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NY Psychiatrist Don Kerson Surrenders License on Controlled Substance, Sex-Related Charges

April 17, 2019

On February 20, 2019, the New York State Board of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) accepted the surrender of psychiatrist Don Kerson’s medical license.

Kerson practiced in both New York City and Brooklyn.

The OPMC’s documents relate to Kerson’s treatment of six patients (“Patients A, B, C, D, E, and F”) he treated from July 2010 through June 2015 and during which time he variously deviated from accepted medical standards in the following ways:

  • Failed to appropriately diagnose, evaluate, and treat one patient. 
  • Inappropriately prescribed controlled substances to four patients.
  • Failed to order and/or perform adequate testing and/or follow-up for three patients. 
  • Failed to appropriately monitor two patients’ use of stimulants and/or other controlled substances.
  • Failed to maintain an adequate medical record for two patients. 
  • Failed to coordinate treatment with one patient’s other health care providers. 
  • Placed false entries in one patient’s medical record, knowingly and with intent to deceive.
  • Inappropriately provided controlled substances and/or post-dated prescriptions to a patient. 
  • Engaged in a sexual and/or improper personal relationship with a patient while treating her and inappropriately attempted to dissuade the patient from reporting his improper behavior to physician disciplinary officials. 
  • Engaged in inappropriate conversations with a patient for other than good faith medical purpose.
  • Inappropriately combined two patients’ medical records with those of other patients and inappropriately issued prescriptions in those two patients’ names to other patients, knowingly and with intent to deceive. 
  • Failed to consistently consult the Prescription Monitoring Registry (PMR) prior to prescribing and/or dispensing controlled substances to all six patients (as required by law) and also failed to document either the consultation of PMR or reason for lack of such consultation.

Kerson admitted to the OPMC that he could not successfully defend against at least one act of misconduct alleged and opted to surrender his license rather than have the allegations brought to a hearing.

Source: Surrender Order in the Matter of Don Kerson, M.D., BPMC No. 19-028, New York State Department of Health State Board for Professional Medical Conduct, February 12, 2019.

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Comments
Tamara
2020-12-27 08:27:08
Dr. Donald Kerson raped me.
Alex White
2021-04-26 04:41:36
I was a patient of his for 6 years and he was a wonderful doctor and helped me get past some difficulties through talk therapy. Great guy.
Youknow
2021-07-30 20:43:42
Lol I%u2019m not surprised. I was his patient and he used to smoke weed during our sessions at his Greenpoint office. He also loved to ask about my sex life.
J Doe
2021-10-22 09:17:29
DR Don was definitely OUT of the BOX, but as my doctor he helped me deal with difficult situations in my life.
- former patient of 2 yrs
Anon
2021-11-22 09:31:34
If he hurt people, he should be held accountable. That being said his book help me immensely. Tying ADD in with trauma was a releveation and allowed me to make SUSTAINABLE progress that lasts to this day.
Former Patient
2021-12-02 08:09:59
He was totally nuts. Office reeked of weed and he would sell Viagra from India. That said, he was a good doctor and helped me a lot.
Former Patient 2
2022-01-03 12:48:57
Dr. Kerson caused me a lot of psychological harm and 10 years later I am still trying to put the pieces back together. He was totally inappropriate.
Anon
2022-01-30 20:50:23
I met with him to discuss anxiety in 2007 or 8 and he told me %u201CI just needed to get fucked.%u201D I recall him mentioning bending me or someone over the table (suggesting getting fucked) and then prescribed me ADHD medication. I still tell this story to people when I talk about my first year trying to find a therapist in my early twenties in New York. I was clearing out a storage unit today and found his name on the prescription bottle of medication I hardly took as I did not trust a doctor that would behave this way. I just googled his name and found this! No wonder!
Jennifer Feliu
2022-07-12 03:14:04
Noone knows dr. Don kerson these are lies.
James
2022-10-11 09:46:09
Thank god for Dr. Kerson. He helped me understand my ADD and depression in whole new ways that totally liberated me from my old closeted Ideas of myself %u2014 and old closeted ways that a "proper psychiatrist" ought to act. Everything about his attitude toward our relationsnip was not that of a shrink to a patient %u2014 and thank god!!!!! Meanwhile, to all the other MDs and PhDs and LCSWs and more, who sat there quietly taking thousands of dollars while I talked my way into nothing but another year of therapy bills %u2014 you should all have your licenses revoked because you did NOTHING for me.
Former Patient 3
2022-11-19 22:53:09
I was one of the patients who filed a complaint. It took me several years to understand just how unethical his behavior was towards me. I understand that some people feel very strongly about Dr. Kerson, but he hurt people, and that is not okay. One patient has stated that he raped her. I think the bottom line is that Dr. Kerson has psychiatric issues of his own which interfere with his ability to do what he had initially set out to do - helping others. It is very sad. I see one person saying that Dr. Kerson helped him/her to make sustainable progress that lasts to this day, and it was just the opposite for me.
Grateful I survived
2023-05-12 22:26:10
My experience like many began as a patient hoping to bring both my Asperger%u2019s and attendant ADD back under control. He seemed to understand me in ways I couldn%u2019t explain which moved me to open up in ways I would have otherwise rejected. I trusted him. The end result however was that he pushed medicinal treatment in a way that at first seemed strange but legitimate, however, after several times complaining of of headaches, confusion and that something felt off, rather than reduce my meds, he increased them and added others that increased the half-lives of the original meds. In the end, I went into a medically induced psychotic fugue that nearly ended my life. It did in fact end several key relationships , and strained to breaking, several others. As I had been and still am in Recovery for many years, one might imagine how devastating this was. The worst was when I was hospitalized, rather than take responsibility, he scolded me and chided that I just needed to take my medication the correct way - he said this while other doctors were listening in the background and then offered a very different reply once one of the doctors confronted him about the amount of adderall he had prescribed. In all he had me on what amounted to far more than what other doctors might have prescribe. I nearly died and I still face the social repercussions of this more than 10 years later. I grant it is possible that he was helpful to some as his words at times seemed helpful to me. However, what remains are the other charges and behaviors that if true, destroyed some people%u2019s lives. If he in fact raped and harmed people as is alleged in all of these posts, whereas his alleged criminal actions do not erase the alleged good he may have done, the alleged good he did does not justify, amend or erase the alleged pain he caused.
SAD STORY
2023-07-22 17:50:53
If only Dr Kerson could have created a clone of himself without any of the negative. Creating a clone without the negatives [In other words] A clone of Dr Kerson without the negatives%u2026%u2026%u2026%u2026. That clone would have been the ground breaking super genius psychiatrist%u2026.. because Dr Kerson%u2019s book and his viewpoints about what %u201CADHD REALLY IS WAS GROUND BREAKING!!!%u201D
Unlike what most professionals MD%u2019s ,psychiatrists, nurse practitioners and most of the world think they know what ADHD is but have no clue. I used to travel from Rensselaer, NY to see him%u2026.. I had a lot of incomplete s in my life including not completing Dental School and 20 years after that in my fifties I some how got a hold of his book and reading it before making a decision to see him. There are a lot of doctors in many states that accepted prison time in return of getting their medical licenses back (and these were horrible theorists in their professions) I wish he bargained that with the NYS medical licensing board plus maybe being on some kind of medical parole with improvement on his part and ultimately getting his license back%u2026%u2026%u2026%u2026 I believe God forgives for those who truly repent and change. I%u2019m sorry if this write up of my opinion hurts anyone. I truly am sorry%u2026%u2026%u2026
Another Kerson Victim
2023-08-25 13:09:02
I was a patient of Dr. Kerson's for several years. He repeatedly made sexual comments to me (including when I was a teen) which escalated into very direct sexual proposals when I was a young adult. I never came forward and reported him because I feared his revenge and thought no one would believe me due to my history of psych treatment. I am so grateful to all the patients who did come forward to OPMC and led to him surrendering his license so he can't harm any further victims. I can't imagine how hard it was for you all to report him and am in awe of the bravery you showed. I have been haunted for years by Dr. Kerson's abuse and the betrayal of the trust I and my parents placed in him, and your actions have given me more closure and healing than I thought I would ever have. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are heroes. I hope you all get the care and support you need to heal.
Me Too!
2024-01-29 17:09:02
Inappropriate comments (sexual and otherwise), billing issues, the smell of marijuana, and heard him yelling at other patients from the hallway. His flexible schedule certainly made life easier for those of us with ADHD...but the lack of professionalism could be detrimental to young women who were less familiar with the type of banter, which was not uncommon among men of Dr. Kerson's generation when I was a young adult. What concerns me now is that he is still trying to provide services (coaching) to those with ADHD. He has apparently partnered with "ADHD Mike," whoever that is, in order to provide some sort of guidance to others. https://www.adhdmikecoaching.com/about-us/

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