Mental health counselor Lyle Bourcy denied renewal of Oregon license

On August 13, 2010, the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists denied mental health counselor Lyle Bourcy renewal of his license. This action was based on Bourcy surrendering his license in the state of Idaho in response to a formal complaint alleging multiple violations of Idaho laws and rules governing the practice of professional counseling.

Source: Disciplinary Report of the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists, January 2008 through present.

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Oregon revokes license of mental health counselor David Bird for solicitation/sex with client

On April 2, 2010, the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists revoked the license of licensed professional counselor and marriage & family therapist David Bird, forever prohibiting him from holding such licenses in the state of Oregon. According to the Board’s Disciplinary Report, Bird engaged in dual relationships with multiple clients; used the counseling relationship to further his sexual interests; engaged in or solicited a sexual relationship with a client; used the counseling relationship to further his personal and financial interests; negligence; failed to conform to standards of conduct; failed to recognize professional responsibility and caused harm to clients and unauthorized disclosure of confidential client information.

Source: Disciplinary Report of the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists, January 2008 through present.

State suspends mental health counselor Toni Bell for sex with client

On November 4, 2011, the Iowa Board of Behavioral Science suspended the license of mental health counselor Toni Bell for no less than one year, effective January 4, 2012. According to the Board’s statement of charges, Bell engaged in sexual activities and sexual contact with a former client within the five years following the termination of the therapist-client relationship. Bell provided counseling services to the client from August 2009 to November 2009, at which point she developed a personal relationship with the client, including communications outside the therapist-client relationship such as phone contact, text messages, sharing meals and traveling together. Beginning in November or December 2009, she engaged in an ongoing sexual relationship with the client. Bell can apply for reinstatement of her license but reinstatement will be based on her proof of compliance with terms imposed by the Board.

Source: Settlement Agreement and Final Order and Notice of Hearing and Statement of Charges in the Matter of Toni Bell, Case No. 09-015, Before the Board of Behavioral Science of the State of Iowa. 

State denies social worker license application of Rayne Norton; subject of previous suspensions

On December 1, 2011, the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners denied Rayne Norton’s licensed master social worker application based on unprofessional conduct.

On May 7, 2010, the Board revoked Norton’s license and had suspended her for at least six months in September 2008. Norton failed to comply with some of the terms and conditions of that suspension Order and thus the Board opened another complaint against her.

The revocation came about due to her failure to participate in the Board’s investigation of that complaint.

The issue which resulted in the 2008 suspension was that Norton “self-reported to the Board that she had engaged in a dual relationship with a 19-year-old male client when she allowed the client to live with her and her family for four days.”

Terms and conditions of that suspension included obtaining a psychological evaluation, attending and passing a graduate level ethics course and reimbursing the Board its investigative costs of $9,929.54.

However, the Board noted in their most recent published information on the case, that “other than a letter of apology, [Norton] provided no other information or evidence that the professional has taken to correct or resolve issues leading to her unprofessional conduct, which ultimately led to the revocation of her license.”

Source: Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners Adverse Action Tracking Forms, dated 21 September 2010 and January 17, 2012.

Arizona revokes license of social worker Katherine Freeman

On October 18, 2011, the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners issued and Order of Revocation on licensed master social worker Katherine Freeman, citing several instances of disciplinary action taken against her by employers for a range of difficulties and infractions in the workplace, as well as for failing to disclose these disciplinary actions and resignations on her Arizona application for a master social worker license, in which she stated she’d been laid off from the two agencies from which she’d resigned following disciplinary troubles. Arizona’s document indicates that it additionally received an anonymous complaint of unprofessional conduct against Freeman in June 2009 relative to her conduct at the second agency from which she ultimately resigned. Following the complaint, Freeman moved to another state and let her Arizona social work license lapse.

Source: Entry on Katherine Freeman, Adverse Action Tracking Form, Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners, 2011.

Arizona social worker Alfred Dodini surrenders license over interference in custody matter, recordkeeping failures, etc.

On August 1, 2011, the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners accepted the surrender of licensed clinical social worker Alfred Dodini’s license. The surrender is deemed a revocation.

The Board’s disciplinary document on Dodini covers a number of issues, including his treatment of a 12-year-old boy with behavioral issues related to marital problems between his parents. In this case, Dodini failed to perform a suicide risk assessment on the father, who repeatedly threatened to commit suicide and admitted to suicidal ideation.

Dodini wrote a letter to the court identifying the father as a client, though the father had never signed a release of information authorization. Dodini failed to file a report with child protective services after receiving a report that the father hit his son. Following the mother filing for divorce, Dodini communicated with the custody evaluator and advised them that the mother might be experiencing aspects of schizophrenia, even though the mother had never been his patient. He threatened to disclose personal damaging information about the mother and her son to the licensing board if she proceeded to file a complaint against him. He failed to keep separate patient records on the son and the father, intermingling their progress notes together and he failed to document important aspects of their treatment.

The Board’s document details Dodini’s conduct in another family divorce-custody case in which, among other things, he refused to release a minor patient’s records to the father and numerous documentation failures.

Source: Entry on Alfred Dodini, Adverse Action Tracking Form, Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners, 2011.

Mental health program manager George Green loses license for five years

On August 1, 2011, the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE) prohibited counselor George Green from engaging in the practice of behavioral health as a licensee and from claiming to be a licensee in Arizona.

He may not renew his professional counseling or substance abuse counseling licenses for five years.

According to the AZBBHE’s document, Green, who was the program manager at an agency (“Agency”) providing in-home behavioral health care to seriously mentally ill adults, failed to take appropriate action relative to an employee under his direction who was reported by a client as having made a number of sexually-related statements to her. The client reported that she was uncomfortable with the employee’s statements, fearful of the employee and did not want to received further services from him. The employee admitted he’s used “vulgar, sexualized language” during a recent in-home session with the client. Green failed to immediately contacted the Agency’s management or adult protective services.

Source: Entry on George Green, Adverse Action Tracking Form, Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners, 2011.

Social worker Michael Chiappone disciplined in New York, North Carolina

On September 13, 2011, the New York State Department of Education placed master social worker Michael J. Chiappone on two years stayed suspension.

The state’s document states that Chiappone admitted having been found guilty of improper professional practice or professional misconduct by the North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board.

Additionally, New York placed him on probation for two years and fined him $1,000.

Source: Michael J. Chiappone, entry in Summaries of Regents Actions on Professional Misconduct and Discipline, New York State Education Department, September 2011.

Oregon State Hospital therapist James B. Mills loses license over porn viewing

In December 2011, the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists revoked the license of marriage and family therapist JAMES B. MILLS.

Mills was employed at Oregon State Hospital (OSH) as a trainer and was responsible for teaching course to OSH employees.

In November 2010, Mills was teaching a course to OSH employees on motivational interviewing. While teaching the course, he also viewed pornographic material on his computer. Although he believed no one else could see the material, his activities were uncovered after several employees attending the training observed the images on his computer and reported it to the OSH Human Services.

These employees reported that they were unsettled by both the images they saw and the fact that Mills was viewing such material while teaching a course.

Mills admitted what he had been doing and resigned his position at OSH.

The Board issued a notice to Mills, informing him of his right to a hearing. He never responded to the Board’s correspondence.

In addition to revocation of his license, he was ordered to reimburse the board its costs of $406.90.

Source: Final Order by Default Revoking License in the Matter of James B. Mills, LMFT, Agency Case No. 2010-059, Before the Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists for the State of Oregon.

Kaiser Permanente psychiatrist Stephen Melcher sentenced for child molestation

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A Sacramento doctor was convicted last week for molesting an 11-year-old boy, but he apparently practiced for months after his arrest while out on bail.

Dr. Stephen Melcher is a former employee at Kaiser Permanente. He was arrested last December, but nobody there knew about it until he pleaded no contest in April.

Melcher has been a licensed doctor in California for two decades, but for months he was able to see patients despite an arrest for a sex crime against a child.

“Obviously, we can’t act on something we don’t know about, and in this case we did not have a complaint filed with us,” the California Medical Board’s Dan Wood said Wednesday. “The police department was conducting their own investigation and it was up to them to tell us.”

According to medical board documents, Dr. Melcher molested an 11-year-old boy during a dinner party at his Land Park home last October. He was arrested in December and pleaded no contest in April.

Then last Friday, a judge sentenced him to a year in jail.

“This just came about here in the last few weeks,” Wood said. “He’s agreed to stipulate to surrender his license.”

Nobody answered at Melcher’s Land Park home on Wednesday.

Kaiser issued the following statement on Wednesday:

“Dr. Melcher is no longer with Kaiser Permanente. The charges against Dr. Melcher relate to an incident that occurred in a social situation outside of Kaiser Permanente and his medical practice.

“Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan must take into account the legal and due process rights of employees and physicians while they await adjudication. Dr. Melcher’s practice involved only adults. We evaluated Dr. Melcher’s practice and confirmed that the charges against him related to an incident that occurred in a social situation outside of Kaiser Permanente and his medical practice. He resigned on March 19.”

Source: “Kaiser doctor practiced after arrested on sex charge,” CBS-13 Sacramento, CA, May 30, 2012.