St. Petersburg Times
Mentally ill psychiatrist suspended
By CAROL GENTRY
April 5, 1992

The former chief of psychiatry at Tampa’s VA hospital has been stricken by the same illness he once treated.

On Saturday, the Florida Board of Medicine suspended the license of Dr. Thomas Arthur Williams, 55, on the grounds he is mentally ill.

Williams did not appear at the hearing in Jacksonville. Records show he agreed to the suspension.

It was a precipitous fall for Williams, who once led the Department of Psychiatry at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He was earning $ 175,000 a year as medical director of St. Augustine Psychiatric Center when his erratic behavior was reported to state authorities, records show.

From 1981 to 1983, according to the files, Williams served as a professor of psychiatry at the University of South Florida and chief of psychiatry at what is now James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa.

State records indicate Williams is suffering from bipolar mood disorder, commonly called manic-depression. He notified authorities in April 1990 that he had voluntarily withdrawn from practice because of his illness.

Williams’ suspension will remain in effect until the board determines he can practice safely. At that point, he will begin five years’ probation.