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How and Why Licensing Boards
Investigate You


Why Licensing Boards Investigate You

Licensing boards investigate you because somebody filed a complaint against you. That "somebody" may have been:

Disgruntled and misguided clients do report natural therapists to licensing boards, but they are usually prompted by somebody with a vested interest in closing your business. Somebody like a licensed health care provider or a representative of a nonprofit support group for some disease, disorder or condition financed by the harmaceutical (oops, pharmaceutical) industry.

Despite growing rumors to the contrary, the pharmaceutical industry denies paying unemployed and retired members of the allopathic community in the USA and Canada a fee -- reportedly $5,000.00 -- for reporting a natural therapist to any licensing board for practicing something without a license. Despite growing rumors to the contrary, they also deny paying another fee -- reportedly $10,000.00 -- to the same person if the natural therapist is convicted. Rumors from Europe during the last quarter of 2009 indicate this may be happening there as well.

One of the unprofessional, unethical, devious and perfectly legal ploys used by provincial, state and federal investigators is to offer distraught natural therapists a deal -- devised undoubtedly by the Codex Alimentarius Commission very high attorneys. The "deal" is an agreement for all involved parties to keep everything completely confidential, fines and incarceration proposed by the investigators will not be enforced but may be held as a sword over the accused's head for life, the accused agrees to become licensed or certified in their profession and to cease and desist in practicing the profession they are said to be violating, and to give the investigators a list of all the other people they know who are practicing the same thing as the accused. To all of this the accused agrees without admitting guilt.

Let's review that: The agreement is:

How Licensing Boards Investigate You

Deviously. That's the best way to describe the process. It usually works something like this:

Step 1: The investigator calls you for an appointment. They don't remember the name of your client who told them about you. But they remember: 1) he was a dark-haired middle-aged male of average height and appearance, or 2) she was a blondish brunette who looked about 35 but might have been 50 years old, nice looking and slightly over weight. That's about all they really remember because that person is only an acquaintance. Just about every natural therapist knows a few clients who fit those descriptions.

Step 2: The investigator admits they are stressed or in pain. They have a diagnosis for some medical condition and they have a list of symptoms. Both the diagnosis and the symptoms will be things you know something about. There will not be any surprises. The investigator knows enough about her or his condition to sound very convincing. He or she is taking prescription drugs but would like to find a better solution. Just about every natural therapist knows a few clients who have been down that road before.

Step 3: You do your thing. The investigator does his or her thing. Both of you know exactly what you're doing. Your mission is to help your client. The investigator is collecting evidence to support the conclusion that you are practicing (something) without a license. She or he will ask you common questions you would expect and a few that will give you the opportunity to unknowingly incriminate yourself.

Step 4: The undercover investigator will keep his or her appointments or reschedule them. She or he will pay promptly. You continue to do your thing. The investigator continues to do his or her thing. If you are using a solid informed consent form, practice within the scope of practice covered by your certification and do not incriminate yourself in any way, the investigator will thank you for your services and give you some plausible excuse to terminate the relationship for the time being.

If the investigator has all the evidence needed to charge you, she or he also terminates the relationship for the time being. That's when the investigation becomes a criminal investigation. If the evidence is damaging enough you will be arrested and charged with practicing something without a license. That's a felony, and if convicted you could be fined and incarcerated. Otherwise...

Step 5: One day when you least expect it, an investigator contacts you -- it's usually a different investigator:

Step 6: If you fail to keep or reschedule the appointment, your next visit will be from some law enforcement officers arresting you for practicing such and such a profession without a license. At this point, the license board will have already found you guilty by the preponderance of evidence. You will be given a court date. If you do not negotiate an agreement between the date of your arrest and the court date, you are at the complete mercy of the court. At the very least, and if you have no criminal record, you will close your business, pay a fine and go on probation. You may be required to do community service or spend some time in jail. At the very most you will be fined and given a prison sentence. Either way, your business is closed.

You really want to skip Step 6 by going to the scheduled hearing with your attorney and your conflict resolutions mediator. Most licensing boards will allow mediators to attend by phone. Natural therapists who have gone through this process all say the mediator was the most important person in their hearing. (Join a professional association recommended by your certification board such as NTANA to receive mediation services as a benefit of membership.)

Step 7: The best thing to do is immediately contact an established mediator recommended by your certification board or association. Then contact your attorney. A seasoned mediator has handled literally thousands of similar cases. Most attorneys rarely defend anybody with license board problems.

If you are certified by an accredited certification board, use a solid informed consent form that you require every client to sign, practice within the scope of practice for your certification and use basic coaching skills you should be completely exonerated. All of the top 5 mediators we contacted on January 7, 2010 said every client fitting this description has been exonerated. That's a good endorsement for the NTCW Network program when you consider this group has handled close to 7000 cases in North America.

If you are not certified, do not use an informed consent form or basic coaching techniques, you will be lucky to avoid prosecution. You and your attorney need to work closely with a very good mediator to reach an agreement with the state, province or federal government to avoid a fine and/or incarceration. There is almost no chance your business will survive. At the very least, you will need to sign a confidential agreement not to practice your chosen profession during your natural lifetime in that state, province or country.

In some jurisdictions this agreement will be made public -- there is no confidentiality guaranteed by the agreement. Your reputation will be seriously tainted. According to people who have suffered this embarrassment, you want to avoid this if at all possible. That means you may have to give up the names of some people you know who are practicing like you did. You really won't want to do that, but the alternative is probably worse.

If you're in between these two extremes, the outcome depends more on what your mediator can do for you than anything.

Conclusion

Your best defense is to:

  1. become certified by a reputable and accredited certification board,
  2. join a reputable and widely endorsed professional association,
  3. use a solid informed consent form,
  4. practice within the scope of practice defined by your certification, and
  5. practice professionally, ethically and legally in your community.

We think that completing the correspondence courses and basic coaching skills workshop offered by companies in our network is the best first step you can take in that direction.

Natural Therapies Educational Organizations in the NTCW Network

List of Other Companies That Can Help You

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