New Hampshire board suspends psychologist Christine E. Frydenborg (aka Dargon) for three years

August 23, 2010

On October 16, 2009, the State of New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (“Board”) suspended psychologist Christine E. Frydenborg’s (aka Christine F. Dargon) license for not less than three years for engaging in multiple relationships.

In August 2007, the Board received a complaint from a former patient of Frydenborg’s, alleging that she developed multiple relationships with the patient and her family involving participation in Frydenborg’s theatre company and other social relationships which later deteriorated. The patient claimed that these multiple relationships caused emotional harm to the family and the loss of the beneficial aspects of the therapeutic relationship.

Frydenborg began treating the patient in November 2006 and further began a treatment relationship with the patient’s husband and one of her three children. Frydenborg encouraged the daughter to become involved in a community theatre group to boost her self-confidence. The patient and her family became involved in two theatre productions that Frydenborg produced, directed and acted in.

The patient invited Frydenborg to one child’s birthday party, which Frydenborg attended briefly. Further, the patient and her husband installed a new floor in Frydenborg’s in-home office and helped move her office into the in-home office. The patient and her husband refused monetary payment for the services but did accept payment in the form of a one-week stay in Frydenborg’s time-share in the Berkshires on the condition that Frydenborg joined them. She agreed and vacationed with them in a neighboring unit during the same one-week period.

Frydenborg failed to maintain accurate treatment and billing records for each family member and the services provided for each and further failed to provide a complete copy of the patient’s treatment record to an outside agency that requested the copy to determine the patient’s eligibility for the agency’s benefits.

Frydenborg failed to appropriately seek professional assistance to address her concerns relating to resolving the boundary transgressions with the patient and her family and failed to appropriately terminate her treating the patient and family members.

Source: Settlement Agreement in the Matter of Christine Frydenborg, Ph.D., license no. 929, State of New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice, October 16, 2009.