dpBy Camilo Fonseca, Globe Staff
Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham asked specialist Rebecca Jollotta whether Clancy ever articulated a plan, or suggested that she had any intent, when she expressed having suicidal thoughts.
Jolotta said she had not, adding that she had assessed “immediate safety.”
“For example … if somebody was saying, ‘I have a plan to kill myself, I have a knife, I am calling 911,’ I am sectioning that person,” she said.
“If you’re saying, ‘I’m having thoughts of suicide,’ OK, what are they? Do you have a plan? Do you have intent? What I recall from Lindsay is she was having thoughts of suicide. She did not disclose a plan, no intent, and her husband was aware of this as well.”
Jollotta said intrusive thoughts were a fairly common complaint for mothers with postpartum depression or anxiety.
“In your experience in treating individuals with postpartum psychosis, whether they hear voices or not, did you ever have any concerns based on your contact with Lindsay Clancy that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis?” Buckingham said.
Jollotta said she did not.
Buckingham said she had no further questions, and Jollotta stepped down from the witness stand.
Judge William Sullivan sent the jury home just before 3:45 p.m.
Testimony is expected to resume Wednesday.
Defense concludes cross-examination of nurse practitioner — 3:44 p.m.
By Camilo Fonseca, Globe Staff
Shortly before 3:30 p.m., defense lawyer Kevin Reddington concluded his cross-examination. Mental health specialist Rebecca Jollotta remained on the stand for redirect questioning from the prosecution.
Specialist says she did not have access to records of Clancy’s hospitalization — 3:36 p.m.
By Camilo Fonseca, Globe Staff
Defense lawyer Kevin Reddington pressed specialist Rebecca Jollotta on her follow-up after Clancy admitted herself to McLean Hospital, weeks before she killed her children.
“If you’re treating a person for all of the stuff that we’ve talked about, and it’s now apparent that things have decompensated so bad that they have voluntarily admitted her to a locked ward in a mental institution, is it important to Rebecca Jollotta to find out what the diagnosis and treatment was of their patient?” Reddington asked.
Jollotta said she did not have access to Clancy’s medical records after Clancy was admitted to McLean, a psychiatric facility, in early January 2023.
“From your treatment of Lindsey and her efforts to be a good patient and tell you all what her symptoms were, and third-party contacts and everything, in your opinion, she would have signed a release for you to get access to pretty much anything you wanted, right?” Reddington asked.
“I’m not sure if she signed a release for McLean to be able to speak with us,” Jollotta replied.
Reddington asked whether she or anyone else had asked her to do so.
“I did not,” Jollotta said.
Clancy called an emergency line for mental health service, defense lawyer says — 3:19 p.m.
By Camilo Fonseca, Globe Staff
Kevin Reddington quoted a Dec. 5 note from therapist Lateisha Dukes stating that Clancy met virtually with a clinician from Aspire Crisis Support, a 24-hour program for emergency psychiatric services.
“She met with an Aspire clinician virtually and was told that she did not meet the criteria for inpatient treatment due to not having an SI plan,” Reddington said, referring to suicidal ideation. “‘You’re not laying on the ground with your throat cut, so we’re not going to be able to help you.’”
“I can’t speak to what they told her,” specialist Rebecca Jollotta said.
Defense lawyer presses psychiatric nurse practitioner on whethershe saw symptoms of bipolar disorder in Clancy — 3:02 p.m.
By Camilo Fonseca, Globe Staff
Defense lawyer Kevin Reddington asked whether specialist Rebecca Jollotta knew that Clancy had run a 5K race within weeks after giving birth to Callan, suggesting it may have been an element of manic behavior. Jollotta said she was unaware of that.
“It would have been something I would have considered,” she said.
Reddington said that Jollotta was “pretty much the only one that actually considered bipolar spectrum disorder” of all the medical professionals who treated Clancy, though he withdrew the question after Jollotta hesitated.
He added that Clancy reported she was not getting sleep but didn’t feel tired.
“What is the symptom of?” he asked.
“It could be. It’s a symptom of mania that we look for,” Jollotta responded.
“And when we look at mania, did you notice that, and did you factor that into your diagnoses?” he asked.
Jollotta answered in the affirmative.
Clancy said she was ‘not able to stop or control worrying,’ specialist testifies — 2:55 p.m.
By Camilo Fonseca, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, said that Clancy at their first meeting said she was restless and “not able to stop or control worrying.”
Defense lawyer Kevin Reddington said Clancy had reported “panic symptoms, that she was disoriented, that she was forgetful, that she was not connected to her body.”
Jollotta said that Clancy took the Edinburgh postpartum depression scale several times. At her first visit on Nov. 29, she registered at a 17, considered “moderate” on the scale.
Reddington said that, several days earlier, Clancy had registered at a 23 on the scale, which he said was “severely depressed.”
5 takeaways from prosecution’s questioning of Rebecca Jollotta — 2:50 p.m.
By Jason Laughlin, Globe Staff
Jollotta testified at length about the difficulties Clancy faced, but also discussed her challenges getting Clancy to stick to the treatment regimen they discussed. Here are five takeaways from Jollotta’s testimony under questioning from the prosecution:
- Jollotta repeatedly raised concerns about the possibility Clancy was suffering from a form of bipolar disorder. In her testimony, she said Clancy’s didn’t have enough of the symptoms of the condition to qualify for a diagnosis, but it remained a concern as she treated Clancy because her patient had such strong adverse reactions to some of the antidepressants she had been prescribed. She proposed Clancy may have suffered from manic mixed state bipolar disorder, which could also include symptoms of depression.
- Clancy’s then-husband, Patrick Clancy, did not agree that his wife was bipolar.
- Clancy had a lot of anxiety about taking her medications, Jollotta reported. She worried the drugs were contributing to her symptoms of depression, emotional numbness, and anxiety and repeatedly expressed concerns about becoming addicted to benzodiazepines she took for sleep, such as Ativan. These drugs can become addictive but Jollotta said she would rather Clancy get sleep than worry in the moment about becoming dependent.
- Clancy had a history of not following through on her prescriptions. Jollotta noted Clancy had decided to stop taking Zoloft and Trazodone, two antidepressants, shortly after beginning to take them. Jollotta experienced that behavior herself after prescribing Remeron, another antidepressant. Clancy asked if she could stop taking it after five nights at one point, Jollotta testified. Such drugs typically take weeks to show results.
- By December 2022, Jollotta “strongly” recommended Clancy seek partial hospitalization for postpartum depression. This came as Clancy told a nurse she wanted to stop taking any medications.
Rebecca Jollotta testifies that she believed Lindsay Clancy suffered from bipolar disorder
Clancy lawyer presses specialist about Rhode Island hospital referral — 2:39 p.m.
By Camilo Fonseca, Globe Staff
Kevin Reddington asked whether Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, knew that Clancy was not accepted into the Women and Infants Hospital postpartum program “because of their concern that she had been overmedicated by drugs,” and that Clancy was diagnosed with depression “due to adverse drug effects.”
Jollotta said she did not know of the Women and Infants diagnosis.
After Clancy’s intake meeting, a doctor at Women and Infants tried to reach Jollotta, who had referred Clancy to the Rhode Island hospital, Reddington said. In a note, that doctor wrote that they had not been able to reach Jollotta for clarification on Clancy’s medication, Reddington said.
“I never received a call from Women and Infants,” Jollotta said, adding that she “absolutely would have called them back.”
Defense lawyer reviews Clancy’s prescription history — 2:27 p.m.
By Camilo Fonseca, Globe Staff
In his cross-examination, defense attorney Kevin Reddington reviewed Rebecca Jollota’s prescriptions to Clancy in the months before she killed her children.
Jollota, a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, treated Clancy at South Shore Health between Nov. 30, 2022, and January 2023.
Jollotta said she knew Clancy was seeking treatment elsewhere, but said she never talked to Dr. Jennifer Tufts or accessed Tufts’ medical records regarding Clancy.
“Would it surprise you if I told you that she saw Dr. Tufts 14 times in the time frame of October, or the end of September, [through] January?” Reddington asked. “Four months.”
“Yes,” Jollotta said, adding that she had seen Clancy three times over that period.
“So that’s 17 times that this young lady had access to healthcare providers for her mental health issues, correct?” Reddington continued. “And that would be within a compressed period of time.”
Jollotta said she was aware Clancy was receiving other medications but that she was not aware of one that Tufts prescribed for Clancy, an October 26 prescription for hydroxyzine.
Nurse practitioner returns to the stand for cross-examination — 2:14 p.m.
By Camilo Fonseca, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta returned to the stand shortly before 2:15 p.m. for cross- examination by Clancy’s defense attorney Kevin Reddington.
Jollotta, a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at South Shore Health, treated Clancy from November 2022 to January 2023.
Lunch break starts — 12:59 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Following the sidebar, Judge William Sullivan sent jurors out for lunch.
Testimony resumes at 2 p.m.
Clancy said Women and Infants staff had recommended a more general partial hospitalization program, specialist testifies — 12:58 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Psychiatric nurse practitioner Rebecca Jollotta said Clancy wrote on the afternoon of Dec. 21, 2022, that Women & Infants staff recommended a more general partial hospitalization program, such as one offered at McLean Hospital.
She said she also provided instructions for Clancy tapering off Seroquel, as well as information regarding behavioral therapy resources.
“I believe that was my last contact with Lindsay,” Jollotta said.
Jollotta said Clancy always presented clear, linear thinking when they spoke.
She was also able to advocate for herself, Jollotta said, and she never indicated having a plan to kill herself to harm her children.
The lawyers were later called to a sidebar.
Clancy briefly attends program at Women & Infants Hospital, specialist testifies — 12:50 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said she asked Clancy if she’d had luck reaching Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, R.I., and Clancy said she had missed a call from them but hoped to hear back.
She said she next corresponded with Clancy on Dec. 19, 2022 in the patient portal.
Clancy indicated she was starting the Women & Infants program the following day, she said.
Clancy also requested a refill of her Valium in case she needed it, Jollotta said. She said she refilled the prescription.
On Dec. 20, 2022, Clancy told Jollotta she had been discharged from Women & Infants Hospital and that staff there recommended she get off Seroquel, she said.
Jollotta said she understood that Seroquel was helping Clancy sleep but that she also felt depressed while taking it.
She said she believed Clancy could taper off her meds but would need group support and therapy.
She said Clancy did not report attending any group therapy sessions in the community.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said Clancy went to the emergency department at Massachusetts General Hospital on Dec. 15, 2022.
Clancy wrote to her the following day that she had chosen to remain “outpatient” with a plan to try the Women & Infants program in Rhode Island, Jollotta said.
She said Clancy asked if she should remain on her same medication regimen, and she told her she could increase the Seroquel to a level for treating depression, and that she could also continue the Valium.
Jollotta said Clancy indicated a previous psychiatrist recommended she try a different drug, and Jollotta said the medication works well as a mood stabilizer and for depression.
In mid-December 2022, Clancy was having ‘persistent suicidal thoughts,’ specialist testifies — 12:33 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said she had wanted Clancy to have an in-person meeting on Dec. 13, 2022, but she was fine with a virtual meeting.
At the meeting, Clancy reported improvement in her sleep with the aid of Seroquel and Valium.
Clancy also reported feelings of hopelessness and numbness, Jollotta said.
She reiterated that Clancy should consider a “partial hospitalization” for her condition.
Clancy told her on Dec. 13 that she wasn’t having suicidal ideation on that day and did not mention a plan or intent to end her own life, Jollotta said.
She said Clancy told her she was having “intrusive suicidal thoughts” and “thoughts of wanting to die,” but she never said she had thoughts of harming her children.
Jollotta said she sent a message to Clancy later that day with thoughts on things she could do to feel better, and that the two spoke again on Dec. 15, 2022.
Patrick was on the call too, she said, and they both indicated Clancy was having persistent suicidal thoughts and considering going to the MGH emergency department or to McLean Hospital.
Psychiatric nurse practitioner says she ‘strongly’ recommended a partial hospitalization program for Clancy — 12:22 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
On Dec. 12, 2022, Clancy reported taking less Seroquel than the dosage level she had recommended, Rebecca Jollotta testified.
She said Clancy had also told a nurse that morning that she wanted to go off meds altogether.
Jollotta told her there were risks to that if she had seen any benefits from the meds. She said she told her she believed Clancy was struggling with postpartum depression and “strongly” recommended a partial hospitalization program.
Jollotta said Clancy also indicated that mixing Valium and Seroquel helped her sleep, but that she felt fatigued and depressed during the day.
She said she recommended continuing with Seroquel and Valium in an effort to help her sleep.
Clancy also indicated that their Dec. 13, 2022 meeting would have to be virtual, Jollotta said.
Why Clancy was advised to give her medications more time to work — 12:20 p.m.
By Jason Laughlin, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner who treated Lindsay Clancy at South Shore Health, testified at length about Clancy’s tendency to not take medications for the prescribed period.
Jollotta noted Clancy had taken Zoloft, Trazodone, and Remeron for less time than was prescribed. All of those drugs affect serotonin levels believed to play a role in depression. Clancy continued to express concerns that the drugs themselves were causing her symptoms.
“I reiterated that it can take four to six weeks before these treatments start to work,” Jollotta testified she said to Clancy.
Waiting for drugs to kick in for people desperate for relief from mental illness can be excruciating, as Clancy expressed to her providers.
Why they take so long to have an effect is not certain. It isn’t even universally accepted that low serotonin levels are the cause of depression. It is a discouraging reality that just 30 percent of people taking SSRIs, a class of antidepressants that boost serotonin levels in the brain, report improvements in anxiety or depression symptoms.
SSRIs block serotonin transporters that remove serotonin from where it’s needed, outside the brain’s neurons. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps the neurons in the brain share information, plays a role in maintaining a calm, content mood.One study found evidence that SSRIs, over time, increase the number of junctions between neurons, called synapses, in the brain. It’s a process that can take weeks, and if the increase in those connections is what causes improvements for patients, it’s a possible explanation for the lag time before results.
Another theory is that SSRIs don’t directly attack the transporters, but affect the genes that create them, according to Psychology Today. According to this theory, antidepressants take so long to work because there is already a store of these serotonin transporters present in the brain when a person starts taking antidepressants. While the drugs may quickly decrease production of the transporters, it still takes some time to deplete the preexisting transporters. The patient won’t feel the benefits of increased serotonin until that happens.
Clancy wanted to slow Valium taper, psychiatric nurse practitioner testifies — 12:12 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said Clancy on Dec. 7, 2022 did not reference racing thoughts.
She said she recommended that Clancy continue with Seroquel, an antipsychotic, but hold off on the Prozac.
She said Clancy replied that she needed a Seroquel refill and that she wanted to continue with Seroquel and a Valium taper.
On Dec. 8, she said, Clancy indicated she slept well the night before with Valium and Seroquel, and she asked about a slower tapering of Valium.
On Dec. 9, Jollotta said, she spoke by phone with Clancy and her husband, who both agreed that her symptoms were “acute.”
She said she recommended that Clancy engage with the Women & Infants program in Rhode Island.
She said she also recommended Clancy continue with Seroquel and Valium.
Specialist says she discussed tapering Clancy off benzodiazepines — 12:02 p.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner who treated Clancy at South Shore Health, said she recommended a plan for her to taper off of the benzodiazepines.
“I really wanted to show her that I was assessing this and taking this seriously,” Jollotta said.
She said she recommended that Clancy try Valium, which is often used when patients are tapering off faster acting benzos.
She said Clancy also did not want to continue Seroquel, and that Clancy and her husband voiced a preference that she try Prozac again.
On Dec. 6, 2022, Jollotta said she told Clancy she could discontinue Seroquel with a plan to start Prozac again.
On Dec. 7, Clancy wrote in her patient portal that she’d had a difficult night, again with interrupted sleep, writing that “I really need help,” Jollotta said.
Jollotta said she replied that it may be time to increase her Seroquel dose.
She said it was “still in the back of my mind that this could be bipolar.”
‘My wife is not bipolar,’ specialist says Patrick Clancy disputed her bipolar suggestion — 11:52 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said Clancy reported sleep issues, racing thoughts, and trouble concentrating.
Jollotta said Patrick Clancy told her, “my wife is not bipolar” during the Dec. 6, 2022 meeting.
Specialist says she thought Clancy may have ‘underlying bipolar disorder’ — 11:51 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said Clancy had never previously expressed a desire for her then-husband, Patrick, to join her during an appointment.
She said Clancy on Dec. 6, 2022, reported her sleep hadn’t improved.
Jollotta said she told Clancy and her husband that she may have “an underlying bipolar disorder,” based on factors that included her report that she’d gone 48 hours without sleep after taking Zoloft.
Clancy was moderately to severely depressed at Dec. 6, 2022, appointment, specialist testifies — 11:41 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said Clancy scored 21 out of 30 on one depression scale on Dec. 6, 2022, marking her as moderate to severely depressed.
She said Clancy’s mood was “anxious” that day but that her thoughts were “linear and goal-directed.” She did not report hallucinating or hearing voices, nor did she disclose homicidal or suicidal thoughts, Jollotta said.
She said she observed no signs of psychosis or mania in Clancy during the Dec. 6 appointment.
Video: Experts divided on whether Lindsay Clancy’s symptoms pointed to postpartum psychosis — 11:40 a.m.
By Jenna Perlman, Globe Staff
Experts divided on whether Lindsay Clancy’s symptoms pointed to postpartum psychosis
Nurse practitioner says she met with Clancy, husband — 11:38 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said that on Dec. 3, 2022, Clancy sent a message on the patient portal that said she did not take Ativan the night before and struggled with sleep, experiencing intrusive thoughts and depression in the morning.
Clancy said she took Ativan in the morning and felt better, Jollotta said.
On Dec. 6, 2022, she said, Clancy met with her in an in-person visit that Patrick Clancy also attended.
Trial resumes after morning break — 11:33 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
The jury returned to the courtroom shortly after 11:30 a.m.
Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at South Shore Health who treated Clancy, returned to the stand to continue testifying.
Nurse practitioner testifies that Clancy said she felt numb — 11:00 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said Clancy also wrote on Dec. 2, 2022, that she feared she would need Ativan if she woke up again in the middle of the night.
Clancy also wrote that she felt numb and felt like she was going to die and didn’t care, Jollotta said, adding that she did not take that as a suicidal thought or ideation.
Jollotta said she provided Clancy with information about resources if the thoughts worsened.
“I said it sounds more like depression than side effects,” Jollotta said, adding that she told her that her condition would improve.
Jollotta said she told Clancy she felt she could come off Ativan in the “near future.”
Clancy told her later on the afternoon of Dec. 2 that she hoped to feel like herself soon, Jollotta said.
She said it’s common for patients to need to try different recovery plans.
Judge Sullivan called a morning recess just before 11 a.m.
Clancy wrote specialist that she was willing to ‘try anything’ — 10:52 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebbeca Jollotta, a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at South Shore Health who was treating Clancy, said Clancy wrote on Dec. 2 that she was willing to “try anything,” adding that she felt Ativan dependence was the root cause of her sleep issues.
Jollotta said she did not feel Clancy was developing a dependence on Ativan.
She said she asked Clancy if her insomnia predated the Ativan use.
Clancy also indicated that she didn’t think she was being heard with her concerns regarding the drug, she said.
Mental health specialist says Clancy complained of ‘intrusive thoughts’ — 10:47 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said Clancy on Dec. 1 told her she couldn’t take Remeron, adding that she was experiencing “intrusive thoughts.”
She said she sent Clancy “a detailed message” laying out signs and symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety.
She said she told Clancy that intrusive thoughts are common during the postpartum period.
Jollotta said she also urged Clancy to keep taking Remeron, an antidepressant, for a period of time.
Jollotta said Clancy also apologized for sending so many written messages on a patient portal.
She said Clancy expressed fear about starting medications and that she informed her about resources and books at the clinic that would be helpful.
She said Clancy indicated she had an appointment with a social worker the following day, Dec. 2, 2022.
On the morning of Dec. 2, Jollotta said, Clancy told her she had woken up the night before with intrusive thoughts that went away with Ativan, adding that she was concerned about becoming dependent on Ativan.
Jollotta said she told Clancy that intrusive thoughts aren’t uncommon after giving birth.
Clancy told specialist she can’t ‘go on like this,’ according to testimony — 10:36 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Nurse practitioner Rebecca Jollotta said she asked Clancy on Nov. 30, 2022, about possible suicidal thoughts.
“She said she’s not at the point of being suicidal,” Jollotta said, adding that Clancy indicated that she could not “go on like this” and asked her to call in the Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication.
Jollotta said Clancy reported feeling “hopeless” and unmotivated to do anything, though she said she would also begin tracking her moods and responses to meds on a chart as suggested.
Mental health specialist says Clancy linked feeling badly to her medications — 10:29 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said she was aware Clancy had scheduled a therapy appointment with a social worker on Dec. 2, 2022.
Jollotta said Clancy asked her on Nov. 30 if it would be safe to stop taking Remeron, an antidepressant, after five nights.
She said Clancy indicated that she felt her depression had gotten worse, and that she only had a couple hours of sleep the night before.
Jollotta said she asked Clancy about her symptoms of depression, which Clancy “was attributing” to the medication.
She testified that she told Clancy she was aware she’d been on a number of shorter trials of meds since October 2022, and that medication can take weeks to kick in.
Jollotta said she also suggested Prozac, which Clancy had taken while in nursing school, paired with Seroquel to help her sleep.
Mental health specialist testifies that she recommended therapy, mindfulness, and exercise to Clancy — 10:22 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said Clancy was advised to continue taking Remeron and Ativan “as needed.”
She said she did not write Clancy any new prescriptions during that Nov 29, 2022 appointment.
“I recommended therapy, mindfulness, physical activity, meditation,” Jollotta said, adding that Clancy’s postpartum issues following the birth of her second child appeared to get resolved “with exercise.”
In late November 2022, Clancy was anxious but displayed no psychotic symptoms, mental health specialist testifies — 10:21 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said she also suggested hydroxyzine to help Clancy sleep, but she wasn’t receptive to that idea.
Clancy engaged in a “collaborative” discussion about the medication regimen, Jollotta said.Jollotta said Clancy on Nov. 29, 2022, displayed no manic symptoms.
Jollotta said mania differs from psychosis, which can be indicated by guardedness, delusional thoughts, and responding to visual or auditory hallucinations.
On Nov. 29, 2022, Clancy displayed no psychotic symptoms, Jollotta said.
“She seemed anxious,” Jollotta said.
Jollotta said Clancy’s thought process on Nov. 29, 2022 was linear “and goal-directed.”
Clancy also showed “moderate to severe symptoms, postpartum depression,” as well as “moderately severe anxiety.”
Why Clancy was taking an allergy medication as part of her treatment — 10:20 a.m.
By Jason Laughlin, Globe Staff
Among the prescription drugs Clancy took while seeking care was another medication available to anyone over the counter, Benadryl.
Clancy described suffering from anxiety and depression that contributed to insomnia. Benadryl is an allergy medication, but the warnings on the back of its box explain why Clancy was taking it.
It causes “marked drowsiness” and sleep medicine specialists and pharmacologists view diphenhydramine, the drug in Benadryl, as an effective and accessible treatment for acute insomnia.
The drug, unlike other allergy medications such as Claritin or Zyrtec, blocks histamine receptors in the brain directly, which also causes drowsiness, according to UCLA Health.
A 2025 review in the Journal of Clinical Medicine of the drug’s effectiveness found it is a safe and inexpensive short-term treatment.
Over time, however, the body develops a tolerance to diphenhydramine and it becomes less effective. That 2025 study also noted long-term use includes a risk of dependence.
Clancy had been advised to engage in therapy, mental health specialist testifies — 10:11 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said Clancy was also prescribed Remeron, which can help with anxiety, depression, loss of appetite, and sleep issues.
She said it normally takes at least a month for the medication to begin working properly.
Clancy had been advised in late November 2022 to increase her Remeron dosage and to engage in therapy, Jollotta said.
Jollotta said she also encouraged Clancy to give Remeron more time after she reported not feeling well after taking it for four days.
Jollotta said Clancy was also concerned about taking benzodiazepines for sleep.
Here are the medications witnesses prescribed Clancy — 10:10 a.m.
By Sarah Rahal, Globe Staff
In the four months leading up to the deaths of her three children, Lindsay Clancy was prescribed 13 psychiatric medications by multiple providers, including psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, emergency department doctors, and staff at an inpatient psychiatric program, according to a Globe review of court records.
The medications included antidepressants like Zoloft, antipsychotics like Seroquel, sedatives like Benadryl, benzodiazepines like Valium and Klonopin, and the mood stabilizer Lamictal.
Mental health specialist said she knew Clancy had been on multiple medications — 10:04 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said she knew Clancy had been prescribed Trazodone after going to the emergency room in November 2022.
On Nov. 29, Jollotta said, Clancy reported interrupted sleep and needing to take Ativan to fall back asleep.
Mental health specialist describes first talk with Clancy — 10:02 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta said social workers at her clinic provide counseling to patients.
A board-certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at South Shore Health, she was one of several providers to treat Lindsay Clancy between Nov. 30, 2022, and January 2023.
She said she became involved in Clancy’s treatment when her colleague, Julie Paul, prepared to leave the clinic.
Jollotta said her first contact with Clancy was on Nov. 29, 2022.“I believe it was virtual,” Jollotta said.
She said she later saw Clancy in person on at least one occasion.
She said Paul had conducted an initial intake interview with Clancy in person.
Mental health specialist testifies she has treated hundreds of patients with postpartum depression — 9:55 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, said she works at South Shore Health, where Clancy sought treatment.
She said she works at the hospital’s perinatal clinic.
Jollotta said she’s treated about five women with postpartum psychosis over the last five years, along with hundreds of patients suffering from postpartum depression.
Who is Rebecca Jollotta? — 9:50 a.m.
By Sarah Rahal, Globe Staff
Rebecca Jollotta is a board-certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at South Shore Health and one of several providers to treat Lindsay Clancy between Nov. 30, 2022, and January, 2023.
She is also named in a medical malpractice lawsuit Clancy filed against multiple doctors and nurses who treated her.
According to the lawsuit, Nurse Jollotta “correctly considered a bipolar presentation” in her diagnosis of Clancy.
She has a bachelor’s degree in health sciences from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from William James College. She later trained as a nurse and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Jollotta also teaches a graduate course at Simmons University on psychiatric diagnosis and management
.Jollatta finished her professional training in 2019 and worked as a nurse at McLean Hospital until April 2020, and later at a counseling center before joining South Shore Health in May 2021, where she still works.
“Her professional interests include perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, psychopharmacology during pregnancy/lactation, addiction medicine, and perinatal grief/loss/trauma,” according to her Simmons University biography.
Clancy was transferred to Jollatta for care after Nurse Practitioner Julie Paul left South Shore.
Prosecution calls Rebecca Jollotta, one of several mental health providers who treated Clancy — 9:49 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Prosecutors next called Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric nurse practitioner who treated Clancy after nurse practitioner Julie Paul left South Shore Health.
Jollotta ran through her training and professional experience.
Nurse practitioner concludes testimony — 9:48 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Julie Paul, a nurse practitioner who treated Clancy, returned to the stand for cross-examination by defense lawyer Kevin Reddington.
Paul said “thank you” when Reddington said she treated Clancy with care and professionalism.
She said Clancy had her cell phone number. She later stepped down from the stand.
Jury enters the courtroom — 9:44 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Jurors entered the courtroom around 9:45 a.m.
Judge William Sullivan ran through his standard questions to ensure they avoided outside coverage of the trial on Monday night.
“I appreciate you waiting for us,” Sullivan told the jury.
Judge takes motion to call former McLean therapist under advisement — 9:39 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Judge William Sullivan said someone working at McLean should be able to testify to the holiday weekend staffing levels.
He said it might make sense to question Emily Thorndike in a voir dire session outside the presence of jurors.
Sullivan took the defense motion to call Thorndike to the stand under advisement, adding that he’s “inclined to have a voir dire” with Thorndike “or some other witness” who can testify to staffing levels at the facility.
Prosecutors oppose motion to call former McLean therapist as witness — 9:35 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Prosecutors said records at McLean show what services were offered to Clancy while she was there in January 2023.
Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham said calling Emily Thorndike as a witness “is not a fair line of rebuttal,” since she left long before Clancy’s arrival. Thorndike has also called the prosecution of Clancy an “abomination,” Buckingham said.
Judge William Sullivan noted that a McLean psychiatrist has previously testified that she didn’t know about the staffing levels on the holiday weekend.
Buckingham reiterated that records from McLean indicate what interactions staff had with Clancy.
Judge questions Clancy motion — 9:29 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Defense lawyer Kevin Reddington said jurors currently have the impression that Clancy did not want to utilize services offered at McLean, when in fact nothing was available when she first got there during the holiday weekend.
Judge William Sullivan said he questioned the relevance of any testimony offered by Emily Thorndike, who left McLean a year before Clancy was treated there.
Therapist will testify to ‘woeful’ environment at McLean Hospital, Clancy lawyer says — 9:26 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Kevin Reddington said Emily Thorndike recently posted a TikTok video indicating that trial witnesses were lying about McLean.
He said Thorndike can testify to the “woeful environment” at the psychiatric facility on holidays, especially on New Year’s Day when Clancy was admitted in January 2023.
Judge hears motion on witness — 9:22 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Judge William Sullivan heard oral arguments from Kevin Reddington, a lawyer for Clancy, on a defense motion to call a therapist named Emily Thorndike as a witness.
She worked on the unit at McLean Hospital when Clancy was treated there weeks before she killed her children.
Lindsay Clancy turns 36 today — 9:07 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Clancy turns 36 on Tuesday as her murder trial continues in Plymouth Superior Court.
Her lawyer is expected to cross-examine Julie Paul, a nurse practitioner who treated Clancy, when testimony resumes.
Leave a voicemail with your thoughts on the trial — 8:54 a.m.
By Victoria McGrane, Globe Staff
The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy has stirred a range of emotions for those watching the testimony or reading about the details.
What is your reaction to the trial? The Boston Globe has set up a voice mailbox where you can call and describe your thoughts about the trial, share emotions it has stirred up for you, or tell us your own personal experiences. We will listen to the responses and may use selected voicemail recordings or transcriptions in a future story or other online presentation.
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Who is Julie Paul and what do you need to know about her treatment of Lindsay Clancy? — 8:45 a.m.
By Sarah Rahal, Globe Staff
Julie Paul, a longtime South Shore maternal health provider who later helped build a behavioral health program specifically for pregnant and postpartum women, took the stand Monday about treating Clancy in 2022.
Paul is a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner and certified nurse-midwife. She is the former director of the perinatal behavioral health program at South Shore Health, which she started in 2018. The program supports women in preconception, pregnancy, postpartum and parenting, up to 2 years who are experiencing mood disorders or substance use disorders. By October 2020, the program had completed 486 new patient intakes and more than 2,500 follow-up appointments, according to South Shore Health website.
She knew and briefly worked with Sue Clancy, Lindsay Clancy’s mother-in-law who also worked as a labor and delivery nurse. Sue Clancy reached out to Paul to connect Lindsay Clancy for care, she said.
Paul prescribed several of the medications Clancy took during a period of rapidly changing psychiatric treatment in late 2022. On Nov. 21, Paul prescribed 10 milligrams of Prozac, an antidepressant. Four days later, on Nov. 25, she prescribed three additional medications: 5 milligrams of Ambien for sleep; 5 milligrams of Remeron, an antidepressant also used to help with sleep; and 0.5 milligrams of Klonopin, an anti-anxiety medication.
“She verbally understood the instructions of taking the medications,” said Paul, adding in addition to medication, “I set her up with talk therapy as well.”
Paul transferred Clancy’s care on Nov. 30. Paul couldn’t recall when her follow up was supposed to be with Nurse Practitioner Rebecca Jollotta.
Paul earned a bachelors degree in nursing from Saint Anselm College in 1991 and worked as a labor and delivery nurse at Elliot Hospital in New Hampshire for 15 years. She received a master’s degree in nurse-midwifery from Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Frontier Nursing University in 2011. She also completed a post-master’s teaching certificate at Boston College and later trained as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner.
Paul was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives in 2016.
Paul left South Shore Health in December 2023. Her LinkedIn states she served as director of women’s mental health at Rivia Mind and worked with FamilyWell before launching Empower Perinatal, her own practice focused on psychiatric care during pregnancy and postpartum.
Here’s how Monday’s testimony unfolded — 8:39 a.m.
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Dr. Jennifer Tufts, the psychiatrist who treated Lindsay Clancy in the months before she killed her three children, faced aggressive cross-examination from the Duxbury mother’s defense attorney in Clancy’s murder trial on Monday.
Kevin Reddington asked Tufts about the number of postpartum patients she treated before Clancy, if she has authored any medical articles on the topics of postpartum mental health, the level of contact she had with members of Clancy’s family, the thoroughness of the notes she took during her appointments, and how deeply she questioned Clancy when the patient expressed feeling depressed.
Dr. Jennifer Tufts testifies for second day
Reddington repeatedly returned to the fact that Tufts only ever held virtual appointments with Clancy, never meeting her in person, and appeared exasperated when Tufts said she did not request medical records from another clinic Clancy had visited.
The courtroom was packed, as more spectators lined up to get into the trial for Reddington’s highly anticipated questioning than any day since Clancy’s former husband, Patrick, testified during the first week of the trial.
Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected]. Jenna Reyes can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @jennaelaney and Instagram @jennaelaney. Camilo Fonseca can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports. Jason Laughlin can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @jasmlaughlin. Sarah Rahal can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @SarahRahal_ or Instagram @sarah.rahal.
