Psychiatrist previously suspended for using riding crop on patients has license suspended again
Dr. Valerie Augustus, a psychiatrist who in 2018 was forced to close her office for two months after it was discovered she spanked at least 10 patients with whips and riding crops and sometimes compared them to mules, has had her license suspended again.
Augustus runs Christian Psychiatric Services in Germantown.
Augustus denied the claims made in the 2018 suspension, arguing in part that she touched some patients with the riding crop but “always in a joking manner" and denied ever using the crop to punish or strike anyone.
Fox13 reported Monday afternoon that Augustus' license was suspended for a second time effective Aug. 9, 2021, for violating a Tennessee Disciplinary Medical Board order.
In order for her license to be reinstated and the suspension lifted, Fox13 reports that Augustus must “enter into at least a three-year monitoring contract with the Tennessee Medical Foundation to monitor her monthly psychotherapy supervision progress, pay $10,000 of the $50,000 cost assessment owed, and enter into a payment plan to pay the remaining $40,000 along with additional costs and civil penalties.”
Gina Butkovich covers DeSoto County, storytelling and general news. She can be reached at 901-232-6714.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Dr. Valerie Augustus has been suspended for a second time.
