According to Dr. Jacqueline Bearce, head of the counseling center, Palladino submitted his resignation in June. "He resigned on amicable terms with the College," said Director of Public Relations Paul Statt.
While Palladino maintained his main office in town, he worked at the counseling center for about six hours each week for the past three years.
Bearce said Palladino cited professional difficulties in his notice.
The Massachusetts Board of Registration and Medicine suspended Palladino's license on Aug. 6 after investigating allegations that he had been sexually involved with two patients.
On Feb. 8, 2001, a woman suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder confessed to Palladino that she had been sexually involved with a previous psychologist, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette. At that point, Palladino said he had feelings for the woman, and the two began a sexual relationship.
Palladino admitted to the relationship in a hearing in June of 2002, but he was not suspended at that time.
According to the Gazette, a 43-year-old female patient contacted the board in May, after hearing of a pending action against Palladino, and said she had a sexual relationship with him that began in 1989 and ended four years later.
Upon learning of the second sexual allegation, the Board began its investigation.
According to the Board's statement, Palladino's medical license was summarily suspended on Aug. 6 at a board meeting in Boston. A press release issued by the Board stated that the cause for the suspension was knowledge that Palladino had "engaged in sexual relationships with two patients and provided false information to the Board and to the Division of Administrative Law Appeals regarding his activities."
The Board further stated that Palladino's continued practice of medicine would constitute "a serious and immediate threat to the public's health, safety and welfare." The summary suspension currently prohibits Palladino from practicing medicine in Massachusetts.
Palladino will be able to contest the suspension at a future board meeting if he chooses to do so.
The counseling center hired Dr. Kim Gaitskill, a practicing psychiatrist with offices in Springfield and Amherst, to replace Palladino.
Gaitskill graduated in 1987 from Rush Medical College of Rush University in Chicago, Illinois. She then completed her residency and fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. She was certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties in psychiatry and neurology as well as child and adolescent psychiatry.
Gaitskill is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in adult and child/adolescent psychiatry. She is particularly interested in mood and anxiety disorders as well as attentional disorders.
Gaitskill began working at the counseling center in August.