In a professional discipline hearing, the panel found the registrant guilty of multiple heads of professional misconduct arising from boundary violations, sexualized remarks, inappropriate self-disclosure, and exploitative communications with two clients in the course of counselling and psychotherapy services.
The panel held that the admitted conduct breached the governing statute, the Professional Misconduct Regulation, and the College’s Handbook standards, and constituted sexual abuse through behaviour or remarks of a sexual nature not clinically appropriate to the services provided.
The panel also accepted that out-of-session and post-termination text communications, including a semi-nude photograph sent to a former client, formed part of the misconduct analysis.
A publication ban protecting the clients’ identities was granted, the two notices were combined, and the joint submission on penalty was accepted.
The registrant was reprimanded, his certificate of registration was revoked, publication was ordered, and costs of $5,000 were imposed.