Psychiatrist Ryan B. Sondergard, Reprimanded for Harmful Conduct, Announces Scholarship

November 27, 2023

On November 14, 2023, a news release appeared online that announced “Distinguished Psychiatrist Dr. Ryan Sondergard Launches Scholarship to Support Future Mental Health Professionals.” It stated that Sondergard, who is currently employed at the Veteran’s Administration hospital in Dayton, Ohio, will make a one-time award of $2,000 to a mental student or ambitious professional who writes the winning essay that presents an innovative solution to “a pressing challenge faced by the mental health profession today.”

Dr. Sondergard may be familiar with pressing challenges: On August 9, 2023, the Missouri State Board for the Healing Arts issued a public reprimand against Sondergard based on a complaint it had received in January 2021 which reported that in February 2019, Sondergard had hidden a cellular phone with photo/video capabilities in the ceiling of his in-laws’ bathroom, while he was visiting for a Superbowl party. The phone was spotted by his sister-in-law (then a minor), who had gone into the bathroom to use the shower. According to the Missouri board’s document, “At a later date, Sondergard was confronted about the incident. He admitted that he had placed the cellular phone in the ceiling. He later wrote a handwritten letter of contrition to the family” and “On August 2, 2021, the Board's investigator met with Sondergard and his attorney for an interview. During this interview, Sondergard acknowledged that he had placed his cell phone in the downstairs bathroom but denied any specific purpose for the placement of the phone or that any images or video were captured.”

On August 19, 2021, Sondergard submitted an application for medical license to the State Medical Board of Ohio. On June 14, 2023 the Ohio Board issued Sondergard a citation with which it notified him that it intended to determine whether to refuse to grant his application, based on the previously described cellphone incident. The Ohio board’s document noted that the conduct alleged in the Missouri board’s document constitutes the “commission of an act that constitutes a felony in this state, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the act was committed,” and indicated that the crime would be that of Voyeurism and Attempted Voyeurism. The Ohio Board further informed Sondergard that it could impose a civil penalty upon him of up to the $20,000 and that he had the right to request a hearing in the matter.

His Ohio license application is pending; it is not clear if Sondergard requested a hearing.

Announcement of the scholarship comes just three months after Sondergard was reprimanded by the state of Missouri.

The information on Sondergard’s scholarship website conflicts with the information in the press release in that it states that the award is $1,000 (not $2,000) and that the essay topic is the applicant’s “reflections on their experiences and future aspirations related to mental health.”

Source: Settlement Agreement between the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts and Ryan B. Sondergard, DO, August 9, 2023; citation of State Medical Board of Ohio to Ryan Bradley Sondergard, D.O. Case number 23-CRF-0111, June 14, 2023; https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/11/14/2780434/0/en/Distinguished-Psychiatrist-Dr-Ryan-Sondergard-Launches-Scholarship-to-Support-Future-Mental-Health-Professionals.html; and https://drryansondergardscholarship.com/