A psychologist who helped perform exorcisms on his patients and believed in “satanic abuse” has been banned from practising by the state’s health watchdog.
Father-of-six Mark Edward Tynan, of the western Sydney-based Christian group Servants of Jesus, was found to have blurred his spiritual beliefs and professional duties, placing clients in “grave risk of harm”.
In his sessions, Mr Tynan treated two young female clients for disassociative identity disorder, or multiple personalities, with “inappropriate” treatments such as prayer, visualisation and reconstructing traumatic childhood events.
The clients, who were also part of the 500-member community, were forced to discuss satanic abuse and supernatural events.
The Psychologists Tribunal heard Mr Tynan told church members one patient had multiple personalities “under the control of Satan” and her parents had dedicated her to Satan.
The tribunal found Mr Tynan was not properly trained in treating patients for multiple personalities and relied on “documents best described as sinister, bizarre, sadistic and without scientific basis or psychological merit”.
[…more…]
See Also
• The Psychologists Tribunal’s report
• Research resources on Satanic Ritual Abuse