Ike Herschkopf, the former Manhattan psychiatrist at the center of The Shrink Next Door, is no longer licensed to practice medicine. New York permanently revoked his license on December 9, 2021, after a hearing committee found him guilty of 16 charges of professional misconduct and a state review board rejected his appeal.1New York State Department of Health. Physician Details – Isaac Steven Herschkopf No public reporting has indicated that he has pursued further legal challenges or returned to any form of professional practice.
What He Was Found to Have Done
The misconduct findings centered on Herschkopf’s exploitation of patients over decades, most prominently Martin “Marty” Markowitz, who saw him from 1981 until 2010 and paid more than $3 million in fees across that span.2The Forward. Shrink Next Door: Martin Markowitz and Isaac Herschkopf3TIME. The Shrink Next Door True Story Markowitz was not alone. The investigation identified at least two other patients, referred to in filings as “Emily” and “Sarah,” who rewrote their wills in favor of Herschkopf or his daughters.4Psychcrime.org. NY Psychiatrist Isaac Herschkopf Ordered to Surrender License
On April 16, 2021, a hearing committee of New York’s Board for Professional Medical Conduct sustained all 16 charges, which included practicing with negligence on more than one occasion, gross negligence, incompetence on more than one occasion, gross incompetence, exercising undue influence, fraudulent practice, moral unfitness, and failing to maintain accurate patient records.1New York State Department of Health. Physician Details – Isaac Steven Herschkopf The committee ordered him to surrender his license.
The Appeal That Closed the Door
Herschkopf appealed. On December 2, 2021, a state Administrative Review Board denied the appeal and affirmed every finding. The panel wrote that Herschkopf “lacks insight into his misconduct, exhibiting no remorse, and continues to believe he behaved appropriately,” and concluded that neither further medical education nor retraining could protect the public from his “egocentricity.”5New York Post. Shrink Next Door Doctor Loses Appeal for Medical License He was notified that his administrative remedies were exhausted and ordered to surrender his license within five days.6Bloomberg. Shrink Next Door Psychiatrist Ike Herschkopf Must Surrender License The revocation took effect a week later.
What Revocation Requires of Him
Under New York Public Health Law § 230, a physician whose license is revoked must surrender the physical license and registration within five days, notify all patients within 15 days, surrender DEA registration and controlled substance privileges, and cease all advertising of medical practice.7New York State Senate. Public Health Law § 230 The revocation is permanent on its face. The review board’s finding that no amount of retraining could make him safe to practice forecloses the usual arguments a doctor might otherwise raise in seeking reinstatement.
His Defense
Herschkopf has consistently maintained that the accusations are exaggerated and personally motivated. He said that “90 percent of the podcast is untrue or out of context” and alleged that journalist Joe Nocera, who had lived next door to Markowitz’s Southampton home, “has had a vendetta against me for 10 years.” He described Markowitz as a “willing partner in everything.”8Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The Shrink Next Door: New Revelations The review board that denied his appeal rejected those arguments, pointing to his total absence of remorse.5New York Post. Shrink Next Door Doctor Loses Appeal for Medical License
Everything Else He Lost
The license was not the only thing. Over the weekend of June 15–16, 2019, shortly after the Wondery podcast began airing, Herschkopf resigned from his voluntary teaching position at NYU Medical School and from the board of the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics. According to Markowitz, Herschkopf also resigned from the American Psychiatric Association after being told the organization was opening its own investigation.9Jewish Standard. The Shrink Next Door Herschkopf said he stepped down from NYU and FASPE “to spare them the adverse publicity Nocera was going to visit upon them.”8Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The Shrink Next Door: New Revelations
Before the scandal, Herschkopf had built a public profile as a “celebrity shrink” with a Murray Hill practice, a column in The Jewish Week, and prominent citations in Rabbi Joseph Telushkin’s Code of Jewish Ethics.10New York Post. How a Celebrity Shrink Allegedly Conned Himself Into Patients’ Wills8Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The Shrink Next Door: New Revelations Those platforms are gone. He has not surfaced publicly in any professional capacity since the revocation.
What About Marty Markowitz
Markowitz, whose 2012 complaint to the New York State Department of Health set the investigation in motion, got much of his life back.2The Forward. Shrink Next Door: Martin Markowitz and Isaac Herschkopf After the relationship ended in 2010, he took back his Southampton house, rewrote his will to remove Herschkopf and his wife as beneficiaries, and reunited with his sister Phyllis after nearly three decades of estrangement.11New York Post. The True Story of Shrink Next Door
As of mid-2021, Markowitz was 79, preparing to close his family’s theatrical fabrics business after decades of operation, and planning to spend half the year in Thailand, where he had met his girlfriend. He sold his life rights to the Apple TV+ production for $100,000, a deal that bars him from writing his own book or play about what happened. Looking back on 40 years split between Herschkopf’s influence and the fight to hold him accountable, Markowitz put it this way: “I was living a lie when I was with Ike. Ike sucked me into this cult of Ike… And I was stupid enough to buy it.”2The Forward. Shrink Next Door: Martin Markowitz and Isaac Herschkopf