The Oath

The team tracks down Dr. Melvyn Iscove about 7 years after he lost his medical license. Over two candid, no-holds-barred interviews, Dr. Iscove speaks publicly for the first time. He explains his clinical practices, discusses the allegations against him, the patients who filed complaints, and reveals new, previously unheard details about his past. The eye-opening series finale of The Oath also rai...

During Dr. Melvyn Iscove's hearing, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario's (CPSO) Discipline Committee focused a lot on whether Dr. Iscove believed 2SLGBTQ+ patients could be "cured" of homosexuality. And according to the former CPSO investigator who looked into the complaints, that issue came up well before the hearing as well. But the College didn't appear to take a clear position &...

When the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario revoked Dr. Melvyn Iscove's license to practise medicine in 2018, multiple news reports linked his therapeutic methods to so-called conversion therapy–a widely discredited practice. Conversion therapy has been widely debunked as a legitimate treatment by leading psychiatric authorities, including the American Psychiatric Association. Exp...

Born in 1899, Dr. Edmund Bergler was a respected psychoanalyst and worked at the Psychoanalytic Freud-Clinic in Austria. He wrote more than 20 books and published scores of articles. But today, his name is mostly forgotten-except among a small, loyal group of followers, including Dr. Melvyn Iscove, who used his methods for more than 40 years. Bergler was notable for many things, including coining...

Who is Dr. Melvyn Iscove? It's a simple question with not a lot of simple answers. He was a classically trained pianist, an opera enthusiast, and a longtime supporter of Toronto's arts scene. Letters of support from his hearing describe him as "professional, kind, and considerate." But other former patients have a different story to tell-one of blurred boundaries, and a psychiatric relationship th...

More than seven years ago, Toronto psychiatrist Dr. Melvyn Iscove lost his medical license for allegedly sexually abusing two of his male patients – allegations he continues to deny. One patient alleges that Dr. Iscove tried to convince him he was gay, despite his repeated denials. The other sought therapy for depression and anxiety, which he believed were linked to fears about his sexuality...

Psychiatrists are held to a high standard for a reason: they see patients at their most vulnerable and are entrusted with their deepest secrets. So, what happens if a psychiatrist is accused of violating that trust? The Oath examines the case of Dr. Melvyn Iscove, whose medical license was revoked in 2018 for allegedly sexually abusing two patients. When journalist Krysia Collyer first came across...