Expert David Gourion condemned the notion put forward by French interior minister Gérard Collomb last week.
Mr Collomb – one of Emmanuel Macron’s most important ministers – said almost to one-third of radicalised Muslims on the government’s terrorism watch list – some 17,000 – suffered from a mental disorder, adding that mental health experts could be asked to assist intelligence officials by flagging aspiring jihadists in their care.
But Mr Gourion poured scorn on the plan, claiming psychiatrists should not be forced to join the government’s counter-terror force.
He told Le Monde: “If one of my patients is a terrorist, it is obviously my duty to report him.
“I’ve reported potential jihadists before. I have no problem breaking doctor-patient confidentiality if my patient is an aspiring terrorist.
“But what I do have a problem with is being asked to join a counter-terrorism unit.
“I’m a psychiatrist, not an intelligence officer. I haven’t been trained to track potential terrorists.
“The proposed measures are inefficient and will do little to prevent determined individuals.”
The mental health expert added that terrorists often fit one of two profiles – they were either solitary lone wolves, or members of an organised gang.
He said: “A study by US researchers published in 2014 showed that terrorists are, for the most part, either lone wolves or members of a well-organised cell.
“Those who are part of a cell are not mentally ill. If a terrorist group is planning a commando-style attack, it will recruit militants who are meticulous, patient and attentive. It will not recruit people who suffer from serious psychological distress.”
Islamic State – the death cult behind last week’s deadly terrorist attacks in and around Barcelona – does not recruit mental health patients, he continued.
France’s medical board responded to Mr Collomb’s call for help on Thursday, reminding the interior minister that doctor-patient confidentiality remained a “fundamental principle” of medical ethics.
“Doctors will report a mental health patient only under exceptional circumstances, and if they believe he or she poses a potential security threat,” the medical board said in a statement.