Missouri psychologist surrenders license after patient got worse

May 5, 2008

In April 2008 Missouri psychologist Robert Fiebiger surrendered his license to the Missouri Committee of Psychologists following in the investigation of a complaint by a patient who asserted that after 17 years of being Fiebiger’s patient, she had not gotten better, but only worse. She alleged that Fiebiger exploited her condition for his own benefit. Specifically, she stated that Fiebiger met with her for hours at a time, sometimes in a basement room at his office, sometimes in a bedroom in his office or while driving his car around a Target store parking lot. The woman, who stated that she suffers from “multiple personality disorder,” said that Fiebiger told her that he also had multiple personality disorder and that their alternate personalities should get together. The Committee of Psychologists’ findings against Fiebiger state that, contrary to competent therapeutic practice, Fiebiger inappropriately reinforced the separateness of the patient’s many personalities, rather than working to integrate them. For example, he wrote a love letter to one of the woman’s alternate personalities.¹

¹ Before the Administrative Hearing Commission State of Missouri, State Committee of Psychologists vs. Robert Fiebiger, No. 06-0205, 23 August 2007 and Mike Owens, “Psychologist surrenders license after woman with multiple personalities says she got worse,” KSDK TV, 5 May 2008.