Lindsay Clancy's psychiatrist testifies she didn't have access to her complete medical record

The psychiatrist who treated Lindsay Clancy testified Monday that she did not have access to Clancy's complete medical record when she treated her in the months before Clancy killed her three children.

Dr. Jennifer Tufts told jurors she did not have or seek records from Clancy's recent outpatient psychiatric treatment and trusted that Clancy would be candid and disclose any information relevant to her treatment during their 14 telehealth sessions -- the last of which took place Jan. 23, 2023, one day before prosecutors say Clancy strangled her children and attempted to take her own life.

"Mood was the same -- flat, anxious, no motivation, numb. She has to force herself to get out of bed and out of the house, but is able to do that, and she is sleeping OK," Tufts testified about her notes from that final session.

Clancy, 35, has pleaded not guilty to three murder charges in connection with the deaths of her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson, and infant son Callan at her family's home in the Boston suburb of Duxbury on Jan. 24, 2023.

Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, has argued in court that Clancy had severe mental illness and postpartum psychosis, a rare but serious medical emergency characterized by severe, rapid onset psychiatric episodes such as mania, depression or hallucinations. It can have rapid onset in the days or weeks after birth, research shows.

Reddington spent approximately three hours Monday cross-examining Tufts about why she continued seeing Clancy virtually across their telehealth appointments, even as he argued Clancy's symptoms appeared to worsen.

"Discussing talking with her over the video did not seem like an issue. It didn't seem like there was anything that I was missing or that there was any need to see her in person," Tufts responded at one point.

Tufts said she got updates about the other treatment Clancy was seeking -- including an inpatient stay in January -- only after Clancy was released from the hospital. Reddington also argued that Tufts had limited experience treating patients experiencing postpartum psychosis, though she said she treated approximately 50 women with postpartum depression.

Tufts also told jurors Monday that she was "surprised" to learn Clancy called a suicide hotline twice during the time she was seeking treatment.

"I don't think I asked her about suicide hotlines," she said.

"Would it surprise you to know that she called the suicide hotline in that timeframe not once, but twice and was turned away?" Reddington asked.

"It surprises me that she called them twice," Tufts responded.

According to Tufts, Clancy said she denied feeling suicidal during their treatment but acknowledged she was "close to feeling suicidal."

Prosecutors have attempted to cast doubt on Clancy's claim that she was not properly treated for her mental health issues, arguing that she was not serious about treating her condition and alleging she changed doctors and medications frequently.

Tufts, who began treating Clancy in September 2022, was previously questioned by prosecutors on Friday. She testified then that Clancy had come to her with concerns about anxiety and had raised concerns about side effects from her medications.

Court records suggest that Clancy was prescribed more than a dozen psychiatric medications across multiple health providers ahead of the killings.

Tufts testified Friday that during their telehealth sessions, she and Clancy sought to find a medication regimen that would treat Clancy's anxiety and depression, while not affecting her sleep.

"She described it as this hopelessness, like a fear of not getting better," Tufts said, referring to their drug conversations.

However, both Tufts and psychiatrist Alia Goodheart -- who treated Clancy during a brief inpatient stay -- told jurors on Friday that Clancy did not show signs of psychosis during their sessions.

"I did not have any concerns about her safety or her risk for anybody else," Goodheart testified.

Tufts and Goodheart are at the center of civil lawsuits filed earlier this year by Clancy and her ex-husband Patrick Clancy, who allege her doctors overmedicated and failed to properly diagnose her following her youngest son's birth.

Tufts and Goodheart have denied liability, arguing in an April court filing that the Clancy children's deaths "were not reasonably foreseeable."

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You are not on your own.