PSYCHOTHERAPIST ACCUSED OF FAILING TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE

A Guelph psychotherapist accused of failing to report more than 100 instances of child abuse between 2018 and 2021 will have a hearing in front of her regulatory college's disciplinary committee later this summer.

According to a list of upcoming disciplinary hearings on its website, the disciplinary committee for the College of Registered Psychotherapists and Registered Mental Health Therapists of Ontario has scheduled a hearing for June 28 to hear the allegations made against Suzanne Muscat.

As previously reported by the Mercury Tribune, Muscat is alleged to have failed to report approximately 100 cases of "child abuse or instances of a child in need of protection of the Children's Aid Society" between 2018 and 2019, and a further 43 such instances between 2019 and 2021, according to a November 2022 notice of hearing.

That notice also alleges Muscat kept client records from her private practice in a desk and/or computer accessible to employees at an unnamed facility, where she worked between 2006 and 2021 providing "psychotherapy services to vulnerable children who had witnessed or experienced different forms of abuse."

While the notice does not indicate where these alleged events took place, Muscat is currently listed as a psychotherapist at MyLife Counselling in downtown Guelph.

These allegations have not yet been proven and are still subject to a hearing in front of the college tribunal. Muscat, through her legal counsel, declined to comment. MyLife Counselling did not respond to requests for comment for this story. Muscat was given a professional conduct special notice in November 2022 by the regulatory college, barring her from providing psychotherapy to new patients under the age of 18 unless they arrange to meet once a week with a clinical supervisor approved by the college.

According to the college's website, a hearing in front of the disciplinary committee comes after a complaint is filed against a registered member, and the "investigation reveals a serious concern posing a high risk to the public, and where the evidence is sufficient to support a legal hearing." This step is "relatively rare compared with other possible (inquiries, complaints and reports committee outcomes," which include written advice being issued, an in-person caution and remedial agreements when the concern "appears to present a low risk to the public."

Should Muscat be found to have engaged in professional misconduct, the committee can do a number of things, including revoking her certificate of registration with the college permanently or suspending it for a specified period of time, impose terms and conditions on her practice or be given a reprimand by the committee, according to the notice of hearing.