By Helen William, PA
An emotionally fragile secretary today recalled how her psychiatrist boss used “masturbation therapy” on her.
Breaking down in tears, Susan Carlyle told the General Medical Council that she did not formally complain, saying: “I thought it was my fault.”
Consultant psychiatrist Dayananda Rajapakse hypnotised her in therapy sessions in his locked office to help treat her depression.
He got her to touch herself, both on top and under her clothing, and got her to remove her clothes.
On at least one occasion he placed his fingers inside her vagina, fondled her breasts, had oral sex with her, and tried to force her hand down his trousers.
He assured her that masturbation therapy was a legitimate technique, backed by articles in medical journals and research that could be found on the internet, the professional conduct committee was told.
This happened after Dr Rajapakse had previously tried to kiss and hug Miss Carlyle and declared he had fallen in love with her, the panel heard.
But when she tried to tell Dr Rajapakse that she was feeling uncomfortable with the intimate conversations and contact, the Sri Lankan-born psychiatrist told her to ’just let go and stop being so stuffy’. Her ’British reserve’ was getting in the way of something very normal, she claimed.
The incidents occurred during 2000 when Miss Carlyle was working as a Mental Health Act administrator and clinical secretary at Beech House, Newmarket, Suffolk.
Both she and Dr Rajapakse were working for Care Principles Ltd., which runs private nursing homes for people with learning difficulties who have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
Dr Rajapakse, of Braintree, Essex, denies serious professional misconduct.