Ohio psychologist Stephen Dean suspended; gave diagnosis of mother in custody matter who he'd not evaluated

July 25, 2013

On or about April 26, 2013, the Ohio State Board of Psychology suspended the license of psychologist Stephen Dean for 14 days for negligence and multiple relationships.

According to the Board’s document, Dean testified in a custody matter on behalf of his adult stepson, providing testimony about the mother of the stepson’s child(ren) that included references to his title, qualifications and expertise as well as a psychiatric diagnosis according to his opinion and DSM criteria, though he admittedly never conducted any psychological evaluations of the mother. In addition to suspension, Dean is also required to undergo remedial tutoring for the purpose of reviewing Dean’s conduct in this matter and to remediate professional deficiencies related to competence, impaired judgment and personal and/or professional boundaries.