Holders of a psychology license are professionals who have worked hard and long to be where they are. In addition to school and on-the-job training required to become a professional psychologist, you must meet strict requirements and go through a long and tedious process to obtain a license. Generally, becoming a certified psychologist in California is a tiresome and expensive process. Sadly, there is usually no guarantee that you will keep that license for life.
The Board of Psychology is very particular on issues, complaints, and conduct that can cause you to lose your license. When that happens, you lose all the time, hard work, and money you invested in your license and career. You can fight for your profession with our help at the Law Office of Sara L. Caplan. We have extensive knowledge and experience in handling all kinds of challenges you could face as a certified psychologist. We also understand the complexities of administrative processes and can help you navigate them successfully. We can successfully convince the board to dismiss your charges or rule favorably in your case.
The Role of a Modern Psychologist
Psychologists observe and analyze behavior to understand how the human mind functions. They do not work on theories alone but with actual people and human relations. Psychologists work like detectives to investigate behavior incidents and figure out their triggers. All this is necessary to help people understand their behavior, why they behave or reason the way they do, and how they can change their thinking and behavior. People depend on psychologists for counsel on how to positively impact their lives.
This is the kind of job you can undertake with proper training and experience. You must also be dedicated to your job to ensure you adequately help those needing your services. You must also use various scientific approaches to identify and explain behavior patterns. Sometimes, you could be expected to run specific scientific tests to determine the root cause of a behavior or reasoning. Anything you gather through these strategies helps develop a patient's treatment plan and predict future behavior.
Some psychologists specialize in drug-related issues, and others in mental-related problems. You need extra training and experience to perform well in your specialization. Acquiring the right skills to help a particular group of people requires extensive training, more time, and dedication. General psychologists work in hospitals or with families. They handle a wide range of issues, including suicidal thoughts, depression, and mental health issues. The Board of Psychology requires you to excel in the particular area of specialization for which you seek a license.
Your nature of work as a licensed psychologist requires you to have excellent skills, experience, and dedication and to work directly with your patients and their loved ones. This can put a lot of pressure on you, especially when loved ones expect you to perform a miracle to help a patient. Sometimes, you can make mistakes when diagnosing a patient or recommending or administering treatments. Issues like these can result in complaints threatening a license that took you a long time and cost you a substantial amount to obtain.
Licensed attorneys understand how important your career and license are to you. Thus, you should seek help immediately after the board investigates you for unprofessional conduct. This will give your attorney enough time to find evidence to help with your situation. They can also find mistakes in the board’s case and use that to push for a favorable resolution of your case. A competent license attorney will fight alongside you to ensure you do not lose a certification that you have worked very hard to obtain.
Disciplinary Guidelines By The Psychology Board
The Board of Psychology has detailed its disciplinary guidelines on its website. The board has done that to ensure licensed psychologists understand their standard of operations and the repercussions for violating these standards.
The board explains its mission and mandate to the public in these disciplinary guidelines. While issuing licenses to qualified psychologists appears to be the board’s sole mandate, it is not. The board mainly exists for the public. It ensures the public receives safe, professional, and adequate services from licensed professionals. To meet this responsibility, the board investigates all substantiated complaints and allegations it receives from the public and law enforcement regarding licensed psychologists. If it finds fault in one or more psychologists, the board takes disciplinary action against them to ensure that the public remains safe and well-served.
Thus, the board can be against you when a patient, employer, or colleague reports you of unprofessionalism. It can even revoke your license if your actions or inactions put patients' lives at risk. Thus, you need someone to help you defend your license if you are under the board's investigation. A competent license attorney who understands how these cases work and can use the best defense strategies is the right person to contact for help.
Negotiating with the board alone is not advisable because the board’s main focus is on public safety. The board will not hesitate to cancel or suspend your license if your behavior is unacceptable or you demonstrate incompetence. A skilled attorney can find exculpatory evidence or mitigating strategies to force the board to dismiss your allegations or conclude the case favorably.
The board’s disciplinary guidelines also include a list of complaints that can affect your license or career as a professional psychologist. Some of these complaints include the following:
- The use or abuse of alcohol and drugs while at work
- Any unprofessional behavior with a patient, colleague, or employer
- Incompetence, or ordinary or gross negligence in diagnosing a patient or administering treatment
- Overstepping the limitations of your psychology license in the kind of treatment you offer or the patients you handle
- Obtaining a psychology permit through fraud
- Insurance fraud and any other fraudulent acts
- Allowing untrained assistants to work under your supervision
- Accepting, offering, or asking for payment to refer a patient
- Violating your patient’s confidentiality
- Using deception or false practices when marketing your services
- A prior criminal arrest or conviction that relates to your practice
- Having a sexual relationship with patients or sexual abuse of a patient
How The Board of Psychology Disciplines Professional Misconduct
When someone reports your misconduct to the board or the board finds out about a violation, it will investigate the issue to evaluate its credibility. Sometimes, the board receives unsubstantiated complaints about licensed professionals. It has to ensure that it is spending its resources investigating and holding hearings for a credible matter. It will be dismissed if the allegation is unfounded or lacks enough evidence for the board to pursue. The board will not inform you of an investigation or call you for a hearing regarding such a matter. But if the allegation is credible, the board will inform you of an investigation and set a hearing date.
The Psychology Board will then appoint an administrative judge to hear and determine your case. The judge will listen to the allegations, evidence against you, and any witnesses confirming the allegation to resolve the matter. They will also consider your evidence, testimony, and other statements that could help your situation. The judge will give the final verdict based on the testimony and statements by the board and your defense. You should have legal representation from the start of the administrative process. Your attorney will ensure you have strong evidence and are well prepared to fight for your license.
There are several possible outcomes for these administrative processes. The judge can dismiss your case if the evidence by the board is insufficient to recommend discipline. They can also dismiss your case if your defense presents solid evidence or mitigating factors to force the board to dismiss your charges. When this happens, you will be free to carry on with your duties as if the administrative process did not occur in the first place. However, the board can warn you against future violations to protect the public and your license.
If the evidence against you is solid but the allegation is minor, the board can use one of its lenient disciplines against you. It can write you a citation, require you to pay a fine, or issue a reprimand letter. The board issues citations and reprimands through its website, which is a public forum. Many people can see the disciplinary action and possibly the violation that led to it, including your employer, patients, and anyone associated with you. This can affect your career, reputation, and social life. If this is a problem, your skilled attorney can fight it during the hearing to protect your reputation and job. Your attorney can also help if the board sets a high fine and you cannot afford it.
If the allegation against you is more severe, the board can suspend your license for a specified period to observe your conduct or allow you time to work on your behavior. For example, the board can suspend your license for a few months or a year to allow you time to receive treatment for an anger, drug, or alcohol problem. Once the suspension is over, your attorney can help you apply to reinstate your license. While this is good since you keep your career, you will not earn a living during the suspension. This can affect your finances and the people who depend on you for a livelihood.
In extreme cases of professional misconduct, the board can revoke your psychology license. This can happen if you commit a grave felony, like murder or rape, or you cause a patient to suffer severe bodily harm or death. In most cases, license revocations are final. You will not be able to practice your career again. This can be a heavy blow, primarily if you worked hard and spent a lot of money and time building your career. An aggressive attorney can work with you to fight for a favorable resolution. They can present compelling evidence against your charges or mitigating factors to cause the board to reconsider its discipline.
Other Ways Your Attorney Can Help
Working with the proper license attorney can lead to favorable results, regardless of how complicated your case is. License attorneys understand administrative processes better than anyone. They know the kind of evidence needed to fight a particular allegation. They can also discover evidence and loopholes in the board’s case and use that to fight for the best outcome for your case. Thus, you must seek an attorney’s help to start the administrative process. Consult a skilled attorney immediately after the board notifies you of the investigation and pending hearing. Allow your attorney to review your case and tell them your hope for the outcome.
You also need an attorney for emotional support. The administrative process is a difficult journey to walk alone. It is also complex and challenging to navigate without assistance. Your attorney will be with you every step of the process. They will keep you informed about the progress of your case and what to expect afterward. From the beginning, your attorney will ensure you understand the gravity of your charges and the options. They will work closely with you to ensure your best interests are served. They will also defend your rights and file an appeal if you are unsatisfied with the outcome.
Find an Aggressive Los Angeles License Attorney Near Me
Bearers of psychology licenses in Los Angeles are usually highly trained and experienced professionals. They dedicate their lives to helping people understand the cause of their thinking and behavior. Your license is always at risk regardless of how hardworking, professional, and competent you are as a psychologist. A complaint of your misconduct or violation to the Board of Psychology can ruin the life you have created for yourself over the years.
However, we can offer the support and defense you need to retain your license at the Law Office of Sara L. Caplan. We can help you evaluate your fighting options and utilize our best resources to fight your charges. With the proper defense from our highly skilled attorneys, you can compel the board to drop your charges or conclude your case favorably. Contact our office at 310-550-5877 to learn more about our services.
