Doctor practicing psychology without license
By MICHAEL L. OWENS
The News Virginian
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
A former Staunton psychologist banned from practicing because he initiated sexual relationships with patients is now treating troubled teens in Petersburg.
William R. Carter, formerly of Staunton-Waynesboro Mental Health Associates, was stripped of his psychologist?s license last month for having intercourse with a patient seeking treatment for sexual abuse, as well as for prescribing anti-depressants and tranquilizers without a license, according to the Virginia Board of Psychology.
Though Carter lost his license to practice in August, he has been treating mentally and emotionally disturbed boys at a state-sanctioned facility since January.
Attempts to reach Carter, and other officials, at Specialized Youth Services of Virginia in Petersburg, were unsuccessful, though he does still have an office there, nurses said.
The facility is a group home that treats children ages 12 to 18, according to its Web site, and is among the homes recommended by the Virginia Department of Social Services.
Attempts to reach Carter on his cell phone in Charlottesville also were unsuccessful.
After a string of patient complaints, the psychology board suspended Carter on April 8 for a relationship with a patient. That order was finalized last month.
?On or about April 1, 2004, Dr. Carter pulled Client A onto his lap, kissed her on the mouth and touched her in a sexual manner,? the letter of suspension stated.
?On more than one occasion, Dr. Carter hugged Client A after sessions, and rubbed her back,? the letter continued. ?Dr. Carter inappropriately disclosed personal information about himself to include the information that he was experiencing marital difficulty, that he was in therapy and that he was taking medication for depression.?
Last year, the psychology board placed Carter on probation for initiating a relationship with a patient he treated from April 12, 2001, to Jan. 2, 2003.
Carter ?attempted to engage in a romantic and sexual relationship with Client A and engaged in inappropriate touching of a sexual nature of the client,? the board noted in a Dec. 19, 2003, advisory letter.
Another advisory letter described a relationship instigated with a patient he treated from March 22, 1996, to Jan. 6, 1997, for post-traumatic stress disorder from childhood sexual abuse.
?When [she] tried to end the romantic/sexual relationship (because she was having difficulty dealing with the relationship), you discouraged her from doing so,? the June 14, 2001, letter said.
?When [she said] that she might report the inappropriate relationship to her husband and/or the Board of Psychology, you threatened to kill yourself and you said you would deny the relationship,? the advisory letter continued.
The board eventually suspended Carter?s license April 8 because he failed to have a supervisor oversee his practice, one of the terms of his probation.
A psychologist evaluating him ?recommended that Dr. Carter not be allowed to practice until he completed a long-term residential treatment program to include treatment for sexual boundary issues,? according to the Aug. 15 board order that ?indefinitely? stripped him of his license.
Contact Michael L. Owens at
[email protected].
Comments:
Yup, another example of grownups not doing their job. Why isn't this quack behind bars where he can be made to undergo therapy for his sexual deviance?
