Alan Guy
Senior Clinical Psychologist

198 Carrington Street
NEW PLYMOUTH
Tel: 06 753 9222


Friday, 27 April 2007


To Whom It May Concern,

Re: Wayne Douglas 9/9/66

I have been invited to forward a letter concerning my contact with Mr Douglas in 2001 in my role as Senior Clinical Psychologist for the Public Mental Health Service in New Zealand.

Please accept this letter as a record of my professional opinion concerning the apparent long-term impact on Mr Douglas's life that his detrimental Benzodiazepine treatment caused while he was in Japan in 2000 under Dr X.

In 2000 the prescription drug regime and subsequent addiction appeared to have a dramatic deleterious impact on Mr Douglas's working and social life. He was reduced from being a well-organised conscientious worker to being nearly totally incapacitated, causing him to perform poorly in work and later resulting in resignation.

Mr Douglas did not feel well enough to stay in Japan following his experiences. He was suffering from numerous untoward side-effects as outlined by Dr. Judson in his reports regarding Mr Douglas’s drug dependency. These side-effects also included many psychological symptoms such as confusion, loss in concentration, emotional instability, mood swings, aggression, depression and the development of panic attacks. Mr Douglas had no history of psychological disorders, including panic attacks, prior to this.

After rehabilitation treatment back in New Zealand Mr Douglas was able to make sense of his ordeal in Japan. Subsequently, Mr Douglas felt a strong sense injustice and the need to seek compensation for the losses, damages and suffering he endured as a result.  

According to reports from the Alcohol and Drug Service, Mr Douglas recovered from most of his drug symptoms within a year of cessation. However, the panic attacks Mr Douglas developed during the course of his Benzodiazepine regimen have become chronic in nature and continue to this day. This is due, not only to the initial trauma of being addicted, but also to the stresses associated with the subsequent claim for compensation, especially given that it is taking place in a land and language different from his own.

Mr Douglas informed me that these panic attacks became so severe that at one stage that he had to leave his job in Nagano, Japan in March 2006.  I also understand that Mr Douglas has been struggling to cope with employment consisting of around only 20 contact work hours per week, which is half that of regular full time employment.

Although stressful, I understand Mr Douglas’s return to Japan and subsequent time spent on his claim for compensation has been important to him as part of the healing process. Re-entry to paid work in Japan has also been an overcoming of a psychological barrier for Mr Douglas. Though successful in this, he has not yet been able to return to a work capacity that; matches his abilities, consists of full time hours, includes any overtime or higher levels of responsibility. Therefore, Mr Douglas has been unable to improve himself career wise and his income earning capacity continues to be greatly affected.

Apart from the apparent work barriers, the impact on Mr. Douglas’s personal life has also been significant. The trauma of his previous addiction together with the stresses and time consumption of litigation has taken its toll on relationships with friends and family and on Mr. Douglas’s quality of life in general.

Although Mr Douglas has recovered from his physical symptoms and may appear well on the surface, he continues to suffer from his ordeal. Subsequently, Mr Douglas has not been able to adapt himself to leading a full normal life again.

In my opinion, if Mr Douglas had received proper treatment for his original complaint, he would have enjoyed an unremarkable recovery.  However the treatments he received early on reduced his functioning both socially and professionally to a severe degree. He was traumatised by his drug treatments and struggled to gain appropriate care. His abilities are taking sometime to restore and it appears that Wayne was greatly disadvantaged by the treatment he received from Dr X, something that will have a long-term impact on his life.

Yours Faithfully

Alan Guy

Senior Clinical Psychologist