On April 6, 2017, the Discipline Committee found that Dr. Maal-Bared committed an act of professional misconduct in that: she has failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession and in that she has engaged in conduct or an act or omission relevant to the practice of medicine that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional in relation to her failure to maintain appropriate boundaries with her patients as described below.
Dr. Maal-Bared is a psychiatrist who received her certificate of registration authorizing independent practice in Ontario on January 15, 2009 and started her solo practice as a psychiatrist in February 2009.
In and around 2009 to 2011, Dr. Maal-Bared provided individual psychotherapy treatment to Patient A (a teenager), Patient B (Patient A’s mother), and Patient C (Patient B’s common law spouse), collectively referred to as “the Family”. Although Dr. Maal-Bared told Patients A and B that it was “not usually advisable” for psychiatrists to treat members of the same family in individual psychotherapy due to the possibility that one may forget the source of a piece of information thereby threatening confidentiality, Patients A and B said they were agreeable to her treating them both.
Failure to Maintain Boundaries
Dr. Maal-Bared and Patient B developed a friendship shortly after Patient B became her patient. While treating the Family, Dr. Maal-Bared socialized with them including visiting the Family at their home, attending Patient A’s birthday party, going out to meals together, and attending one of Patient A’s events. Dr. Maal-Bared and her husband, who was an artist, attended a “life drawing class” with the Family. Life drawing classes involve drawing a person from observation of a live nude model.
While socializing with Patient B, Dr. Maal-Bared shared information with her about her personal life and marital issues, gave Patient B skincare oil and some clothes she no longer wore. She also commissioned a piece of work from Patient A, which she paid for but ultimately decided not to accept. Dr. Maal-Bared and Patient B regularly exchanged emails and used nicknames for each other. Dr. Maal-Bared was “Eva” and Patient B was “Zsa Zsa”, referring to the Hollywood actresses and sisters Eva and Zsa Zsa Gabor.
While Dr. Maal-Bared was her physician, Dr. Maal-Bared hired Patient B as her administrative and personal assistant. Patient A and Patient C were aware of and did not object to this arrangement. Patient B’s administrative work provided her with accessto Dr. Maal-Bared's patients' medical records. Patient B’sresponsibilities included organizing patient records and creating a database of patient contact information. Dr. Maal-Bared was aware that Patient B was working on a database of patient contact information from home and had made copies of patient contract information sheets. Dr. Maal-Bared’s position is that she had no knowledge and did not permit Patient B to remove medical records from her office.
As Dr. Maal-Bared’s personal assistant, Patient B worked in Dr. Maal-Bared’s home, including organizing her closet, and helped Dr. Maal-Bared with personal errands, , such as driving her to the veterinarian once. Dr. Maal-Bared also hired Patient A to clean her office on a number of occasions. Patient B arranged for Patient C to purchase a computer for Dr. Maal-Bared and install software on it. Patient C also took professional photographs of Dr. Maal-Bared. Dr. Maal-Bared hired Patient B’s sister to move a desk for her.
At Dr. Maal-Bared’s request, as part of her administrative work, Patient B arranged to have her father who lived in the U.S. and sister pick up art work that Dr. Maal-Bared had ordered. Patient B’s sister brought it across the U.S. border to Toronto for Dr. Maal-Bared. Dr. Maal-Bared later asked her father to pick up the artwork from the Family’s home.
Dr. Maal-Bared attended in person at a hospital with the Family when Patient B’s nephew became ill to advocate for his admission.
By the end of May 2012, Dr. Maal-Bared’s relationship with the Family broke down, at which time Dr. Maal-Bared apologized to Patient B, and acknowledged that the situation was Dr. Maal- Bared’s fault and that if they wanted to make a complaint to address their concerns, she would cooperate. In May 2014, the Family sent letters of complaint to the College. In her response to the Family’s complaints, Dr. Maal-Bared acknowledged that she had compromised professional boundaries by developing a personal and employment relationships with the Family.
On April 6, 2017, the Committee ordered and directed on the matter of penalty and costs that:
- The Registrar suspend Dr. Maal-Bared’s certificate of registration for a period of four (4) months effective immediately.
- Dr. Maal-Bared attend before the panel to be reprimanded.
- Dr. Maal-Bared pay costs to the College in the amount of $5,500.00 within thirty (30) days of the date this Order becomes final.
Terms and conditions imposed on certificate by: Member
