Tulsa World
By KIM ARCHER & GAVIN OFF

Earlier this year, a Tahlequah psychiatrist had a sexual relationship with an adult male patient she was treating for bipolar disorder. The medical board launched an investigation based on a complaint filed with the entity. In July, the board suspended her license for a month and placed her on probation for five years.

In her more than 20 years of work, the psychiatrist, Dr. Deborah Sue Jennings, had never been disciplined by the board, records show. In addition to her own practice, she had been chief of staff at Tahlequah City Hospital.

\”I had 18 1/2 years of sobriety,\” she said of her fall from grace. Then, her husband died of cancer in January 2008. At the same time, one of her adopted teen daughters — who has reactive attachment disorder — was having extreme emotional problems.

\”They brought my daughter in shackles to my husband\’s service,\” Jennings said.

Shortly thereafter, she began drinking again. She said her tumultuous personal life is no excuse for breaching doctor-patient ethics but that it did play a part.

\”We\’re people like anybody else. I wish I hadn\’t done what I did. My bucket was beyond empty,\” Jennings said. \”And believe me, nobody has paid for it any more than I have.\”

She and her family are now in therapy, and she attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. She is subject to clinical supervision for the next five years. Her openness with the medical board and her community has allowed her to work through her issues, and she believes it is the reason she was only suspended for 30 days.