So a patient today told me that 'I broke his heart' after I told him that he cannot continue stroking the hair, touching the body, and asking if they have babies of the dental team taking care of him. He is an elderly guy with some untreated psychopathology, but once my staff tell me that someone is harassing them, I have to do something about it. They are creeped out by this and unless I deal with the patient, will refuse to see him.
We discussed the matter, I wrote up a behavior agreement and told him that he had to sign it to continue getting care here. The alternative, should he not sign the agreement or if the behavior continues, is to fire him. I told him I often fire patients outright for these behaviors, but in view of his long history with the clinic and that he does have some psychiatric issues, I am going to give him another chance. He asked, and I agreed to write down on the agreement that he is a good person and has no malicious intent. I wrote down 'patient name states he is a good person and has no malicious intent', signed it, and this seemed to satisfy him. He then signed the agreement, I escorted him to his medical appointment, and we will see how it goes. This is not my first interaction with him: he sends me long rambling letters about every two months and they are profusely illustrated with badly-done drawings of things he sees in his life, like the sink, or a screwdriver, or a cat on the street.
Let's see, two years or so until retirement.....
