As one of the roughly five thousand Professional Counselors and Associates licensed to practice in Connecticut, you're certainly aware of the years of study, work, and sacrifice you've put into your profession. It isn't possible to put a price on your advanced education, countless hours of clinical training, and selfless efforts to help individuals, families, couples, and groups navigate through some of life's toughest phases. While this may be true, when something threatens it, it is safe to say your vocation is worth protecting at all costs.
Hopefully, the career you've chosen in mental healthcare rewards you with a level of meaning and fulfillment that matches what you've put into it. On the other hand, any career in this field brings with it the possibility of misunderstandings, misjudgments, and miscalculations between and among parties. Especially when your focus is helping people overcome challenges, oftentimes becoming familiar with intimate details of their lives and relationships, opportunities can present themselves for mistakes to be made.
In some cases, Professional Counselors can find themselves at the receiving end of patient grievances. While disheartening, you don't have to let a patient complaint or even an ensuing investigation take away the life you've worked hard to build. We believe that the vast majority of Professional Counselors are honest and ethical professionals who entered the field because of their passion for helping people heal, grow, and achieve positive outcomes. Make sure you treat yourself with the same compassion, kindness, and forgiveness that you offer your patients.
As a counselor, you know perhaps more than anyone that everyone makes mistakes, can reach regrettable decisions, or have lapses in judgment. If this has happened to you – or even if you've deliberately done something to jeopardize your license – you have the right to defend yourself, repair harm, and grow from the experience. It is possible to turn licensing hurdles into opportunities for exploration and growth.
The Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm is passionate about protecting mental health counselors and therapists nationwide and working with licensing agencies to secure the most favorable results possible. We serve Professional Counselors throughout Connecticut, whether they practice in Bridgeport, Bristol, Danbury, Greenwich, Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, West Haven, or any other location statewide.
To learn how we can help if you are facing possible sanctions related to your Professional Counseling license in Connecticut, contact us today at 888.535.3686 or reach out through our online response form.
Licensing and Certification for Mental Health Counselors in Connecticut
Connecticut classifies “professional counseling” as licensed and trained individuals who evaluate, assess, analyze, diagnose, and treat emotional, behavioral, or interpersonal challenges that interfere with mental health and human development.
You may be someone who conducts individual, group, or marriage and family counseling, conducts functional assessments for people adjusting to disabilities, or provides urgent crisis intervention and consultation with individuals or groups. Whatever your focus, you are among the many types of Individual Health Care Practitioners regulated by the Practitioner Licensing and Investigations Section of the Connecticut State Department of Public Health, located in Hartford.
This section oversees matters related to education, licensing, and disciplinary action for Professional Counselors, including Professional Counselor Associates, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors, and Marital and Family Therapists.
In addition to your license, you also may be certified by a separate organization, such as the independent, non-governmental Connecticut Certification Board. This board has its own credentialing and disciplinary procedures for practitioners of behavioral healthcare, such as addiction counseling, peer recovery clinical supervision, and prevention. The information we are providing on this page does not pertain to this board but rather to state licensing.
Safeguard Your Good Standing as a Professional Counselor
In the course of your practice, a patient (or any person, such as a family member or friend, or family member or friend of a patient) could file a complaint against you, alleging you of engaging in behavior prohibited by Section 20-195ee of the Connecticut General Statutes. Accusations could include information about you:
- Not conforming to the accepted standards of your profession.
- Felony conviction.
- Committing fraud in the practice of professional counseling or in obtaining or seeking reinstatement of a license to practice.
- Conducting professional activities in a negligent, incompetent, or wrongful way.
- Having a physical, mental, or emotional illness that renders you unable to conform to the accepted standards of practice.
- Abusing alcohol or other substances.
- Purposely falsifying entries in hospital or patient records.
- Failing to meet continuing education requirements.
It's not hard to see that practicing mental health counseling can carry unique risks and ample room for error. While this may be true, it's also true that counselors and therapists are imperfect individuals. As such, they are deserving of the opportunity to correct mistakes and repair harm when it happens and to defend themselves, whether they face unjust or justified accusations.
Some of the prohibited behaviors listed above are fairly blatant no-nos, like falsifying patient records or committing fraud. But others could clearly be innocent errors, like missing a deadline to submit information about a class you took. Still others could be quite nebulous and tricky. If you are suffering from an illness, is it possible that you are being discriminated against by a complainant or licensing authority? Should you be penalized for a health condition that you have no or little control over?
Mandated Reporting
In addition to the ever-present risk of an unhappy patient or family member, you know you could also be the victim of a concerned or disgruntled colleague or even your employer. As you are aware, healthcare providers are mandated by law to report any information about a practitioner who they believe is unable or may be unable, to serve patients with reasonable safety or skill. Reports could be made through the same avenues a patient would take, or someone could refer you to HAVEN (Health Assistance Intervention Education Network), a program licensed by the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
Hopefully, such mandates will be used responsibly and with the utmost regard and caution. We all want to know that we and our loved ones are in capable care, whether we're referring to being in the hands of a surgeon or under the guidance of a therapist. However, we also know that not every report is unbiased. You could be reported because of someone's opinion about your “disheveled appearance,” failure to keep appointments, or even marital or family stress you are going through. Imagine having to cope with the looming risk of losing your counseling license as you are dealing with a relationship in crisis or a family emergency.
Even in the most cut-and-dried cases, practitioners deserve the opportunity to understand and respond to the accusations made against them with capable legal representation.
Connecticut Department of Health Rules of Practice
The Connecticut Department of Health's Rules of Practice outline how complaints can be made against healthcare professionals, how hearings are conducted, and how to appeal a decision.
Some highlights include:
- Anyone can file a petition or complaint if they believe the counselor violated state, federal, or hospital regulations or laws (Title 2, Section 19a-9-9).
- If you have been dismissed, you have a right to appeal the decisions against you (Title 2, Section 19a-6-16).
- You must receive fair notice in writing that you are the subject of a disciplinary hearing so you have time to prepare (Title 2, Section 19a-9-18).
These are just a few of the rules and procedures you may encounter throughout your experience, and we'll help you navigate this process to prepare the strongest defense possible. Here, let's zoom in on complaints first.
Filing a Complaint
Complainants are instructed to complete the form found here to file a complaint against a professional counselor. They are asked to provide the patient's information, the counselor's information and specialty, information about any witnesses, and the nature of their complaint, which could include:
- Quality of care
- Unlicensed practice
- Unsanitary conditions
- Substance abuse
- Failure to release patient records
- Sexual contact with a patient
- Insurance fraud
- Other
The bulk of their grievance should be articulated in the section that asks for “who, what, when, where, why” details. This section should be supported by documentation like photos, records, and correspondence that they submit with the complaint.
Investigating a Complaint
The Practitioner Licensing and Investigations Section within the Connecticut Department of Public Health is responsible for investigating the complaint once filed.
If the allegations fall within its jurisdiction, it will begin investigating to determine if disciplinary action should take place. Discipline taken would be administrative in nature only and could include a reprimand, remedial education, or restriction of practice.
In the best of cases, investigators could determine that the complaint has no merit and dismiss the allegations. Similarly, they could decide that it is minor enough to settle without a hearing. In other cases, a hearing will be the next step. Here, you'll need to offer your best defense and evidence proving your conduct did not violate accepted standards.
Possible Disciplinary Action
If the outcome of your hearing is unfavorable, the Commissioner of Public Health may impose disciplinary action, which could include the following, whether in isolation or in combination:
- License suspension (you must stop practicing immediately)
- License revocation (you must stop practicing immediately)
- Censure
- Letter of reprimand
- Civil penalties up to $25,000
- Probation requiring you to:
- Restrict your practice to only certain areas
- Submit regular reports pertaining to the issue to the Commissioner of Public Health
- Complete remedial education classes
As if disciplinary sanctions weren't enough, information about your discipline will be posted publicly online in the Connecticut Department of Public Health's quarterly Regulatory Action Report.
If your efforts with the Commissioner of Public Health have proved unsuccessful, you may wish to petition the Superior Court directly. But be warned: Once you do, the court's decision is permanent.
It goes without saying that this experience can be intrusive and humiliating and have lasting effects on your professional and personal life. We want to spare you of this. Let's take the steps needed to protect your license and your reputation as a Professional Counselor in Connecticut. Call the Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm to discuss getting started. Call 888-535-3686 or complete this contact form today.
Call the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team
Working with the Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can change the trajectory of your career. If you are facing an investigation, or a possible investigation, call us as early as possible in the process. The sooner you seek help, the greater opportunity we will have to achieve the most favorable results for you. Still, if you have tried to go it alone and now find yourself overwhelmed by the process or unhappy with the outcomes so far, it's not too late to enlist our help.
We are unwavering in our belief in your due process rights, and we are ready to back you as a reliable, trusted advocate and negotiator. Unlike generic, catch-all attorneys who may claim they have the skills to successfully defend and protect your professional license, we routinely negotiate with licensing authorities, not just in Connecticut but across the country, and our reputation precedes us. We get results, and we're ready to achieve results for you.
Call us at 888-535-3686 or contact us online about your situation, and we will begin examining it right away.
