State of Indiana files complaint against marriage & family therapist Karen A. Duncan

March 14, 2011

On December 13, 2010, the Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Board issued a complaint against licensed social worker and marriage and family therapist Karen A. Duncan citing numerous ethics violations.

Duncan is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Mental Health Counseling, serves on Advisory Boards for the Indiana Women’s Prison and Indiana Coalition against Sexual Assault and has been an expert commentator on CNN.

According to the document, Duncan began seeing “ML” as a client in November 2002 and committed, among other things, the following violations:

Encouraged ML in February 2003 to open a bank account so that she would have funds in the event that she left her husband.  Duncan kept the account’s checkbook and lock box her at her office.

On or about May 28, 2003, ML told Duncan that she was in love with her.

On or about December 30, 2004, Duncan formed a not-for-profit business with ML called Right to be Safe, Inc. and continued the therapeutic relationship.

Duncan alleges that on January 24, 2005, she decided to be the sole incorporator for Right to be Safe.  However, the Secretary of State has no record or any such request to change ML’s status as co-principal until April 2007, when ML submitted a resignation to Duncan.  The Secretary of State rejected the resignation as an incorporator cannot be deleted.

In 2005, Duncan wrote a check from ML’s bank account to herself in the amount of $1,200 and signed ML’s name as the drawer of the check.  Duncan later claimed that it was for repayment of a load she’d made to ML.  However, ML had no knowledge of the check until 2007 and never authorized Duncan to write it.

ML made repeated requests to Duncan to return her money, the lockbox and some personal writings but Duncan failed to do so until Duncan filed a police report in 2007.

In Duncan’s response to another complaint against her, she released name of a child client and the child’s guardians, as well as the child’s mental health records and other materials for which she did not possess a release to do so.

Lastly, Duncan’s marriage and family therapist license expired on or about April 1, 2010 but she continued to work up until the present, providing psychotherapy to her clients.

Source: Complaint in the Matter of the LIcenses of Karen A. Duncan, L.S.W., L.M.F.T, license nos. 33001160A and 35000628A, Cause No. 2010BHSB 014, Indiana Behavioral Health Services Board.