Lethal psycholytic therapy

A German doctor was under arrest Sunday in connection with two deaths, after he administered mind-altering drugs to 12 patients in group therapy.

One patient phoned emergency services as all 12 collapsed with poisoning symptoms Saturday at the doctor's office in a Berlin suburb.

A 59-year-old man died soon after and a 28-year-old man in a coma died later in hospital.

Police said a third man was in critical condition after a coma all night, but the other nine had been discharged from hospital.

Prosecutors said the doctor, 50, admitted after his detention that he had given 'various substances and psycho-drugs' to the group, but interrogators saw no evidence that he had deliberately wanted to kill.

The drugs had been intended to 'extend their consciousness.' Police said they could not say yet what drugs were involved.

The nameplate outside the doctor's office, where he and his family also live, stated he offered 'psycholytic' therapy, possibly a reference to drugs such as LSD and mushroom extracts.

Unconfirmed accounts in Sunday newspapers said the psychology patients were offered a cocktail of heroin, amphetamines and Ecstasy. Distraught patients fought off the emergency doctors who were trying to help them, and had to be first calmed by police.

Group therapy is a common treatment for the mentally disturbed, both because it is less costly than individual treatment and because patients experience relief from talking to fellow sufferers.

Thanks to Toije for sending us this story!