A prison psychologist who had a sexual relationship with an inmate and smuggled music CDs has been barred from practising for three years. Photo / NZME
A prison psychologist who had a sexual relationship with an inmate and smuggled music CDs has been barred from practising for three years. Photo / NZME
A New Zealand prison psychologist who smuggled contraband to an inmate she was having a sexual relationship with has been barred from practising for three years.
The woman, whose name is suppressed, was convicted in 2018 at the District Court on three charges under the Corrections Act, related to her conduct while working as a prison employee.
The New Zealand Psychologists Board brought a case to the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal attempting to get the woman's practising certificate scrapped. That complaint was upheld in a decision released by the Tribunal today.
According to the facts, the woman was employed as a clinical psychologist with the Department of Corrections in 2015, having been practising as a psychologist since 2013.
In 2017, the woman began working with an inmate at a New Zealand prison, the location of which is suppressed. During her work with the inmate, she visited him 34 times and had three recorded telephone sessions.
Around the end of 2018, the psychologist began to suspect the inmate had feelings for her. She felt the same way and entered a sexual relationship with the man.
That same year, the woman purchased a smart phone for the inmate, dropping it at the address of an associate. The phone was subsequently smuggled into the prison.
The psychologist also went to the length of registering a free-phone 0800 number under a fictitious name, allowing the inmate to receive permission to contact the number on a frequent basis.
The Tribunal found that the woman's conduct was "unethical" and "lacked professional judgment. Photo / 123rf
The woman also smuggled a number of music CDs into the prison for her boyfriend, under the guise that the CDs contained "mindfulness" tracks to assist with the man's treatment.
Later in 2018, the psychologist tendered her resignation, telling her employer "that due to professional and personal changes, the time had come for her to leave psychology and explore other employment and life pathways."
She also emailed her manager, acknowledging she was being investigated for having an unprofessional relationship with an inmate. She admitted it was true.
The woman was later charged by Police, pleading guilty in the District Court to three charges related to the smuggling and 0800 number under the Corrections Act. She was sentenced to 40 hours community work and granted name suppression.
The former psychologist co-operated with the Tribunal's investigation, providing a statement and offering to answer questions. The decision stated the woman shared her "sincere remorse" for the offending, and apologised for the effect the offending had on her manager.
In its decision, the Tribunal found that the woman's conduct was "unethical" and "lacked professional judgment".
"That relationship had the potential to compromise the care she provided not only to [the inmate], but also to others. There is evidence that she disclosed information to [the inmate] about another client."
"Although [the psychologist] has engaged in therapy, and may have made progress, the Tribunal felt that she has considerable work to do in focusing on herself before talking about helping others."
The Tribunal ordered the immediate censure of the woman, and the cancellation of her registration. The woman was also ordered to contribute costs of $5250.
The woman may apply for re-registration in three years.
