PA psychiatrist’s license revoked after years of obsessive sexual misconduct and prescription control

A Pennsylvania psychiatrist lost her medical license this year after state investigators found she engaged in a years-long sexual relationship with a patient she had begun treating when he was just a teenager.^[]

Investigators also found that she continued prescribing powerful psychiatric medications, including stimulants and benzodiazepines, throughout the course of their relationship. 

How a psychiatric relationship became exploitative

The story begins over two decades ago: Psychiatrist Amy Mazza MacIntyre, then 31, began treating Justin Kopicki in 2004. He was 17, a childhood cancer survivor, and a senior in high school.

In his teens, Kopicki developed mental health challenges, kicking off his relationship with MacIntyre. She reportedly diagnosed him with anxiety, agoraphobia, and possible obsessive-compulsive disorder. MacIntyre’s sessions with Kopicki allegedly took an inappropriate turn early on, often focusing on his sexual activity.

In 2011, when Kopicki was 24, he emailed MacIntyre to express romantic interest in her and ask whether they should end their professional relationship. MacIntyre replied, saying she was, “sorry if he felt it was best not to meet” and to “let her know if he wanted to be back in touch.”

Complicating matters, the Inquirer says, “Kopicki said she became very involved with his family, attending dinners and events, including his mother’s wedding in California. She also prescribed medications to his parents,” even though they weren’t her patients.

Investigators later found she’d sent thousands of text messages to Kopicki, pursuing him—in addition to sending gifts, offering a marriage proposal, and telling him she’d miscarried his child.  

In 2017, she came to Kopicki’s parents' house demanding to speak to him, at which point his father called 911.

Experts react: Boundary violations and safeguards

Simon Faynboym, MD, medical director and psychiatrist at Neuro Wellness Spa, says the case represents a serious violation of the physician-patient relationship. “The physical relationship is unequal because patients often share their most vulnerable thoughts, experiences, medical concerns, and aim to feel safe. It's the doctor's responsibility to maintain clear professional boundaries at all times."

Cases involving egregious boundary violations are shocking and rare. But thinking “it could never happen to me” isn’t a safeguard against crossing professional lines.

“We also found that those who are in 'life crises,’ including early, midlife, and late-life, those with relationship problems, those in times of transition such as retirement, those who are lonely, and those with fears of mortality may be at risk of breaking this critical boundary,” she says. “The psychiatrist must be vigilant about the boundaries of the psychiatrist-patient relationship, and should seek supervision when needed.”

The good news, according to Dr. Faynboym, is that safeguards exist to protect patients, "including state medical board oversight, ethical codes, prescription monitoring, documentation requirements, peer review, and reporting mechanisms,” he says.

There are plenty of examples of boundary best practices, adds Omotola Ajibade, MD, MPH, an adult and forensic psychiatrist. “[These include] communicating with the patient through formal channels during appropriate hours and choosing to have a chaperone. In some cases, referring the patient to another provider can be the clearest way to minimize the possibility of having a dual personal and therapeutic role."

“Developing a strong emotional bond with a patient is not unheard of, especially given the nature of the work that psychiatrists do. But what is most important is how these issues are addressed whenever they come up,” Dr. Ajibade adds.