Dallas Psychiatrist Arthur A. Chavason Loses License for Sexually Inappropriate Conduct with Patients, Employees

January 15, 2024

On June 10, 2022, the Texas Medical Board revoked the license of Dallas psychiatrist Arthur Chavason. The Board found that Chavason committed unprofessional and dishonorable conduct by engaging in a pattern of sexually inappropriate and abusive behavior with multiple patients and fellow medical personnel while practicing at the Holiner Psychiatric Group (Holiner) and Medical City Green Oaks (MCGO), both in Dallas, TX.

Chavason's violations showed harm to one or more patients. Patients One, Six, Seven, Nine, Ten, and Eleven all testified credibly that Chavason's conduct made them feel, at a minimum, uncomfortable.

Patient One: On or about July 1, 2013, Patient One, a 46-year-old woman, began receiving psychiatric treatment from Chavason at Holiner. She had a documented history of abuse. Chavason hugged Patient One during sessions and commented on her appearance and sexual desirability and once told her if he were her husband, he would f*** her brains out. Chavason also inquired into her sexual practices with her husband.

On May 14, 2014, Patient One offered to help change the batteries in a wall clock in Chavason's office. As she was trying to take the clock off the wall, Chavason came up behind her and she could feel his erection on her backside.  Patient One immediately reported the incident to the Nurse Practitioner and then much later told the office manager and the manager in the billing department about the incident. That was Patient One's last visit with Chavason. Patient One's history of abuse made her more vulnerable to Chavason's abusive conduct. Patient One was affected by the drugs prescribed to her by Chavason because she was sedated, which affected her job, marriage, and memory.

Patient Six:  On May 9, 2012, Patient Six, a 44-year-old woman, began receiving psychiatric treatment from Chavason at Holiner. Patient Six was a licensed professional counselor. She was also a sexual abuse survivor. Chavason placed his arm behind her when he walked Patient Six out of his office at the end of sessions and hugged her at the end of sessions. 

In 2015, Patient Six had a "mommy makeover," which included a breast lift. Chavason asked to see photos of her breasts post-surgery and walked over to look at her phone. She declined to show him any photos. The interaction with Chavason made Patient Six feel very uncomfortable, and she ultimately decided to end treatment with him because she thought he was "more sick" than she was.

Patient Seven: On or about May 25, 2016, Patient Seven, a 20-year-old woman with a history of abuse, began receiving psychiatric treatment from Chavason at MCGO. She was assaulted by a male patient at MCGO on May 26, 2016, and another male patient exposed his penis to her the following day.

When she saw Chavason on May 28, 2016, Patient Seven reported the assault to Chavason and reported the exposure to him on May 29^th.

Chavason responded to Patient Seven that the male patient had "good taste" and she had a "nice butt." Patient Seven reported these comments to another physician at Holiner in June 2016. After her interaction with Chavason, Patient Seven was no longer comfortable seeking treatment from male doctors.

Patient Nine: On or about December 19, 2017, Patient Nine, a 22-year-old woman, began receiving psychiatric treatment from Chavason at MCGO. Chavason hugged Patient Nine during their sessions and commented on her sexual desirability. He told Patient Nine she was a "crazy hot bitch" and that she was hot, smoking hot, and her boyfriend must be lucky.  Patient Nine told her father about Chavason's inappropriate comments. Chavason also offered to rub Patient Nine's legs during one appointment because she told him they were hurting.

The video for the end of the January 4, 2018, appointment with Patient Nine showed that both Chavason and Patient Nine stood and Chavason walked over to Patient Nine and gave her a full-body hug. Patient Nine deflected Chavason by turning sideways. Chavason also wrapped his right arm around Patient Nine, so that he was hugging Patient Nine with both arms placed on her body and his head rested on her right shoulder. As Patient Nine turned to the door, opened it, and exited Chavason's office, Chavason placed his hand on Patient Nine's back and stroked her hair as he followed behind her.

Patient Nine confronted Chavason about his conduct at their appointment on January 9, 2018, and complained to MCGO, which opened an investigation. Patient Nine stopped attending the outpatient program.

Patient Ten: On or about July 21, 2010, Patient Ten, a 41-year-old woman, began receiving psychiatric treatment from Chavason at Holiner. Patient Ten was a nurse. Chavason asked Patient Ten intrusive questions about her marriage and her sex life and what she and her husband liked to do for foreplay.  Chavason attempted to hug Patient Ten at every appointment, which Patient Ten felt was inappropriate.  Chavason commented to Patient Ten about how he could keep her sexually satisfied and repeatedly told her he was available for a sexual relationship even though she reminded him that she was married.

After Patient Ten was no longer Chavason's patient, she ran into Chavason in the lobby of MCDO. Chavason again propositioned her for a sexual relationship. Patient Ten reported Chavason's conduct to another MCGO psychiatrist sometime in early 2018. Patient Ten felt her interactions with Chavason were not a real doctor-patient relationship and called him a sick individual.

Patient Eleven: On or about September 14, 2010, Patient Eleven, a 30-year-old woman, began receiving psychiatric treatment from Chavason at the Holiner.  Chavason hugged her during appointments and at some point, he started commenting about her sexual desirability and asked about her sexual preferences. He escalated to suggesting he could have sex with her and called her "hot" and "sexy."

Patient Eleven was prescribed Risperdal, among other drugs. The Risperdal caused Patient Eleven to lactate, and she reported to Chavason that she felt hypersexual. Even with the side effects, Chavason put Patient Eleven back on Risperdal.

Chavason asked to taste Patient Eleven's lactation and suck on her nipples. Chavason sometimes put his finger in her vagina and continued to hug her, feel her breasts and buttocks, and suck on her nipples. He would also put his foot against the office door to prevent anyone from entering. Chavason was unable to achieve an erection, so she performed oral sex on him and masturbated him.   

Patient Eleven reported Chavason's conduct and that they had had sexual relations to the Holiner Group on December 9, 2010.

On December 10, 2010, Patient Eleven was terminated from the practice by Chavason.

The Board notified Chavason and his attorney of an informal settlement conference (ISC) to address the allegations of Patient Eleven. They attended the ISC on August 15, 2011, No agreement to settle was reached.

Chavason’s violations against other patients:

Patient 12: On or about December 22, 2011, Patient Twelve, a 20-year-old woman, began receiving psychiatric treatment from Chavason at Holiner and MCGO. At the end of an office visit on June 30, 2016, Chavason was seen on video stroking Patient Twelve's back and his hand slid down Patient Twelve's side and along the area between her back and her breast. He then gave Patient Twelve a full-body hug and wrapped his arms around her. Chavason kept one arm around Patient Twelve's waist after he disengaged from hugging Patient Twelve. He then stroked the back of Patient Twelve's arm and shoulder. Patient Twelve continued to talk with Chavason, and Chavason put his hands back at his sides.

While they were talking, Chavason rubbed Patient Twelve's side once. Patient Twelve's family member reappeared in the doorway to Chavason's office. Chavason continued to talk with both women. Eventually, Patient Twelve's family member left again, and Chavason gave Patient Twelve another hug with one arm. He pulled Patient Twelve close to him and wrapped his arm around Patient Twelve's neck. He walked Patient Twelve out of his office with his arm around her shoulder. Chavason rubbed and patted Patient Twelve as they exited his office.

Patient 2: In or around August 2013, Patient Two, a 33-year-old female, began receiving psychiatric treatment from Chavason at Holiner. Chavason hugged Patient Two during sessions.

On October 17, 2014, the owner of the Holiner Group discovered that Chavason had locked the door to his office during the lunch hour, when Patient Two was in his office for a session. 

Chavason spent more than 15 minutes or so with Patient Two for several of her appointments. Chavason had phone contact with Patient Two that was not documented in her medical records and was inappropriate. Chavason was observed on video giving Patient Two an unmarked envelope. The owner of the practice warned Chavason not to lock his office door, not to call Patient Two repeatedly, not to schedule patients during low staffing times, and not to give Patient Two special treatment.

Peer Review Disciplinary Actions

On or about January 16, 2018, MCGO opened an investigation into Chavason regarding Patient Nine's complaint involving his conduct. After the meeting on January 16, 2018, Chavason emailed MCGO to immediately resign.

Chavason sent a letter of resignation to the Holiner Group dated January 1, 2018, giving his 90-day notice.

Aggravating Factors

Chavason's violations showed harm to one or more patients. Patients One, Six, Seven, Nine, Ten, and Eleven all testified credibly that Chavason's conduct made them feel, at a minimum, uncomfortable.

The video footage of Patient Twelve's and Patient Nine's appointments with Chavason showed him engaging in overtly sexual and inappropriate hugs and touching of both patients.

Chavason's actions resulted in severe harm to multiple patients. The prescriptions Chavason prescribed Patient One affected her personal life and memory function.

Patient Eleven was traumatized and felt sexually abused because of her interactions with Chavason.

Patient Nine left her outpatient program and has a phobia around older male professionals after Chavason's actions.

Chavason's actions caused Patients Four and Seven to lose trust in male healthcare providers completely and to seek only female healthcare providers.

Chavason's actions negatively affected Patient Six because it brought up issues related to her being a survivor of sexual abuse.

Patient Ten no longer wanted to receive treatment from a psychiatrist because of Chavason's actions.

Chavason's conduct resulted in an increased potential for harm to the public because he remained untruthful about his conduct, failed to take responsibility for the harm done to his patients, showed no remorse or regret, and continued to engage in inappropriate conduct despite receiving warnings and admonitions from his employer.

Chavason continued to engage in overtly sexual and inappropriate conduct with female patients despite receiving numerous admonishments and warnings.

Inappropriate advances toward fellow subordinate employees 

In 2009, Chavason massaged Employee One's shoulders, hugged her, attempted to kiss her, and groped her bottom.

Employee One and Chavason had unprotected sexual intercourse at the office; although she consented to it, she felt like she had to do it. As a result of these inappropriate interactions, Employee One was reassigned to a different physician with new patients at the Holiner Group.

In 2014, Chavason made unwanted advances towards Employee Two, asked her constantly about her personal life, including who she was dating, and told her she had a "good body" and a "good butt."

Chavason's conduct impacted Employee Two's ability to do her job and impacted patient care by taking away her availability to patients. Chavason's inappropriate conduct towards and sexual harassment of subordinate employees was an aggravating factor.

Chavason's inappropriate conduct as it extended to fellow employees created a disruptive work environment that negatively impacted patient care.

On August 5, 2022, Chavason’s motion for rehearing was denied; the Board’s order of June 10, 2022, is final. 

Source: Final Order, Texas Medical Board v. Arthur Arrit Chavason, M.D., TX medical license no. M-7104, Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings, docket no. 503-19-2484, June 10, 2022.