Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board

Complaint Reporting 

This is a general overview of the disciplinary/contested case process. To the extent that its application in any given situation contradicts the Board’s Rules and Regulations, the Board’s Practice Act, the Wyoming Administrative Procedures Act, any court order, federal or state law, the latter shall control. 

The Mental Health Professions Licensing Board regulates the practice of Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC), Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT), Licensed Addictions Therapists (LAT), Certified Social Workers (CSW), Certified Addictions Practitioners (CAP), Certified Addictions Practitioners Assistants (CAPA), and Certified Mental Health Workers (CMHW). Therefore, complaints may be registered against individuals only. This Board does not have jurisdiction or authority over mental health agencies. 

The Board does not accept anonymous complaints. All complaints must name the individual the complaint is filed against, and must be signed by the person registering the complaint before the Board will proceed. A license or certificate holder has a property right to their registration under Wyoming Law and therefore they are afforded the right of due process. Part of this process requires that the license or certificate holder be given the opportunity to address the concerns raised in a complaint against them, and to present a defense to the allegations. This means that a copy of the complaint will be provided to the license or certificate holder. 

The entire complaint review, investigation and legal review process may take an extended period of time depending on the complexity of the case and the pending caseload before the Board. During the investigation stage, all information is confidential and may not be discussed. This also applies to discussing the investigation with the person filing the complaint. 

The Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board is staffed through the Professional Licensing Boards Office, a division of A&I.

How Complaints are Processed

When a complaint is received it is assigned a complaint number. The complaint will be referred to by this number throughout the process. The Board will acknowledge receipt of the complaint with a letter. The member of the Board representing the license or certificate holder’s discipline will be assigned as the Investigative Member for the complaint. That Member will guide the investigation and review all of the information gathered. The Board’s professional investigator may contact you and your witnesses for further information. The investigator will identify herself with a State of Wyoming Identification Card. 

After fully reviewing all of the information gathered, the Investigative Member will make a recommendation to the full Board on how to proceed. With the concurrence of the Attorney General the Investigative Member may recommend any of the following actions: 

a. Dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction; 

b. Dismiss the complaint for lack of clear and convincing evidence of a violation; 

c. Dismiss the complaint with an advisory letter (private communication); 

d. Issue a Letter of Reprimand; 

e. Settlement by conditional licensure with stipulations; 

f. Suspension; 

g. Revocation 

Once the Board votes to accept the recommendation, the case proceeds as directed by the Board for disposition. After the Board action, the licensee and the complainant will be notified of the outcome in writing. Release of Information If the client is a minor, the minor must complete a release form and the minor’s legal guardian (s) must complete a form. These records become part of the investigative report.