Psychiatrist Punished for Dating Patient

A state board has placed a Mission Viejo psychiatrist under probation after he dated a patient.

Scott Ispirescu, who practices at 27401 Los Altos, will be under probation for three years as ordered by the Medical Board of California.

During that time he is not allowed to supervise physician assistants. He must pay for and take a professionalism ethics training and at least 24 hours of training in professional boundaries.

Ispirescu will also have to undergo a psychological evaluation at his own expense.

The psychiatrist asked a female patient on a date and told her to start seeing a new psychiatrist Aug. 25 2010, according to an allegation submitted to the state medical board. But there are no notes saying he referred her to another psychiatrist or stopped treating her, according to the accusation.

He also asked her to "not ... tell other psychiatrists that she had seen him," the accusation says.

The patient, known as "S.F." in the accusation, told Ispirescu she had recently broken up with her boyfriend and that she had a frontal-lobe problem for which she was taking two prescription drugs.

The frontal lobe helps people choose between good and bad actions, suppress unacceptable social behaviors and recognize future consequences, according to the accusation.

After three dates, S.F. broke up with Ispirescu, apparently over religious differences, according to the accusation. In two days, the psychiatrist sent her 26 text messages asking to get back together with her, the accusation says.

The psychiatrist dropped by her house twice unannounced, the accusation says, and stopped by her workplace with a dozen roses.