Sunday, April 17, 2011

Longtime Madison Park psychiatrist suspended and sued over sexual misconduct

For reasons unknown to us, Madison Park and its environs seem to have a disproportionately high number of mental health practitioners in residence.  The offices of psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, psychiatrists and other related professionals abound both here and in Madison Valley (Yelp lists 19 psychiatrists, for example, as practicing in Madison Park alone).

Last year, the local mental health community gained a bit of unwanted notoriety when the State announced that it was investigating longtime Madison Park psychiatrist Dr. Richard T. Adamson, who for many years practiced in offices just above the WaMu (later Chase) bank branch on E. Madison St.  The Washington State Department of Health alleged last summer that Adamson had, among other questionable actions, engaged in improper sexual relations with a patient and had disclosed confidential patient information without authorization.

After investigating the charges, the State’s Medical Quality Assurance Commission late last month suspended Adamson’s license to practice, stating that his sexual relationship with the female patient had violated standards of professional conduct.  Additionally, according to the State, Adamson later disclosed information about the woman to a second patient, also a violation.  Adamson has until later this week to respond to the suspension, which will otherwise become permanent, according to published reports.

The State’s case against the 56-year-old Adamson is a pretty serious one.  He is accused of having engaged in an “abusive and potentially harmful” sexual relationship with the patient, who he had been treating for depression.  The woman, a family-practice doctor, was dealing with issues related to sexual abuse by her father.  According to the State’s “Statement of Charges” (as reported by the online Psychiatric Crime Database), in November 2008 Adamson encouraged his patient to seek psychotherapy treatment from someone else, following which he immediately entered into a sexual relationship with the woman, who later left her husband.  Adamson is alleged to have had sex with his former patient at both his office and her apartment.  Adamson reportedly ended the relationship by stating that he was obsessed with another, younger woman with whom he had been engaging in “phone sex” and “instant messaging sex.”

Earlier this month the former patient with whom Adamson had the affair sued him in King County Superior Court, according to the Seattle PI.  The civil complaint reportedly accuses Adamson of negligence for having caused his former patient “severe psychological and emotional injury.”

Publicity about these allegations has apparently not been helpful to Adamson, who is now the subject of two new complaints of misconduct filed with the Department of Health last month, at least one of them involving an allegedly improper sexual relationship with a patient.  In the “Amended Statement of Charges” filed by the State, Adamson is reported to have revealed to a patient with whom he was having an affair that “he was involved sexually with numerous women, including a 30 year old married woman with whom he was currently emailing and texting, a married woman whom he had been involved with since his wife died, an infectious disease physician, and a family practice physician.”  The recipient of this uninvited disclosure then “ended the relationship” with Adamson, according to the Amended Statement.

Adamson, who has since moved his practice (such as it is) to Lake City, apparently has not spoken publicly about any of the charges. His former space in Madison Park no longer houses a psychiatric office.

25 comments:

  1. Bryan, you caved in to the juicy-ness!!! What a disappointment. Your argument not to post this schlock was so well-thought out and presented and then some reader who clearly has an axe to grind with the doctor, or with his profession, turns you on (pun very intentional) to making the post anyway. You present nothing new here from the time when you were not going to report it, so what gives? Sex sells, I guess.

    Oh, and there are so many psychiatrists in Madison Park, because they go where the business is.

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  2. I don't believe that Bryan is trying to sell sex or anything of that nature. His blog is his and he is an independent voice that we need in Madison Park. Note, that he does not report to the Business group nor the Council and that is the way it should be!

    He is an asset to our community whom we may not always agree with, but the objective is to report via his blog!

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  3. Thank you Bryan for bringing forward this story, which certainly is not 'schlock'. It is helpful to remind people that victims of abuse have recourse and that even powerful physicians can be held accountable by their peers. If a stalker or serial rapist was terrorizing Madison Park, that would be headline news in the Seattle Times. So why is it not news (but rather axe grinding?) when a physician is accused of repeating engaging in behavior that is in effect rape (since trusting patients are at his mercy and can idealism him)? I wonder if the reader above is simply feeling protective of 'one of his own' or of a community that clearly also has done much good for people.

    Our society has a long history of covering up sexual abuse and domestic violence and blaming victims. So when in doubt, it is beneficial to bring stories like this one into the light of day for discussion. Victims need our support and understanding. How can therapist patient abuse be reduced in the future? Any ideas?

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  4. Madison Park Blogger is intended to be an "of record" medium for Madison Park. That's an old newspaper term ("newspaper of record") generally meaning: if it happens it should be reported. In other words, an "of record" publication is where one should go to find a fairly complete record of events that have happened in the coverage area.

    We turn down a lot of stories that are tangential to the neighborhood and that are better left covered by other media. When we first learned of this story, we thought the now-suspended doctor had moved out of Madison Park long ago. We learned otherwise (he was a long-time Madison Park practitioner and the alleged inappropriate actions, or some of them, took place in his office, right here). That's what makes it a Madison Park story.

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  5. Is it time for this blog to be reviewed before it is published and is this a job for the Madison Park Community Council to police (edit) this blog?

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  6. What would the rationale for that be?

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  7. The rationale is that the MPCC is supposed to represent the interests of Madison Park in all areas and that may need to include a Blog which is some ways represents himself, not Madison Park (to the Park and the City).

    So the question is, does Madison Park want to see an "independent" blogger who can write what ever, without any checks or balance?

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  8. Good grief! "Police" this blog? MPCC is supposed to represent the interests of Madison Park "in all areas"? Oh, I think not.

    In answer to your question: Yes, Madison Park wants to see an "independent" blogger!

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  9. What is meant by "Oh, I think not" when reference MPCC? Since when did MPCC stop representing the Park?

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  10. So does the reader above think that we have to get permission from some officious body to discuss issues concerning Madison Park and its citizens, that oh my Goodness, might make people feel uncomfortable. If an issue is distasteful, do you think it should be censored? Is that the American way? I certainly don't, and support the 'freedom of the press' part of the 1st amendment, even if my 'neighbor' apparently does not.
    By the way, the comments made by Bryan and the others above do not appear to have any personal allegations, etc, but rather for the most part are stating facts based on the WA State board findings. So where is the problem here?

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  11. Shouldn't issues concerning Madison Park and it's citizens be discussed at the Madison Park Community Council meetings, if not then what is the role of the Council?

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  12. You can discuss an issue, such as patient abuse, how to help victims, how to prevent abuse, etc, etc, right here on the blog. But rather than writing with some insight or compassion, the reader above seems to be more interested in 'regulating speech', having things only brought up at the MPCC. Yuk.
    Bryan how another another blog about the MPCC, which frankly I think is a broken forum?

    What happened to discussing the issue brought up in this blog in the first place? My impression is that the MP therapist community has been 'silent'. Or is MP a blog adverse community?

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  13. Silence is a form of acceptance. Thank you Bryan for your reporting. Learning about this illegal activity may prevent another crime like this in your area.

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  14. I fully agree with the last two comments and more power to you Bryan, please don't stop doing what your doing. Just one idea, have your every thought of "guest" bloggers when you go on vacation?

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  15. Wow, Orwell was right after all, just a bit early. Yes, let's please get the Thought Police to approve all of our communications with each other.

    If this were a black male cruising the streets raping you Madison Park girls you can guarantee it would be national news. But yet when it is a doctor committing the same crime, the local blog isn't supposed to cover it? Puhlease. Go find a Communist country to inhabit, I suggest Myanmar, I hear they love censorship and oppression.

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  16. The next MPCC meeting is May 2, 2011 at 7 PM at the Bathhouse and that would be a good time to bring up the role of the Blog as well as the Council in the future of "free Speech" in Madison Park!

    Does Madison Park want the Blog as is or one that is controlled?

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  17. Discuss with the MPCC? WHAT? Anyone can write a blog about the community, it is a free country. What does the MPCC have to do with anything?

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  18. Whoever the idiot defending MPCC on this thread should be welcomed to 1992. The Internet is freedom of expression, and maybe the MPCC should take five minutes to write it's own useful blog instead of wingeing about parking, ice cream vendors at the beach, or whatever. Intelligent readers who make up their own mind rule on the Internet. Do I believe and agree with every editorial line of this blog? No, but I now have my belief confirmed that MPCC is useless and hopelessly out of touch with it's own residents. I hope you read this post at your meeting, because I certainly won't waste my time being there.

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  19. If black males (nice work, you racist moron) were raping women on the streets of Madison Park, those events would hopefully be reported to the police, since they are crimes. Bryan would likely report on them in his Police Blotter post, since they have been reported to the police and he re-hashes those statistics for us in the blog. This would be the consistent thing to do.

    However, what the doctor is accused of doing is not a crime, is not a police matter and as Bryan himself said, did not belong in the Police Blotter.

    As for the issue of the MPCC, they officially represent Madison Park in dealings with the City. Bryan is claiming that his blog is somehow official, so having some connection between the two "official" entities is not that far-fetched. What some people don't understand is that Bryan is not official. He is sharing his hobby with us.

    What should happen is that Bryan should either join-up and get official, or stop trying to be independent and official. Those are two things that you definitely cannot be at the same time.

    Embarrassing show for the complainer who won't attend an MPCC meeting because it is a waste of time. So, does that make you part of the solution, or part of the problem? I'm not clear.

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  20. Bryan has never claimed that Madison Park Blogger is in some way "official."

    To quote the footer at the bottom of this website: "THIS IS A BLOG ABOUT MADISON PARK (SEATTLE). COMMENTARY AND OPINIONS ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR UNLESS OTHERWISE EXPRESSLY STATED."

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  21. The MPCC is useless, who is coming on here and defending them? And what do they have to do with the blog?

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  22. Comments in a previous thread lead one to question, why the Madison Park Blog should not be independent and why the Madison Park Community Council continues to operate in way that is independent of the views of the residents of Madison Park?

    I dare say that more people know Bryan Tagas who writes this blog then know who the President of the MPCC is (or any officer of the Council). We’ve only heard what the Council is against, like the 520 bridge and vendors in the Park. As a previous comment used the phrase “broken forum” when referencing the Council, so is this true or not?

    In my view there is no need to fix or control this Blog, but there may be a real need to address the Madison Park Community Council as a “broken forum” and to see what its future if any should be!

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  23. What's the Madison Park Community Council? Lived here for 3 uearsm never heard of it.

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  24. Bryan, I don't think there is any confusion regarding the intent of your commentary and opinion, because those things are just that, opinions and commentary. However, when you enter the news arena, you say on one hand that you want to be the "of record" source for Madison Park news, while also saying you do not want to be "official." Don't get me wrong, I understand this is why blogs exist in the social media.....all the fun and none of the responsibility, but I think it is confusing some others.

    Also, when one visits the official Madison Park Community Council/Business Association website, your blog link (unofficial) is one of only two pieces of information on the entire homepage. This was probably not your doing, but it sure associates you very directly and officially with that body.

    For anyone who really WANTS to hear about the MPCC and their current activities, meetings are the first Monday of every month at 7pm at the bathhouse. Go and check it out if you want and if you don't, close your pie hole.

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  25. Richard T. Adamson (former MD - license revoked) has started a "mediation practice" and "The Great Dog Project." These new "ventures" give him access to women for the purposes of taking sexual and emotional advantage of them.

    From his Great Dog Project description: "Phase 1 calls for interviews with employees in order to obtain background and to solicit canine candidates for the book . Please review the calendar below for available times. If a time is not marked BUSY, it is most likely available, and you may email me to arrange a location and schedule that works for you. If a weekend or evening time is better for you, please let me know so your preferences can be accommodated. Meetings can be arranged either at the Great Dog facilities, next door at Bark, or any other location that you prefer."

    WARNING: STAY AWAY FROM RICHARD T. ADAMSON. HE IS A PERVERTED, DESPERATE, UNETHICAL SEXUAL PREDATOR, AND HE WILL USE HIS WILES TO LURE AN

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