Sexual assault
Patient B came to Dr. Goodwin in 2017 to help taper her anxiety and depression medications. She informed him she had experienced multiple sexual assaults. He helped her taper off the drugs within a month and then hired her to work part-time at the practice’s reception desk.
After her symptoms worsened again after a traumatic event, Dr. Goodwin recommended the use of ketamine. Patient B received five ketamine treatments in a month with only Dr. Goodwin present in the room.
During one of those treatments he asked her questions about her sex life. Another night in the office he asked her to have a glass of wine with him and then allegedly sexually assaulted her.
Patient B soon quit the job via text, telling him his behavior was inappropriate. She told Dr. Goodwin she would not say anything about the assault but asked for a letter of recommendation for another job. Dr. Goodwin texted back that she was “100% right,” and he would give her a great recommendation, which he later did.
A year later, in 2019, Pamela Albro, PhD, a psychologist who provided therapy at Sequoia Mind Health, contacted Patient B to ask why she quit.
When Patient B told her about the assault, the therapist asked to share her name with Patient C, who had a similar experience. Patient B agreed and then submitted a police report and a complaint to the medical board in March 2019.
Dr. Goodwin denied Patient B’s allegations and “offered evasive and non-credible testimony” about Patient B’s text messages, the board said.
Another patient-employee
Patient C attended Dr. Goodwin’s clinic in May 2017 after a suicide attempt that required hospitalization. She told Dr. Goodwin she had experienced sexual trauma and assault in the past. Dr. Goodwin referred Patient C to Dr. Albro for therapy, managed her medications himself, and hired her to work at the clinic’s reception desk, even though she was still a patient.
Patient C worked 32 hours a week and took on other duties that included assisting in the administration of transcranial magnetic stimulation to clinic patients.
In late 2017, Dr. Goodwin recommended ketamine for Patient C and she received seven treatments from December 2017 through April 2019. There were no records of vital signs monitoring during the treatments, and Dr. Goodwin’s wife was present for only two sessions.
During the first treatment, where Patient C said she was feeling “out of it,” Dr. Goodwin allegedly sexually assaulted her.
Because of the ketamine, she told the medical board she was unable to speak or yell but said, “I screamed in my head.” After Dr. Goodwin left the room, she said she felt afraid, ashamed, and wanted to go home. Dr. Goodwin walked her to the lobby where her husband was waiting.
The patient did not tell her husband about the assault because she said she felt ashamed, and said she did not report Dr. Goodwin because it was not safe.
Disciplinary hearing
Patient C continued to work for Dr. Goodwin, calling it a confusing time in her life. She later learned about the affair with Patient A’s sister and about Patient B’s experience and resigned from the clinic in July 2019.
She still did not discuss the assault until early 2021 when the board contacted her again. She confided to her primary care physician, who noted that her PTSD symptoms had worsened.
Dr. Goodwin said in the disciplinary hearing that hiring Patient B and Patient C was “boundary crossing,” but he denied allegations of asking inappropriate questions or of sexual assault. The board, however, characterized the testimony of Patient B and Patient C as credible.
All of Dr. Goodwin’s other employers said at his disciplinary hearing that they believed he was a good psychiatrist and that they had never seen any unprofessional behavior.
The revocation of Dr. Goodwin’s license will be effective as of April 7. Dr. Goodwin’s attorney, Marvin H. Firestone, MD, JD, told this news organization he had “no comment” on the medical board’s decision or about his client.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.