Suspended: Psychiatrist deemed patient paranoid yet fed him QAnon links and conspiracy theories

A London, Ont., psychiatrist who aggravated a patient’s paranoia and psychosis by sharing conspiracy theories and material—including Twitter accounts linked to QAnon and a purported psychic’s video predicting an explosion—has been suspended from practice for one year. Dr. Nina Leah Desjardins has also been ordered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to see a psychiatrist once a month for at least two years, and to pay $6,000 for the college’s costs. “We were appalled by your serious boundary violations involving completely unprofessional social media exchanges and the sharing of your personal views and interests,” the discipline committee said in its reprimand, which was delivered by videoconference on June 29. The committee also rebuked Dr. Desjardins for failing to help the patient when he became suicidal and sent her a direct message through Twitter. Dr. Desjardins responded a day later but did not offer any treatment advice. Shortly after, she blocked him from her Twitter feed. “When your patient was suicidal, you abandoned him,” the committee said. Dr. Desjardins, who worked at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital just south of London, treated the patient between July 2017 to February 2019 for long-standing anxiety and depression. During a number of these appointments, Dr. Desjardins engaged the patient in discussions covering politics, conspiracy theories, QAnon, reality versus different dimensions, the concept of a “third eye,” and the Morpheus character from the movie Matrix. She told the patient that freemasons ran Canada’s most secure forensic facility and provided the names of various Twitter accounts to follow. For several weeks, she communicated with him through Twitter direct messaging. Read: CPSO draft social media policy profoundly challenging The patient started to refer to Dr. Desjardins as his guru, mentor, master and muse, according to the discipline committee’s decision document. After watching the video of the psychic, the patient sent Dr. Desjardins a message saying he was going crazy and thinking he was an alien. He shared the video with wife and wanted to contact the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Dr. Desjardins apologized for sending the video and told the patient she had doubts about continuing her practice because “psychiatry is at its core rotten.” The discipline committee noted in its decision that Dr. Desjardins’ notes show she deemed the patient to be paranoid, yet she provided him with conspiracy information. The committee further reprimanded Dr. Desjardins for lying about her espousal of conspiracy theories when questioned by the chief of psychiatry at the hospital that admitted the patient when he became suicidal. Dr. Desjardins had lied as well to the patient’s wife, claiming initially that she didn’t know the Twitter messages were from the patient. Dr. Desjardins also failed to inform the Ontario Ministry of Transportation that the patient, a truck driver, had cannabis dependence issues, which put the patient and the public at risk. In making its decision, the committee took into account Dr. Desjardins’ admission of guilt, which spared the patient’s family from having to testify and saving the expense of a longer hearing. Dr. Desjardins also recognized and sought help for her own health issues and has voluntarily completed the PROBE ethics and boundaries course for Canadian healthcare professionals. Read: Can five new adjudicators and one new name add up to a better tribunal at the CPSO?

Suspended: Psychiatrist deemed patient paranoid yet fed him QAnon links and conspiracy theories

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