Donna Dryer

CBC
B.C. psychiatrist resigns licence after patient complains of abuse during psychedelic therapy study
By Bethany Lindsay
October 16, 2023

— Excerpt

A B.C. psychiatrist has permanently relinquished her medical licence in response to a complaint about her treatment of a PTSD patient taking part in a clinical trial for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, CBC News has learned.

Donna Dryer of Cortes Island irrevocably resigned her registration on Aug. 1 and received a formal reprimand after admitting to unprofessional conduct with the female patient, according to a letter from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. (CPSBC) to the patient.

The disciplinary action has not yet been made public, but the letter says Dryer’s unprofessional conduct includes conflict of interest, boundary violations and continuing the therapeutic relationship when Dryer knew her husband and research partner Richard Yensen was having sex with the patient…

The clinical trial’s sponsor, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), has characterized Yensen’s actions as sexual abuse. The patient filed a sexual assault complaint with police, and in 2022, Quadra Island RCMP confirmed that they recommended unspecified criminal charges…