Allegations of Satanism against Thurgau’s private psychiatric clinic

Satanic conspiracy theories are said to have played a role in the treatment of patients at the private clinic Clienia Littenheid for psychiatry and psychotherapy in Thurgau. A research report is now available. The canton has introduced supervision measures.

Experts have concluded that the “ritual violence/mind control” conspiracy narrative was a problem in the clinic’s trauma therapy departments, the canton’s Ministry of Finance and Social Affairs said in a statement Friday. The department has initiated the “necessary measures”.

One of the doctors in particular is said to have “developed a special interest in the subject of ritual violence and mind control and influenced the culture of the two trauma units”. For example, he organized refresher courses on this subject.

A significant portion of the staff of the trauma therapy units participated and engaged intensively with the subject. The conspiracy story ‘ritual violence/mind control’ not only flowed through the therapy of a single doctor, but in large parts of the treatments.

The investigative report also criticizes the clinic’s management: after the allegations became known, the clinic “did not act diligently in processing them”. In December 2021, SRF broadcast the documentary “The Devil Among Us – Satanic Panic” online.

Subsequently, a private individual filed a supervisory complaint with the Canton of Thurgau against the clinic Clienia Littenheid and one of its doctors. In addition, several people have contacted the cantonal health department and referred to the SRF documentation.

The canton started investigations and called in a law firm that specializes in investigations. The latter, in turn, called on various external experts to draw up the research report. This research report is now available, the canton said.

The report contains nine recommendations for clarification and processing. The clinic must check whether the conspiracy theory has ended up in the patient files. If necessary, a review of the diagnoses and therapies of all affected patient records is required. The establishment of an independent reporting point is proposed.

The canton based its supervisory measures on these recommendations. “In addition, a doctor’s license to practice the profession will be revoked, a disciplinary referral will be issued and various fines will be imposed,” it says. Criminal charges have also been filed. The regulatory measures are not yet legally binding.

“After we were informed today that criminal proceedings had been initiated against the chief physician and medical director, we immediately separated from her and immediately released her,” the statement from Clienia Littenheid AG said. The doctor in question was released in December 2021 and then released again.

It is very regrettable that the investigation report largely confirms the media coverage, the statement continues: “Unfortunately, in the course of the investigation, we had to realize that a small group of people in the two trauma units believed in conspiracy stories.”

There is absolutely no place for such an attitude in the clinic, nor is there any place for refresher courses that contain or even touch on such ideas in any way.

The clinic announced far-reaching measures: the management change in the two dream stations is underway. Until the concepts of interval treatment are revised, no new patients with dissociative identity disorder (DID) will be admitted. From the first quarter of 2023, there will be an independent ombudsman for complaints.

About 300 to 360 of the approximately 2,500 patients treated per year are in the two trauma wards. Of these, more than 35 patients with DID disorders were the focus of the study. According to Clienia Littenheid AG, in the study period from 2019 to 2022, there were a total of ten inpatients with evidence of ritual violence.

(jam/sda)