The single woman, who exists on a disability pension for mental-health issues, says the charges and overnight stay shackled in a Vancouver cell stems from a letter she sent her married ex-lover last November, denouncing him for repeatedly cheating on her while promising to marry her.

"I just wrote the truth in the letter. I never threatened him," she said in a phone interview.

"I told him he never properly treated me and that he wanted to keep me depressed so he could control me. I told him what he did was cruel and that he needed to take responsibility for his actions."

She said Golden phoned her five days before Christmas to say police would be calling and that she should co-operate. Sure enough, hours later, a female constable called to say they just needed to talk. But when the former patient met with police, she was forcibly handcuffed and jailed in a drafty VPD cell overnight.

The 46-year-old said sexual relations with Golden, a so-called specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry, began in 1999, some months after she sought treatment for depression and anxiety.

She said the sex -- at his bidding usually in his office on West Broadway -- continued long after the College of Physicians and Surgeons began investigating complaints in 2005 that his modus operandi was using severely troubled and depressed young patients for sex.

She said they continued seeing each other until late October when she finally found the strength to end the addictive relationship. She then disclosed the affair to the college.

Administrators erased Golden from its roster last summer after an investigatory panel concluded he was a sexual predator whose character was marked by "inherent wickedness and dishonesty."

The three patients whose complaints led to the college probe, as well as other women who have launched lawsuits for damages, all say they suffered low or no self-esteem when they first met Golden for counselling in 1999 or 2000.

They say over time they fell in love with the then-psychiatrist because he made them feel safe and special.

One woman who has initiated civil action says she was 16 when she turned to Golden for help with depression, an eating disorder, self-mutilation and suicidal thoughts.

She is also seeking damages from Golden's psychiatrist wife, Susan, who worked in their family clinic. She claims his wife knew or should have known what he was up to behind his closed office doors.

Furthermore, the woman claims her condition has worsened since it became apparent she had been tricked and manipulated. She continues to mutilate herself and lives in fear Golden will act in revenge. She also alleges that Golden "fabricated clinical records to justify and cover up his inappropriate personal and sexual encounters."

The 49-year-old's statements of defence deny all the claims.

Vancouver Const. Howard Chow said he had no information suggesting Golden had remained in contact with the accused. He said Crown believes the evidence was strong enough to warrant the harassment charge.