Malpractice in Psychotherapy: What it Is, Examples and Sanctions it Implies

The profession of psychologists and psychiatrists in a clinical context must be carried out in accordance with the lex artis, which means that they must carry out their professional tasks in psychotherapy in a way that is considered correct to carry out the treatment of their patients.

In case of failing to comply with the lex artis, we would be talking about malpractice in psychotherapy which could harm the patient and his correct recovery, as well as could affect co-workers or even the same center or institution where he works, affecting the degree of severity of the malpractice of the infractions committed.

Malpractice actions could be punished by the criminal code the institution in which you work and also by the professional association of the autonomous community in which you carry out your profession.

What is meant by malpractice in psychotherapy?

Malpractice in the area of ​​mental health occurs when a professional carries out one or more actions that do not respect the ethical standards, the regulations of the center or institution where they work, non-compliance with the Law within the psychotherapeutic context or the incorrect application of scientific-technical knowledge related to the practice of their profession.

The seriousness of non-compliance with any of the functions related to the psychotherapist profession is classified according to its severity.

Examples of malpractice in psychotherapy

Below, the different offenses that could be committed by psychotherapists will be discussed in a classification that ranges from mild to serious and may even be considered very serious.

1. Minor misconduct in psychotherapy

These are minor offenses in psychotherapy that infringe good practice in the performance of the psychotherapist’s profession.

Unjustified failure to comply with the work schedule or absence from the workplace without there being a justification for it, as long as they do not amount to a serious or very serious offense.

Lack of conformity in social treatment with co-workers or negligence when carrying out some of the functions of their profession as long as it does not affect administrative issues or clients, as long as it is not considered by the corresponding body as serious or very serious offenses.

When there is a failure to comply with express rules or laws related to health and safety in the therapeutic field or the failure of the therapist to comply with the duties and obligations with respect to his duty with respect to his profession, as long as they do not amount to a serious or very serious offense.

Another slight fault would be the fact of consenting, covering up or even cooperating with any act in the commission of serious misconduct by a professional colleague as long as it is not considered a serious or very serious offense by the body in charge of determining it, normally being the official college of the autonomous community in which you carry out your health profession.

2. Serious misconduct in psychotherapy

Now the causes that could be sanctioned as serious offenses in the practice of psychotherapy will be discussed.

Among the serious offenses are serious disregard for patients and co-workers, abusing their authority in their work environment, damaging or deteriorating the equipment or facilities of their workplace caused by unjustified negligence, a drop in performance. in their work, without constituting a very serious offense or failing to comply with the rules that regulate their profession, in the case of not being classified as a very serious offense.

Other serious offenses would be the fact of failing to comply with the stipulated work day without any justification, accumulating more than 20 hours per month below those that should be worked, just as this would imply a serious offense. the refusal by the psychotherapist to use the means available in his or her workplace with the aim of preventing certain occupational risks having received said means and appropriate information in this regard.

Also among the acts sanctioned as serious misconduct are accepting any compensation from any patient for the services provided or missing work for a period greater than 3 consecutive days or five alternate days in 2 months, as long as this does not amount to be considered a very serious offense for some reason.

3. Very serious misconduct in psychotherapy

In this section, some of the faults considered to be very serious by mental health professionals will be briefly explained.

When the psychotherapist fails to fulfill his professional duty in the therapeutic context of mental health, violating any law of the Constitution or the respective Statute of Autonomy, or in those cases in which he reaches discriminate against a patient or colleague for any reason (e.g., racial, gender, religion, social status, economic situation, among others).

Abandon your professional service without justified cause, leaving your patients without receiving the professional help they deserve, when you have absences of attendance for a period of more than 5 days without any justifying cause, have a noticeably inferior performance in the performance of your duties that their profession requires or fail to comply with their obligation to provide essential services that have been stipulated in the event of a strike.

Reveal private data regarding the institution or center where I work, or about the information revealed by their patients in sessions of psychotherapy or during any moment of their stay in the health center, which breaks their privacy, violating the psychotherapist’s obligation to maintain professional secrecy.

It would be a serious offense for the psychotherapist to fail to comply with the functions of his job and/or the rules that regulate his profession, just as if he were to fail to comply with the orders of a superior in a manifest and notorious manner, thereby violating any law that regulates his profession. or that of the center or institution where he works, as well as the fact of carrying out any illegal act with respect to his duties that seriously harms patients, colleagues and/or the institution or health center in which he works.

Other reasons for sanctions for serious misconduct would be when a healthcare professional takes advantage of their status as statutory personnel to obtain some type of benefit for himself or for third parties or the demand for any compensation for his services to any patient of the health services.

Attacks on another person with whom you have a relationship through your profession as a health professional (e.g., a patient or co-worker), as well as sexual harassment, would also be sanctioned as serious offenses.

Prescription of offenses that lead to malpractice in psychotherapy

In accordance with Law 55/2003, Offenses that violate the laws prescribe after a certain time has passed depending on the degree of severity of the malpractice in psychotherapy that has been carried out. these deadlines being the following:

Sanctions for having carried out malpractice in psychotherapy

The different sanctions that could be applied if mental health professionals commit misconduct will be briefly explained below.

1. Being removed from service

In the following 6 years after receiving the sanction, you will not be able to practice in the field of public health. nor may he work in any administration or public body.

For this reason, he would lose his status as statutory staff, and could receive this sanction in case of committing very serious offenses that involve malpractice in psychotherapy.

2. Having to forcibly change location and place of work

In this case, the therapist would have to move to another location and would be prohibited from participating in any mobility procedure in order to be able to return to the location from which he or she has been “expelled” during the 4-year period after receiving the sanction. In addition, nor would he be entitled to receive any compensation.

This sanction could be imposed only in the case of committing very serious offenses.

3. Being suspended from professional duties

He would be banned from carrying out his profession as a healthcare worker for a period between 2 and 6 years for having committed very serious offenses. In case of committing serious offenses, the suspension would be for a period of less than 2 years.

If you are suspended from your duties for a period of less than 6 months, you would not lose your position in the center where you are working, and you may return to it once the sanction has been served.

4. Having to necessarily move to another workplace

The sanction that implies a forced transfer to another place of work would be applied for a period that would not exceed 2 years being applied in the case of having committed serious offenses.

5. Warning

The mental health professional would receive a written warning in case of having committed minor offenses that influence malpractice in psychotherapy.

• You may be interested: “The 5 limits that should not be broken in psychotherapy”

Criminal and deontological responsibility

By committing malpractice in psychotherapy, your actions could be penalized at a criminal, civil and/or deontological level, as we will see below.

Criminal liability

There are acts of malpractice that could involve some omission or reckless action that is intended by the Law. in which case they could be divided into two types:

• Reckless or negligent action: causing harm to others without intention, due to some negligence or recklessness.
• Painful action or omission: intentionally causing harm to another person in the professional context.

Deontological responsibility

As is well known, health professionals in the field of mental health must comply with a series of ethical standards in the practice of their profession.

In the case of not complying with said ethical standards that are governed by the profession’s code of ethics, They could be reported by other professionals to the Official College of Psychologists, in the case of psychologists, or to the Official College of Physicians in the case of psychiatrists. in which case these organizations would be in charge of judging whether or not there is malpractice in psychotherapy on the part of the reported professional and, if so, they would carry out the corresponding classification and disciplinary sanction.