A psychiatrist who believed homosexuality was a ‘personality disorder’ is found guilty of sexually abusing two male patients as part of their ‘treatment’.
Dr Melvyn Iscove, 72, was found to engage in masturbation and oral sex with two male patients, and once participated in anal sex in the office as a forms of ‘treatment’, a committee found.
The discipline committee was organized by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Canada, and it found that Iscove had a ‘special interest in the treatment of patients with problems related to homosexuality.’
The committee released its report last week about the doctor after it suspended his license, the Toronto Star reported.
Dr Iscove denies all allegations and is considering appealing the decision, his lawyer said.
Alfred Kwinter (pictured) is representing Dr. Melvyn Iscove, 72, who was found guilty of sexually abusing two male patients
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s disciplinary committee released a report last week about why they found the doctor to be guilty of sexual abuse. His license has been suspended until his next hearing
‘We’re both very disappointed with the result, obviously,’ said Iscove’s lawyer, Alfred Kwinter to the Toronto Star.
‘Dr Iscove has always denied the allegations, he continues to do so, and he’s seriously considering an appeal.’
Dr Iscove will have to attend a penalty hearing where he could automatically lose his license.
Most of the allegations date back to the late 1980s, 90s and early 2000s.
‘Neither complainant described any emotional or romantic aspects of the sexual activity with Dr Iscove, and both said that at some point, they thought that the sexual activity was part of the therapy and an attempt to cure them of homosexuality by engaging in the acts, rather than fantasizing about them,’ the five-member discipline panel wrote in a decision released this week.
In defense to his actions, Dr Iscove said he was following Dr Edmund Bergler’s theories, a psychoanalyst from the 1950s who focused on homosexuality.
Dr Bergler theorized homosexuality to be an illness that could be cured with proper treatments.
Defining homosexuality as an illness was discredited by many prominent institutions more than 20 years ago. The World Health Organization, for example, removed it from its list of mental illnesses in 1992.
Dr Iscove was unable to answer the committee on if he thought homosexuality was an illness to be treated during his hearing.
He stated that his ‘patients patients only became responsive to his therapy when they were ready to fight it (i.e., the homosexuality),’ according to the panel’s report.
The two patients who complained against the doctor are both in their 40s and identities have been protected.
The first patient said he started seeing Dr Iscove when he was in his 20s because of his depression, anxiety and fears of being gay.
He said he saw Dr Iscove as a father figure before the psychiatrist asked if he thought of him sexually.
Reportedly, he and the doctor participated in 15 to 20 sessions where they would do mutual masturbation and oral sex.
The second patient started seeing Dr Iscove when he was 18 in the late 80s.
He said he considered himself a heterosexual male up to that point, and he was seeing the doctor for depression and anxiety.
But then Dr Iscove made him read passages from Dr Bergler and claimed his fantasies about heterosexual relationships were actually him covering up his homosexuality, according to the Toronto Star.
The patient started to believe he was homosexual. He told Dr Iscove he wanted to experiment with a homosexual partner and the doctor offered himself as an option instead.
The two participated in mutual masturbation and oral sex. One time the patient even brought a condom and asked Dr Iscove to penetrate him, which he agreed to do.
An official date has not been announced for Dr Iscove’s penalty hearing.