Apple TV+ series The Shrink Next Door is based on Joe Nocera’s true crime podcast of the same name, which explores the 30-year relationship between Isaac Herschkopf and his patient Martin Markowitz and how therapist Herschkopf managed to slowly take over Markowitz’s life during that period.

They met in 1981, when a 39-year-old Markowitz was recommended Herschkopf as a therapist by his rabbi. Markowitz, who was running his family business Associated Fabrics Corporation and was a millionaire as a result, had begun to feel overwhelmed by his company responsibilities, the family issues that had arisen over control of the business, his fiancée leaving him and the deaths of his parents.

He started seeing Herschkopf as a patient three times a week and within two years, Herschkopf had managed to insert himself into his life, according to Markowitz, who told The Times of Israel that he “very quietly started pouring salt into my open wounds”.

As explored in the podcast, Herschkopf convinced Markowitz to fire his sister from their family company and disinherit her from the business, after which he was isolated from the rest of his family, and asked him to include his wife Becky in his will. He also asked him to create a private foundation – the Yaron Foundation – which benefitted Herschkopf and his family, and even had himself listed as a co-owner of Markowitz’s bank account, which contained $2.5 million.

According to Markowitz, Herschkopf wouldn’t let him have a girlfriend and convinced him that he was the only one to be trusted, telling Forward: “He would say, ‘Everyone is out to get you, I’m going to protect you.’ And I was stupid enough to buy it.”

In 1986, Herschkopf convinced Markowitz to buy the house next to his Southampton home, after which he took over the place and moved his patient to the guest quarters, banning him from storing food in the main house. Markowitz would later change his will to make Herschkopf’s wife the sole recipient of the entire estate and gave Herschkopf power of attorney. The therapist would throw huge parties, inviting celebrity guests, with Markowitz telling the podcast: “People thought I was the caretaker.”

Markowitz ended his relationship with Herschkopf in 2010, after undergoing a hernia operation and realising that Herschkopf had made no effort to reach out. Markowitz eventually wrote Herschkopf and his wife out of his will and reported him for malpractice.

What happened to Isaac Herschkopf?

The Shrink Next Door podcast, which was published in 2019, found other patients of Markowitz’s who claimed they had also been manipulated by him, with one particular patient named Judith alleging on the show that he had urged her to cease contact with her mother and convinced her not to attend her funeral.

After the podcast was published, the New York Department of Health launched a two-year investigation into Herschkopf’s practices and in April 2021, his medical licence was revoked.

The 70-year-old was found guilty of 16 charges of professional misconduct, which included fraudulent practice, exercising undue influence, moral unfitness and negligence.

Last week, Herschkopf told The New York Times that he plans on appealing the ruling.

What happened to Marty Markowitz?