posted on the Ohio Medical Board’s Web site.

The letter said the board “intends to determine whether or not to limit, revoke, permanently revoke, suspend, refuse to register or reinstate your certificate to practice medicine and surgery or to reprimand you or place you on probation.”

D’Souza has 30 days to request a hearing.

Efforts to reach D’Souza on Thursday were unsuccessful. He has not been criminally charged.

This is not the first time D’Souza has come under fire.

Two 19-year-olds separately sued D’Souza in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court last winter, accusing him of sexually molesting them.

D’Souza’s employer, Cincinnati Counseling Service, is also named in the suits that seek at least $25,000 in damages. Those cases are pending.

A third 19-year-old man who says D’Souza sexually molested him in 2003 settled out of court with him for $7,500 in 2005, according to Hamilton County Probate Court records.

“My clients and I are gratified that the Ohio State Medical Board has taken action. It’s just a shame that these people had to suffer,” said Mike Allen, who along with Nicholas Bunch, is representing the men in the pending cases. “We intend to aggressively pursue the civil actions that we have filed against Dr. D’Souza.”

The allegations outlined in Thursday’s letter happened from 1998 to 2006 and involve two, 12 year olds, a 19 year old, a 16 year old and a 17 year old. The males are not named in the letter.

After outlining the inappropriate touching, the letter says D’Souza failed to conform to the minimal standard of care for psychiatrists, violated the American Medical Association’s code of ethics, and said that his actions in three instances could be considered the misdemeanor crime sexual imposition.

Therapist's suicide could trigger challenges in legal cases

From the Seattle Times

The arrest and suicide of a prominent Seattle psychologist who was often an expert witness in sexual-abuse and child-custody cases could raise questions about his recommendations, and some could be challenged, judges say.

Renton police on Wednesday found Stuart Greenberg's body after employees at the Clarion hotel entered his room and found a note on the floor that read, "medical personnel, do not resuscitate. Let me die," according to a Renton police report.

Officers later found Greenberg in a bathtub. He had cuts on both wrists, and police found a variety of medications in the bathroom. The case is being investigated as an overdose.

Greenberg, 59, was well-known as an expert witness in sexual-abuse cases. He had worked as a consultant to the Archdiocese of Seattle, which was defending itself in priest-abuse cases. He also had served as an expert witness on behalf of sex-abuse victims in other cases.

Greenberg also was frequently appointed as a parenting evaluator in child-custody cases.

Greenberg was arrested then suspended from practice earlier this month after allegations surfaced that he had secretly videotaped a woman in his office bathroom.

He was booked into the King County Jail on July 3 after an acquaintance found the videotape in the psychologist's VCR and alerted the person who appeared on the tape, police said. The tape was then handed over to police.

While in jail, Greenberg had been placed on suicide watch, according to the Renton police report. He was conditionally released two days after his arrest.

Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office, said a decision on whether to file charges against Greenberg had not been made. But the state Board of Psychology suspended his license after the voyeurism allegation.

Greenberg, as a parenting evaluator in child-custody cases, carried tremendous power. A parenting evaluator's job is to interview all the parties involved and make custody recommendations; typically, the recommendations are followed.

Greenberg had developed a national reputation, as well. His curriculum vitae, listing all his professional accomplishments, runs 19 pages.

Among other things, he served as president of the American Board of Forensic Psychology in 2002-2003 and taught dozens of continuing-education courses across the country for fellow psychologists.

He also trained a crop of would-be psychologists as a clinical assistant professor at the University of Washington, and before that at the University of Southern California and the University of Iowa.

King County Presiding Judge Michael Trickey said the courts — and families going through custody battles — will have to contend with a number of difficult issues in the wake of Greenberg's arrest and subsequent death. He anticipates a flurry of challenges by parties who were unhappy with past evaluations involving Greenberg.

Greenberg's arrest alone wouldn't be enough to reopen a case. But if his recommendations hinged on a parent's alleged sexual deviancy, for example, that parent could argue that Greenberg's opinion was tainted by his alleged actions.

"Never having dealt with this before, I'm not sure how this would play out," Trickey said, adding, "I assume we're going to deal with it sooner rather than later."

The court doesn't keep count of cases assigned to a particular parenting evaluator, so it's impossible to tell how many families could be affected. But it's a given that all of Greenberg's pending cases will have to be reassigned to other evaluators — a process that was already under way since his arrest and suspension of his license to practice psychology.

Judge James Doerty, the chief family-court judge, said a key question in reopening old cases is whether the child-custody plan has been working for the child.

"The problem about going backwards and redoing those decisions is you are actually changing the lives the children have led," Doerty said.

[...]

Greenberg left suicide notes to his wife, daughter and "everyone else I hurt," the police report said. His wife said he apologized for his actions in the notes, the report states.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office said an autopsy was done Thursday but a cause of death won't be released until toxicology tests are completed.

Psychologist accused of voyeurism loses license

from this report

State regulators suspended the license of veteran Seattle psychologist Stuart Greenberg on Thursday over accusations that he videotaped women using his office bathroom.

The action by the Examining Board of Psychology means Greenberg cannot practice as a psychologist unless the state lifts the suspension.

"We have sufficient proof to take disciplinary action, but he has opportunity now to defend himself," said Tammy Kelley, disciplinary program manager at the Department of Health.

On July 3, Greenberg was arrested for investigation of voyeurism, booked into the King County Jail and released two days later.

No charges have been filed, and the King County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing the case, with a decision expected as early as next week, said Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the office.

A friend found a VCR tape showing the bathroom of Greenberg's Montlake office, according to a Seattle police report.

"Respondent secretly recorded images of others using the bathroom at his place of practice for his own gratification," according to disciplinary documents from the Examining Board of Psychology.

Greenberg is a nationally recognized expert in pediatric psychology. A clinical affiliate professor at the University of Washington, the psychologist worked for a decade with the Seattle Archdiocese on abuse cases involving priests.

A recording at his Montlake office said Greenberg is closing his office and professional practice and unavailable to respond to messages.

Greenberg has 20 days to respond and seek a hearing, the board said. He can also seek a settlement. Greenberg cannot practice during the process, Kelley said.

Noted psychologist under investigation for voyeurism, and questions about his testimony in church child abuse cases

From this report

A noted psychologist, now under investigation for voyeurism, had such a successful practice evaluating both sexual abuse victims and priests accused of molestation that several lawyers said the allegations against him might call into question numerous cases settled on the basis of his expert opinion.

"This guy had his finger on every single Catholic church perp in the state -- if not the region," said John Manly, an attorney who has sued the Jesuit Order for ignoring deviant priests and took testimony from the therapist.

At least once, Manly said, the psychologist evaluated a priest who had sexually abused dozens of women and girls, but apparently missed the signs.

"He was integral to the church's system of putting abuser priests back into service," the lawyer said.

The therapist also worked for the Seattle Archdiocese in the 1980s and '90s, though there has been no business relationship between the two for several years.

He was arrested July 3, after a female psychologist discovered that she had been videotaped while using the restroom in his Montlake office, with a camera hidden inside an air freshener.

On the tape, police say, they saw the 36-year-old woman pulling down her skirt and soon after she left the room, they watched the therapist -- a nationally known expert in child psychology -- masturbating toward the camera, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

Because no charges have been filed, the Seattle P-I is not naming the psychologist, but detectives with the Seattle police Sexual Assault Unit are continuing their investigation.

When questioned by investigators, the 59-year-old man -- a faculty member at the University of Washington -- admitted that he had concealed two cameras "to view his employees in the nude," court records say. He insisted, however, that he had never filmed patients.

Dozens of divorcing parents hired the psychologist to weigh in as a court-appointed expert in their child-custody battles.

"If your evaluator turns out to have some kind of personal problem, does that mean his forensic judgment was impaired?" wondered attorney Ruth Edlund, who has used the man several times during the past five years.

"Who's to say?"

Almost to a person, however, those who recalled their interactions with the analyst expressed shock at the news.

"He is the sort of fellow I'd least expect to be the subject of a dragnet like this," said Joseph Greene, an electrical engineer who paid the man $14,000 to determine Greene's fitness as a parent.

"This guy's got a wall full of credentials."

Attorney Tim Kosnoff, who has long valued the psychologist's judgment as an expert in church abuse cases, was stunned.

"It's terribly ironic," he said. "Here he is evaluating victims of sexual harassment and abuse and he apparently has a problem with it himself."

So highly recommended was the expert that Ryan Greenley was willing to pay $9,500 for his opinion -- one he could present to the courts in a custody battle over his daughter.

"This is the go-to guy, kind of like the dean of parent evaluations in Seattle," Greenley recalled. "Anything he says is pretty much of rubber-stamped."

But now their final conversation rings differently.

"The last thing he told me when I left his office was 'You reap what you sow.' "

More kids raiding medicine cabinets for psych drugs to get high

From this report. Of course, it would be better if people had not gotten so pill happy in the first place. The wonders of modern market.

A Stanwood High School junior recalled the first time he abused prescription drugs.

"I took an antidepressant with a shot of vodka," he said. "It felt the same as if I was drinking five beers - just dizziness and almost falling down, but without the feeling of throwing up you can get with five beers."

He decided to take the drug, which wasn't prescribed to him, because he was feeling down - and wanted to get high.

The boy, whom The Herald is not naming, is unapologetic for his drug habit. "It's knowing you should stop but not wanting to," he said.

From Stanwood to Mukilteo, Monroe to Everett, teenagers across Snohomish County are using more prescription drugs to get high.

Prescription drug abuse among teens is not new. It's a national problem.

Area school districts and communities are only now beginning to get a handle on how widespread the problem is.

With no odor and often no overt signs of being under the influence, it's a habit that's easier for teens to hide - until they go too far.

Students have overdosed on prescription drugs at Snohomish Freshman Campus and Meadowdale Middle School in Lynnwood within the last five years.

The state earlier this year, for the first time, released statistics on the numbers of teens who reported abusing prescription painkillers.

In Snohomish County, 1 in 7 high school seniors who answered the survey reported taking a painkiller to get high during the month before the survey was taken.

Nationally and statewide, alcohol and marijuana remain at the top of the abuse list for teens, though it's leveled off.

Experts point to the continuing rise in prescription drug abuse - a problem they fear is being overlooked by a pill-popping culture.

Parents should take notice, said Dr. Bill Dickinson, medical director of behavioral health services at Providence Everett Medical Center.

"These are kids who letter in sports, have talents. They're your next-door neighbors," he said. "Parents need to understand that it's their kids - it's always possible they can have a problem."

Abuse is on the rise

Teenagers are the fastest-growing group of new abusers of prescription drugs.

Teens accounted for nearly 1 in 10 of new users in 2003, the latest study available from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York.

Washington ranked No. 1 for young peoples' abuse of prescription pain relievers in a 2004 study by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Locally, Snohomish County seniors were more likely to report drinking alcohol or smoking pot than taking a prescription painkiller to get high, according to their responses on the 2006 Healthy Youth Survey.

Still, the rate of prescription drug abuse is greater than those who took other illegal drugs, such as LSD or meth, combined.

The state study, released this spring, is considered a key indicator of teen habits and attitudes.

To get a better sense of kids' knowledge and attitudes toward prescription drugs in their community, Monroe pulled together a group of school, police, youth, health and religious leaders.

East Youth Advocacy Network crafted a survey that was given earlier this spring to 1,400 students in Monroe's middle and high schools.

Responses show most students know it's wrong to abuse pills, but also that abuse is a sizeable problem.

The survey found most students - about 75 percent - believe taking prescription drugs not meant for them is wrong and dangerous.

Yet two-thirds know at least one person who abuses prescription drugs. And nearly a third were offered a prescription drug to get high at least once in the month before the survey.

Most students said they were first aware of prescription drug abuse as an issue as middle-schoolers.

A dangerous habit

Prescription drug abuse creates pernicious addictions. Many of the drugs linger in the body long after the effects wear off, increasing the danger.

A drug such as methadone lingers for two or three days, for example, said Ann Marie Gordon, laboratory manager at the Washington State Patrol toxicology lab in Seattle.

It's not like aspirin, where you take one every four hours, she said. "You do that with methadone and you die."

OxyContin is one of the more well-known drugs among teens.

The painkiller was the only substance to rise in instances of abuse among middle- and high-schoolers nationally on the 2006 Monitoring the Future survey.

In school hallways, one 80-milligram pill can go for $80 - as much as an iPod Shuffle.

The drug, like others, alters the brain's chemical messengers that control survival mechanisms, such as eating, sleeping, mood, energy and sex drive.

"So here you are at a time in your life, a teenager, where you want to know about the adult world," said Dr. Dickinson of Providence hospital. "You're strong. You're fast. And you find something that, 'Hey, this makes me stronger, faster.' It's a lure."

Teens don't appreciate the dangers.

According to a 2006 survey by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 40 percent of teens said prescription medicines were "much safer" than illegal drugs, while more than a quarter thought painkillers aren't addictive.

Doreen O'Connor-Nash, intervention specialist at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, recalls an incident four years ago.

Four freshmen sat at a cafeteria table over lunch. One pulled out a baggie, into which they each dropped a pill or two.

Tylenol with codeine. Heart medication. Viagra.

A little bit of whatever they had found in the medicine cabinets of their parents or swapped from friends.

"They were not very secretive about it," she said.

Kids haven't been that casual since, but the abuse persists, she said, judging from the students who come through her office for counseling.

Others report similar attitudes.

It's not uncommon, for example, for a friend to give a classmate in pain a pill for relief, like Vicodin, said Lisa Westberg, a drug and alcohol counselor at Cascade High School in Everett.

"Just because she didn't buy it from you doesn't mean it isn't wrong," Westberg tells them.

Problem starts at home

The home medicine cabinet is where most teens find their fix.

Such ease of access is likely one reason more teens are abusing pills.

One girl, a Stanwood senior, abuses an anti-depressant called trazodone, which her doctor prescribes for her anxiety.

She also has a job and keeps decent grades - most wouldn't suspect she has a problem.

She said she doesn't take the pills at school because she said she wouldn't be able to function.

"I get dizzy and kind of muscle relaxed. And I can't walk whatsoever," she said.

Instead of taking the normal dose, she waits and saves up several pills to take at a time. The method keeps her addiction under her parents' radar by using up the medication in the expected time frame.

Others raid their parents' prescriptions.

In a 2005 survey by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 62 percent of teens said they took drugs not prescribed to them because they were easy to obtain from their parents' medicine cabinet.

Many parents seem unaware.

On the same survey, three out of five parents reported discussing illegal drugs such as marijuana "a lot" with their children, only a third of parents discussed the risks of using prescription medicines to get high.

"A lot of parents may feel, 'Well, at least it's not meth. It's just a couple of pills,' " said Martha Dankers, a member of the East Youth Advocacy Network in Monroe. "They don't understand the tremendous risk to kids."

And despite classroom lessons, many teens don't seem to know it either.

"Teens' philosophy on drug abuse of pills is, 'If two works, 12 will work better,'" said Wendy Bates, an intervention specialist for Stanwood and Granite Falls high schools. "They don't view it as a limitation but, 'How far can I go before I go too far?'"

Few get help

One Kamiak High School junior now celebrating six months of being drug-free started abusing prescription drugs at middle school.

A friend gave him a pill for attention-deficit disorder, Adderall, telling him it would help him study for their big test.

It did.

It also made him feel good.

He wanted more. Soon, he was hooked, paying as much as $20 for a single pill.

The habit led to trying other things to get a buzz - alcohol, OxyContin, the club-drug Ecstasy, marijuana, methadone.

When he came home drunk one night, his parents found one of the pills in his pocket.

It took 35 days at an inpatient rehab center in Burien to get him to this point.

"It's been better - a lot better," the boy said. "I'm quick-witted, smarter. You actually have a personality, and money. And good relationships with your family, which is good."

But health workers say few teens get the help.

Fewer teenagers step up to get help overcoming any chemical dependency. And facilities that specialize in adolescent addictions also are harder to find.

The young patients who do end up in treatment centers paint a scary picture.

"We're seeing kids come in who are heavily addicted to these medications and experiencing significant withdrawal symptoms," said Eugene Brown, director of youth programs at Sundown M Ranch.

The Yakima treatment center treats about 500 teens each year for various addictions.

In the past two years, staff have noticed a rise in those coming in for dependency on prescription pain relievers, Brown said.

Treatment centers in the Puget Sound area report similar trends.

"Sometimes we have people who are really severely dependent and they're only 15 or 16, bleeding and ulcers, in detox centers," said Melissa Morgan, clinical supervisor for Focus Everett Substance Abuse Services.

"They're involved in some pretty deadly stuff."

Saving Generation Rx

Some place blame for the trend on the confusing landscape of a consumer society bombarded by name-brand drugs.

"What's normal in America? It's pretty normal to take pills," said Steve Pitkin, drug and alcohol counselor at Lake Stevens High School.

"'Do you have a Xanax?'People ask for it like it's aspirin," he said of the prescription drug used to treat anxiety and depression. "There's a whole cultural minimization and confusion about taking pills."

In Monroe, community leaders are trying to change that.

Monroe Police Department's Crime Prevention Council has launched a public awareness program, which tries to grab the attention of teens and their parents.

The "Pills Kill" campaign features the image of a teenage girl gazing out with a blank stare, a white pill resting on her tongue.

The image appears throughout the city on brochures, school posters, bus ads and on the movie theater's big screens.

At the same time, pharmacists are being given cards developed by Valley General Hospital, reminding them not to over-prescribe medications and to discuss with parents the risks of leaving unused drugs in the medicine cabinet.

Education needs to keep up with the prevalence of prescription drugs.

For instance, one in five adults nationwide are prescribed painkillers, said Caleb Banta-Green, a researcher with the University of Washington's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute.

Parents should either lock up or throw away medication they don't use or need any more, he said.

Prescription drug abuse is "still thought of as a problem 'out there,' and people aren't personalizing it and realizing it could happen in their home," Banta-Green said. "It's not going away."

Another school shooting where psych drugs are involved

As seen here

A mental examination has been ordered for a teenager accused of shooting a classmate to death at Foss High School.

At the request of Pierce County prosecutors, Superior Court Judge Ronald E. Culpepper directed on Friday that Douglas S. Chanthabouly, 18, charged with first-degree murder in the attack on Samnang Kok, undergo a 15-day exam at Western State Hospital.

Kok was slain in a school hallway on Jan. 3. Police have written that there was some kind of dispute between the two teenagers.

Chanthabouly has pleaded innocent, and prosecutors told the judge that his lawyers have given notice of intent to present a mental health defense. Defense lawyer John David Chin said he had arranged for a private psychiatrist to evaluate the teenager.

According to court filings, Chanthabouly told a jail mental health expert in January that he is schizophrenic, takes anti-psychotic medication and was once admitted to a psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide.

Washington psychologist sentenced for Tricare fraud

From the Navy Times

A Seattle psychologist has agreed to pay $510,000 to the federal government and was sentenced Friday, April 6, to 12 months and one day in prison for defrauding a Defense Department health insurance program.

Dr. David Celio, 63, pleaded guilty in November to one count of health care fraud for repeatedly filing bogus claims for reimbursement with Tricare, which covers retired military personnel, reservists and spouses and children of active-duty troops.

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman also sentenced Celio to two years of supervised release after he serves his sentence.

Celio saw patients in Everett, Mukilteo and in Oak Harbor, near the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, according to the government.

His fraudulent practices included billing for individual and family therapy sessions that did not occur; billing for in-person counseling sessions when Celio talked to a patient by phone; and billing multiple family members for individual counseling sessions after a family therapy session, according to court papers.

The Washington state Department of Health opened an investigation of Celio after receiving a copy of the plea agreement in December. That investigation is continuing, according to a department spokesman.

Man Accused Of Faking Retardation -- For 20 Years

This is a story that gets to the essential point, namely: Just how expert are these "experts" on the mind anyhow? As seen in this report.

For nearly 20 years -- ever since Pete Costello was 8 -- his mother has collected disability benefits on his behalf.

In meetings with Social Security officials and psychologists, he appeared mentally retarded and unable to communicate. His mother insisted he couldn't read or write, shower, take care of himself or drive a car.

But now prosecutors said it was all a huge fraud, and they have video of Costello contesting a traffic ticket to prove it.

"He's like any other person trying to get out of a traffic ticket," Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Barbosa said Tuesday.

Pete and Rosie Marie Costello were indicted in September on charges of conspiracy to defraud the government and Social Security fraud, and the case was unsealed Tuesday. The Vancouver pair were scheduled to appear in federal court in Tacoma on Tuesday.

Barbosa said he planned to file with the court two videos of Pete Costello taken this year: In one, he allegedly feigns retardation during an interview with Social Security workers; the other is of him contesting the traffic ticket in a courtroom earlier this year.

The indictment accuses Costello of faking -- or at least exaggerating -- retardation since August 1997, because that is what prosecutors are confident they can prove, Barbosa said. But the pair first received benefits 10 years before that.

The benefits cited in the indictment totaled $111,000.

Barbosa said the government does not know whether Costello is retarded to some degree, but he clearly has been "exaggerating whatever he may have, if any."

"This person isn't being honest with the government about his condition," Barbosa said. "It makes it impossible to sort out."

It was not immediately known if the Costellos had obtained attorneys.