Acknowledgment from the Journal Current Psychiatry

Dear Mr. Freedman,

Thank you very much for sending us this letter, and for letting us know how this article helped you. We truly appreciate feedback from our readers, especially when an article has helped you in such a way. I will be forwarding your letter on to my Editor and Managing Editor, so that they, too, can see your positive feedback. Thank you!

Warm regards,

Hina Khaliq

Associate Editor | Current Psychiatry and Annals of Clinical Psychiatry

Phone: 973-206-8955  | Fax: 973-206-9251

CurrentPsychiatry.com | AACP.com

From: Gary Freedman <garfreed@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: Gary Freedman <garfreed@yahoo.com>
Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2013 5:00 PM
To: "letters@currentpsychiatry.com" <letters@currentpsychiatry.com>
Subject: article in current psychiatry re: workplace mobbing

I used an article published in Current Psychiatry about the issue of workplace mobbing to support my Social Security Disability claim.  The article was very helpful for me.

Here's the letter I sent to Social Security.

Gary Freedman

Washington, DC

____________________________

September 30, 2013
3801 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Apartment 136
Washington, DC  20036

Social Security Administration
Mid-Atlantic Program Service Center
Module 7
300 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, PA  19123-2999

RE:  Social Security Disability Claim No. xxx xx xxxx

Dear Sir:

I have been continuously disabled and unemployed since October 29, 1991.  The effective date of my disability, October 29, 1991, is drawn from allegations made in a sworn declaration filed on May 22, 1992 with the D.C. Department of Human Rights by Dennis M. Race, Esq. (202 887 4027) and Laurence J. Hoffman, Esq., senior management partners of the Washington, DC office of the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld (Akin Gump), my former employer.  According to the declaration my former employer had been advised by a practicing psychiatrist, Gertrude R. Ticho, M.D. (deceased) that I appeared to suffer from the psychiatric "disorder" ideas of reference (consistent with schizophrenia), that I was not fit for employment and that I could become violent (i.e., that I posed a "direct threat in the workplace" which denied me, as a disabled American, the protections of The Americans With Disabilities Act). 

According to a second sworn declaration filed on May 17, 1993 by Akin Gump with the D.C. Department of Human Rights, Dennis M. Race, Esq. and Malcolm Lassman, Esq. consulted Dr. Ticho in a telephone conference call in late October 1991 to seek advice and guidance concerning a job harassment complaint I had lodged against my supervisor and coworkers pursuant to Title VII and/or The D.C. Human Rights Act of 1977.  Freedman v. D.C. Department of Human Rights, D.C.C.A. no. 96-CV-961 (Memorandum Opinion and Judgment, Sept. 1, 1998) ("the firm . . . learned [upon consulting a practicing psychiatrist] that [Mr. Freedman's] behavior was indicative of a disorder known as 'ideas of reference,' which is sometimes accompanied by violent behavior.').  Dr. Ticho did not examine me in person.  I never met Dr. Ticho or had any contact with her of any kind prior to October 29, 1991.  According to Dennis M. Race, Esq., Dr. Ticho was a "personal friend" of Malcolm Lassman, Esq., a senior firm manager.

I recently received written information about my current diagnoses provided by my treatment provider, The McClendon Center, a Core Services Agency of the District of Columbia, located at 1313 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC  20005, telephone: 202-737-6191.  In an email message addressed to me dated September 17, 2013 by Dennis Hobb, Program Manager, The McClendon Center, my psychiatric treatment chart lists the following currently existing disorders:  Delusional Disorder (297.1), Major Depression Recurrent Severe Without Psychotic Features (296.33), Alcohol Dependence in Sustained Remission (303.90), and PTSD (309.81), and Schizoid Personality Disorder (301.20).  I enclose a copy of the said email message for your information.

The psychiatric literature indicates that paranoia, major depression, alcohol dependence, and PTSD are recognized consequences of a subtle form of job harassment known as "workplace mobbing."  See, e.g.,  Hillard J.R., "Workplace mobbing: Are they really out to get your patient?" Current Psychiatry Volume 8 Number 4 April 2009 Pages 45–51.  I enclose a copy of the said article for your information.

I also enclose a copy of a document I submitted to the D.C. Department of Human Rights in November 1991 that describes my retrospective perceptions of my work environment at Akin Gump during the entirety of my tenure at the firm from early March 1988 to October 29, 1991.  I believe that the document -- and the editorial comments I added later (in italics) -- support the view that I was a victim of workplace mobbing. 

Sincerely,

Gary Freedman