Posted: Thursday, February 6, 2014 5:30 pm
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Updated: 9:02 pm, Thu Feb 6, 2014.
The Intelligencer
The state’s Board of Psychology suspended a Bedminster psychologist for 18 months after she acknowledged having a sexual relationship with a client for nearly eight years, records show.
In an order issued in December by the state board, Barbara Ann Butch, 53, was suspended for 18 months, ordered to pay a $2,000 civil penalty, $945.50 in investigative costs and complete 30 hours of education focusing on "boundary issues and ethics." The order followed an agreement in which Butch acknowledged the allegations against her but chose not to have an administrative hearing, according to the order.
The newspaper was unsuccessful in attempts to reach Butch for comment.
According to state records, Butch began seeing a client identified in records as an adult male, in 2000. About two and a half years into treatment, "sexualized issues" began to emerge during therapy, records show, and by July 2004 Butch and the patient began a "romantic and sexual relationship." By December 2004, Butch stopped treating him, but their "romantic and sexual" relationship continued through to March 2012.
According to records, Butch's response to the state regarding the allegations said that she believed "she and (the patient) would marry and reside together."
State law prohibits licensed psychologists from “sexual intimacies” with a “current client/patient, or an immediate family member of a current client/patient.”
And state law puts the burden of proof on the psychologist to show that no exploitation of the patient occurred. Additionally, the patient's consent is not considered a defense, according to state law. Butch could have asked the state for a further inquiry, but waived that right. After the 18-month suspension, Butch can petition to have her license reinstated.
In February 2009, Butch was sued for medical malpractice by a Bedminster man, but that case settled out of court one month after it was filed, according to court records.
In 2007, Butch, using her married name Barbara Yates, unsuccessfully sued Warminster Hospital and a psychologist there, according to court records. She claimed the psychologist and hospital were guilty of malpractice after releasing her husband from inpatient care while he was suffering from “major depressive disorder,” following two suicide attempts in the summer of 2006. He committed suicide four days after his release.
Matt Coughlin: 215-345-3147; mcoughlin@calkins.com; Twitter: @coughlinreports
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Thursday, February 6, 2014 5:30 pm.
Updated: 9:02 pm.
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