Thaddeus Tolbert Houston therapist accused of pulling gun on Jhyah Scales after trying to end relationship she was having with married counsellor who then assaulted woman and threatened to shoot her dead.
A Houston based therapist is alleged to have assaulted a female client whom he was romantically involved with, along with threatening to shoot her dead after she ended a relationship she was having with the counsellor.
Thaddeus Tolbert now faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and burglary stemming from an April 29, 2024, encounter according to charging documents.
Tolbert and the female patient, Jhyah Scales, met after she and her son began seeing the ‘married therapist’ for his services in October 2023 and February 2024.
Screaming for her not to leave married counsellor
Scales said Tolbert would often go in for a hug after sessions and text her, ‘Good morning.’
In March 2024, Tolbert and Scales began to see each other romantically according to KTRK.
In April 2024, Scales tried to end the relationship after learning Tolbert was married and had children. Documents said on that day in his office, Tolbert pulled a gun on Scales before pinning her against a wall and ‘screaming for her not to leave him.’
Later that afternoon, when Scales arrived home from picking up her child from school, documents stated Tolbert waiting for her in the driveway of her apartment complex and parked behind her.
According to Scales, she entered through her back door, and Tolbert entered through the front. She reportedly begged him to leave before he lunged at her and choked her.
Documents said Scales told officials that Tolbert ‘kissed her’ while choking her and said he ‘would die before he would let her walk away.’
But there was more.
Abuse of position of authority, trust and power to prey on patient
‘He pulled out his gun, like, to put to my head and pushed it down, and he, like, hit it back up, so it hit me when it came back up. And I was just, like, ‘Please just leave,’ and he said, ‘I am going to kill you. I am going to kill us both,” Scales said.
Tolbert reportedly pulled out his gun, waved it, and made threats to ‘kill them both,’ documents stated. The woman then tried to disarm Tolbert before he hit her in the face with the gun. Documents said Tolbert ‘stared over her’ before eventually leaving the apartment.
Scales sustained several bruises and a black eye, charging documents revealed.
‘I was really caught off guard. I didn’t think someone like this could be capable, because he is a mental health professional, because he’s a therapist, and because he is active in the community,’ Scales said.
‘I feel as embarrassed as I am. I have to do something because I could’ve died in there with my child,’ Scales said.
Scales believes Tolbert intended to manipulate her all along.
‘I just got out of a very toxic and traumatic relationship, which I had to express to him as my therapist, the reason why I was in therapy. And I feel like he used everything I just told him, (what) I went through, (was used) against me,’ Scales said.
According to Tolbert’s counseling website, Discerning Minds Consulting, he has been a therapist for the last eight years.
Tolbert’s defense attorney said his client insists he is innocent, and they look forward to presenting their case in court.
