Section 48.24. Disciplinary proceedings

(a) A violation of § § 48.21—48.23 (relating to prohibited conduct; former sexual partners as clients/patients; and sexual intimacies with a former client/patient or an immediate family member of a former client/patient) will be deemed unprofessional conduct and will subject the licensed marriage and family therapist to discipline under section 11(a)(2) of the act (63 P. S. § 1911(a)(2)).

(b) The consent of a former client/patient or immediate family member of a former client/patient to engage in sexual intimacies with the licensed marriage and family therapist is not a defense in any disciplinary action brought under § § 48.21—48.23.

(c) With the exception of information contained in a professional record, neither opinion evidence, reputation evidence nor specific instances of the past sexual conduct of a former client/patient or immediate family member of a former client/patient may be admissible in a disciplinary action brought under § § 48.21—48.23.

(d) In a disciplinary proceeding brought under § 48.23(b), the Board will consider whether there has been exploitation of the client/patient in light of all of the relevant factors enumerated under § 48.23(b)(1)—(7).

The provisions of this § 48.24 adopted August 11, 2006, effective August 12, 2006, 36 Pa.B. 4469.