CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – A mental health counselor from Cedar Falls is facing disciplinary charges for allegedly having a personal relationship with numerous clients.
The Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals has charged Kayla Reisinger with failure to comply with the current Code of Ethics of the American Counseling Association by entering into relationships with current clients, their romantic partners, or their family members.
Reisinger was also charged with violating a rule that “prohibits sexual activities or sexual contact with a client’s or former client’s relative” when there is “a risk of exploitation or harm to a client or former client.”
She is also charged with failure to comply with rules concerning client boundaries and non-professional interactions or relationships that are not of a sexual nature.
Among the violations alleged by the board:
— Reisinger told a colleague she was contacting a client, a minor, after the client’s guardian had terminated counseling services, out of a desire to take legal custody of the client and continue communicating with them. Reisinger allegedly had contact with the minor client outside of business hours, attended the client’s school concerts, introduced her children to the client, and made tentative plans to house the client in her home.
— Reisinger fostered another client’s cat and communicated with the client personally via Snapchat.
— Reisinger began seeing one client’s minor child on a professional basis, while providing the child with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), while providing no rationale for the decision. In an email, Reisinger allegedly told the child’s parent she knew EDMR was “against best practice” but proceeded to schedule and provide the therapy.
— Reisinger allegedly told colleagues she helped facilitate two clients begin a dating relationship.
— During an appointment with her personal therapist, Reisinger allegedly disclosed she was having a relationship with the caregiver for a minor who was one of her clients, and had also helped that client get a prom dress.
As a result of the charges, Reisinger recently agreed to a six-month license suspension, after which her license will be placed on probation for 36 months. Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach Reisinger for comment.
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