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Board of Psychology seeks exception to psychotherapist‑patient privilege; critics urge caution
Summary
The California Board of Psychology told lawmakers it is weighing a narrow statutory exception to allow board investigators access to psychotherapy records in some investigations without patient consent.
The California Board of Psychology told a joint Assembly–Senate sunset hearing it is considering a statutory exception allowing the board, under defined circumstances, to obtain psychotherapy records without patient consent to advance investigations.
Board President Leah Tate said existing protections restrict investigators’ access to detailed clinical records needed in some child‑custody or alleged professional‑misconduct cases. “When a complainant is alleging bias, we’re going to want to look at test data [and] notes to determine whether there was a departure from the standard of care,” Tate said, adding that subpoenas and civil‑court enforcement can be costly and slow.
Why it matters: Dozens of commentators and stakeholders told the committee that patient privacy is a core component of mental‑health care and that lowering the threshold for access would chill patients from seeking care. The California Psychological Association, the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and several testifiers said there have been very few instances where lack of consent prevented an investigation and that existing subpoena powers and judicial review strike the right balance.
Details from the hearing: The board outlined protections it said it already uses — redaction, anonymized review by experts and protective orders when matters proceed to the attorney general — and said the proposed language would be narrowly tailored to investigative needs. Critics including Assemblymember Doctor Jackson and witnesses from professional associations argued that judicial review should remain the standard and that victims of domestic violence or other vulnerable groups could be harmed if records were released without consent.
Next steps: The Board of Psychology said it will continue to refine statutory language and brief the committee; legislators said they will scrutinize any proposal that reduces judicial review or patient control over highly sensitive records.
Ending: Several professional groups urged the committee to reject any statutory change that would permit routine access to psychotherapy records without patient consent; the board said it sees a narrow investigatory need and proposed safeguards.
