Sexual surrogate denied accreditation as psychotherapist

TORONTO An Ontario man who worked as a sexual surrogate as well as a therapist has been denied certification as a psychotherapist after two regulatory bodies found there wasn’t enough separation between his two practices.

Earlier this month, the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board upheld an earlier ruling by a committee from the College of Registered Psychotherapists and Registered Mental Health Therapists of Ontario refusing to grant the man grandfathered certification.

The college was established in 2015 and gave existing practitioners two years to apply to have their qualifications recognized in order to keep working.

The man, whose name has not been made public, is trained and practises as a psychotherapist and also serves as an intimacy coach and surrogate partner, a role that may involve sexual contact and possibly intercourse, the board’s decision said. Sexual relations between a psychotherapist and a patient are prohibited and considered sexual abuse, the board noted.

In his application to the college, the man said he maintained a clear separation between his two services. But that argument was accepted by neither the committee nor the board.

He said new clients would come in for a consultation during which the form of treatment — psychotherapy or intimacy coaching — would be determined, the board’s decision noted.

Some clients may eventually transition to his other services but only after being referred to another therapist, who would then refer them back to the man, he explained, according to the decision.