As a psychologist, your license is the professional and personal lifeblood of your practice. You study for years, complete supervised professional practice, and pass stringent exams before earning your license. However, the California Board of Psychology vigorously protects consumers, which could jeopardize your personal practice.
One complaint from a dissatisfied client, an accusation of a boundary violation, or a criminal conviction, such as a DUI, can trigger an investigation that threatens your career. Responding to a Department of Consumer Affairs investigation or an administrative hearing requires a skilled license attorney.
At Riverside License Attorney, we offer targeted legal strategies to defend against board investigations and to preserve your reputation.
Understanding the California Board of Psychology (BOP) Disciplinary Process
In Riverside, CA, psychology is a highly regulated field with rigorous ethical guidelines and several laws and regulations that protect the public. Your license to practice is the result of years of intellectual and clinical effort. When it is put at risk by a Board of Psychology investigation, the consequences are personal and financial. As a licensee, you are subject to a stringent code of conduct, where even an inadvertent documentation error or a misguided boundary issue can result in disciplinary action.
The disciplinary process triggered by the California Board of Psychology is a legal, formal, multi-step process that begins well before you enter the courtroom. The majority of investigations begin with a formal complaint to the Board’s enforcement division by a patient, insurer, or other healthcare provider. If the Board decides that the complaint is within its jurisdiction, the investigation is referred to a Department of Consumer Affairs investigator. These are often former police officers who have received training in administrative interrogation.
You may receive a “cold call” or a letter requesting a written response to the allegations. It is dangerous to discuss these investigators without an attorney. Anything you say, even if it appears to be in your favor, is recorded and used against your license.
How Your Attorney Supports You During an Allegation
- Defending against overreaching regulation. Standing at the forefront to ensure the state does not overstep its authority.
- Offering expert legal advice. Providing the guidance necessary to support your participation in enforcement programs.
- Ensuring awareness of legal challenges. Keeping you fully informed of every obstacle and opportunity in your case.
- Protect your right to practice. leveraging extensive knowledge of administrative law to challenge allegations without corroborating evidence and defend your professional reputation in the clinical setting.
Responding to an Accusation or Statement of Issues
Once the Board of Psychology conducts an initial investigation and determines that a violation has occurred, the case is transferred to the Office of the Attorney General. A Deputy Attorney General prepares an Accusation (or, in the case of an applicant, a Statement of Issues). These are public pleadings that outline the Board’s alleged violations of the law. The service of an Accusation is a legal emergency.
You have only 15 days from the date of service to file a Notice of Defense. If it is not filed within the allotted time, the Board will most likely request a default decision, which will result in the automatic and permanent suspension of your psychology license.
The Notice of Defense ensures your right to a hearing and will trigger the discovery phase, during which we obtain the state’s evidence against you.
Common Allegations Triggering BOP Investigations
The California Board of Psychology scrutinizes a wide range of professional activities, and its enforcement activities are based on Business and Professions Code Section 2960. The California BPC section 2960 lists the various causes for discipline, including incompetence and moral turpitude.
The Board has the power to investigate any conduct it considers unprofessional or a risk to public health and safety. In the highly competitive market for health care services, complaints may also be motivated by retaliation or mere differences in clinical practice. No matter the source of the complaint, the board gives consumers the benefit of the doubt, assuming a breach of public safety.
You should carefully scrutinize the board’s allegations against the statutory requirements to identify unmet evidentiary burdens. Recognizing these triggers is essential in crafting a strong response that will shield your practice from baseless regulatory action.
Boundary Violations and Sexual Misconduct
Boundary violations are the most serious and highly scrutinized allegations in psychology. The California Board of Psychology has a policy of zero tolerance for multiple relationships and sexual misconduct. Such allegations may arise from inappropriate social contact with patients, financial relationships, or, most devastatingly, allegations of sexual contact.
California law deems any sexual contact with a current patient a per se ethical violation and often results in immediate license suspension. Additionally, there are rigid rules against sexual contact with a former patient for two years after the last date of treatment. California considers these breaches to be an egregious breach of therapeutic trust.
Therefore, your lawyer’s strategy should be to defend against these allegations with an aggressive response to witness credibility and a meticulous review of the clinical chronology. They should confront unsubstantiated allegations and present evidence of good clinical practice to counter claims of inappropriate boundaries and defend their reputation.
Violation of Confidentiality and Documentation Errors
Privacy is a fundamental aspect of psychology practice, and the Board is a zealous enforcer of the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act and federal HIPAA laws. Confidentiality violations, whether deliberate or inadvertent, can result in a BOP investigation.
Such allegations may include:
- The improper release of confidential psychological records
- Inadequate safeguards for electronic patient information. Related to privacy are record-keeping issues.
Business and Professions Code Section 2960 mandates that psychologists keep timely, accurate, and adequate records of their professional activities. Failure to provide these records to the board upon request for investigation is a disciplinary matter.
If you are facing allegations, you need a professional license lawyer to assist you in showing that your administrative practices meet state and federal requirements. They can demonstrate that a record-keeping mistake was a minor administrative oversight rather than gross negligence, thereby reducing the severity of any penalties and allowing you to continue to practice.
Criminal Convictions and Off-Duty Conduct
Your off-duty behavior is never entirely confidential from the Board of Psychology. Any conviction, whether misdemeanor or felony, is reportable to the Board. The state will assess whether these convictions are substantially related to a psychologist’s qualifications, functions, or duties.
DUI convictions often result in a BOP investigation because the Board perceives alcohol- and drug-related convictions as evidence of possible impairment or lack of professional judgment.
Domestic violence, theft, and fraud convictions are even more serious and often result in accusations of moral turpitude.
Even if your criminal conviction was expunged under PC 1203.4, you are still required to provide the Board with the conviction when renewing your license or applying for licensure. You will need a professional license lawyer who can offer a two-pronged approach:
- Working with your criminal attorney to secure plea bargains that are the least likely to affect your license
- Providing the Board with overwhelming evidence of your rehabilitation.
The Administrative Hearing Process at the OAH
If the Board of Psychology does not dismiss the charges during the investigation stage, your case will be forwarded to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). This is where the legal fight for your license really begins. This is a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, and a Deputy Attorney General represents the state.
For psychologists, the standard of proof is often clear and convincing evidence to a reasonable certainty, rather than beyond a reasonable doubt as in a criminal case. This is more difficult for the state than the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard for other licenses.
At OAH, you have the opportunity to present testimony, use clinical exhibits, and cross-examine Board experts. Your lawyer could use this process to counter the state’s case. Also, they could use expert psychologists to demonstrate that your practice was within the standard of care. This courtroom process demands strategic planning to ensure the judge’s recommendation maintains your license to practice.
Possible Disciplinary Penalties from BOP
The Board of Psychology uses a set of Disciplinary Guidelines to guide its decision-making in determining a penalty for a violation. These guidelines list penalties based on the seriousness of the violation and any prior disciplinary action. The Board will take into account aggravating circumstances, such as harm to patients or profit, and mitigating evidence provided by your defense. The sanctions vary widely, and the Board’s first offer is often the maximum penalty that does not take into account the circumstances of your case.
You should aggressively negotiate with the Attorney General’s office to settle cases through stipulated agreements that, if possible, allow you to keep your license. Providing a strong mitigation package early in the case could convince the Board to issue a non-disciplinary outcome or minor administrative penalty that does not terminate your career or ruin your reputation.
Letters of Reproval, Citations, and Fines
For minor administrative rule violations or occasional ethical violations that do not pose a serious public health risk, the Board may issue a citation or a letter of reproval. A citation is an administrative action that usually involves a fine of hundreds to thousands of dollars.
A citation is not considered discipline, but it is a public record on the Board website and the BreEZe database. A public letter of reproval is a more severe action taken by the Board President. It is a public admonishment of your conduct. While you can continue to practice without any limitations, they can still affect your reputation, referrals, and insurance panel credentialing.
You should treat Medical Board citations and reprovals with the same gravity as an accusation, and you should strive to ensure your medical record is completely free of any regulatory issues that may limit your ability to grow your clinical practice.
License Probation and Interim Suspension Orders (ISO)
Where the Board feels a serious breach has been committed, but that practice can safely continue with supervision, they may issue an order of stayed revocation and license probation. This is often the case for serious allegations of negligence or drug use.
Probation usually lasts three to five years and comes with stringent conditions, including:
- Mandatory psychotherapy for the psychologist
- Clinical supervision,
- Random drug testing
- Completion of certain ethics courses
You also have to adhere to regular reporting and contribute to the Board’s probation monitoring fees. More immediate is an Interim Suspension Order. The Board can request an administrative judge to stop your practice before a full hearing if it can provide evidence that it poses an immediate threat to the public.
You can oppose these orders with the most vicious vigor to allow you to remain in practice while you prepare to defend your license against the allegations.
License Revocation, Surrender, and Reinstatement
The worst result of BOP enforcement is the revocation or voluntary surrender of your psychology license. Revocation is a formal declaration by the Board that you are unfit to practice, and there is no way to protect the public during probation. Surrender is sometimes used to negotiate a settlement to avoid the time and money of a hearing, but it is legally equivalent to a revocation.
Revocation or surrender of your license means you no longer have the legal right to practice psychology in California. But this does not mean you cannot practice again. Once the waiting period expires (typically three years), you may apply to the Board for reinstatement.
To be reinstated, you must convince the Board that you have been rehabilitated and are not a threat to public safety. You should gather the evidence needed to restore your career, prepare the petition, and have an experienced license lawyer represent you at the reinstatement hearing.
Find a Psychology License Defense Attorney Near Me
Facing a Board of Psychology investigation or formal disciplinary hearing does not have to spell the end of your clinical career. With immediate, strategic legal intervention, it is possible to contest the allegations, negotiate a favorable stipulated settlement, or secure a non-disciplinary resolution instead of a catastrophic license suspension. Psychologists require a legal advocate who profoundly understands the California Business and Professions Code and the specific administrative procedures governing the BOP.
At Riverside License Attorney, our skilled legal team has experience defending healthcare professionals against regulatory board discipline. Whether you are facing claims of unprofessional conduct, a criminal conviction, or a boundary-violation allegation, we will build a robust defense to protect your professional credentials.
Talk to our capable license lawyers at 951-410-8612 today for a confidential consultation and the aggressive defense representation you deserve.
