Posted by toojane on February 1, 2007, at 12:57:23
In reply to Abusive therapist *TRIGGER*, posted by zazenduckie on February 1, 2007, at 9:04:19
Canadian psychiatrist Dr. James Tyhurst chained and whipped some of his female patients, many of whom had been sexually abused as children and who came to him for help dealing with the aftereffects of that abuse. He was convicted in court of using his patients as sexual slaves.
"In 1989, four women came forward to the Vancouver RCMP and Vancouver Crown to report attacks on them by their psychiatrist, Dr. James Tyhurst. They described that over a period of twenty years, he conducted “treatment” on all of them that included signed contracts to participate in “master/slave” therapy. He required the women to undress and remain partially or completely naked throughout the therapy sessions. He escalated to sexual assaults, including rape, and physical assaults, including the use of sado-masochist paraphernalia, such as, whips and jewellery. These attacks occurred in his office, his home office, his home on Gabriola Island, and in the homes of the women"
He was also the head of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia.I find this fascinating. How does someone so deviant and cruel become a psychiatrist...and a quite prominent one at that. He is surrounded by colleagues who are also psychiatrists. Why can't they tell that he's gone rogue? The whole premise of their profession is that they are able to accurately assess other people's mental health.
So they either could tell Tyhurst was evil and did nothing to stop him from "treating" patients, which makes them complicit (not unlike the Catholic church and pedophilic priests).
Or they just couldn't tell. If they just couldn't tell, what does that say about their ability to diagnose patients? He would have spent years in training, being taught by other psychiatrists, surrounded by other psychiatrist-in-training and once he graduated, he continued to have ongoing contact with colleagues as the head of the school. To hold such a position would have to mean that he was held in high regard by his fellow psychiatrists, wouldn't it? So they are completely unable to recognize a sexual sadist in their midst.
poster:toojane
thread:728702
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20070119/msgs/728755.html