Ruff lost her license in CA. The state board put her on probation and fined her. Not for her falsehoods, her fakelore, or her abusing Native elders. She cheated and abused a client for over a decade and broke confidentiality. 23 pg doc attached, the most relevant parts quoted.
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BEFORE THE BOARD OF BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
In the Matter of the Accusation Against:
KYMBERLEE RUFF 1035-A De La Vina Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist License No. LMFf 21817
Respondent. Case No. 2002016000264 OAH No. 2016120055
DECISION AND ORDER
The attached Stipulated Settlement and Disciplinary Order is hereby adopted by the Board
of Behavioral Sciences, Department of Consumer Affairs, as its Decision in this matter.
This Decision shall become effective on Aug 9 2017....
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED by and between the parties to the aboveentitled
proceedings that the following matters are true....
DISCIPLINARY ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist License No.
LMFT 21817 issued to Respondent Kymberlee Ruff is revoked. The revocation is stayed and
Respondent is placed on five (5) years probation with the following terms and conditions.
Probation shall continue on the same terms and conditions if Respondent is granted another
registration or license regulated by the Board.
1. Psychological/ Psychiatric Evaluation
Within 90 days of the effective date of this decision, and on a periodic basis thereafter as
may be required by the Board or its designee, respondent shall complete a psychological or
psychiatric evaluation by such licensed psychologists or psychiatrists as are appointed by the
Board....
2. Psychotherapy
Respondent shall participate in ongoing psychotherapy with a California licensed mental
health professional who has been approved by the Board....Counseling shall be at
least once a week unless otherwise determined by the Board....
3. Supervised Practice
....Supervision shall consist of at least one (1) hour per
week in individual face to face meetings. The supervisor shall not be the respondent's therapist.
4. Education
Respondent shall take and successfully complete the equivalency of two (2) semester or
three (3) quarter units in each of the following areas: (i) Boundaries, (ii) Client Confidentiality,
and (iii) Record Keeping....
5. Law and Ethics Course
Respondent shall take and successfully complete the equivalency of two semester units in
law and ethics....
6. Obey All Laws
Respondent shall obey all federal, state and local laws....respondent shall submit
fingerprints through the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation within 30 days
of the effective date of the decision...
7. File Quarterly Reports
Respondent shall submit quarterly reports, to the Board....
8. Comply with Probation Program
Respondent shall comply with the probation program established by the Board...
21. Cost Recovery
Respondent shall pay the Board $8,728.10 as and for the reasonable costs of the
investigation and prosecution of Case No. 2002016000264....
TREATMENT OF PATIENT J.H
7. Respondent saw and treated Patient J.H. from approximately August 2002 until
September 2014. For the first several years, from approximately August 2002 through 2006,
Respondent treated J.H. one to four times per week. J.H. made little to no progress during the
initial years oftreatment. Instead ofterminating the relationship and referring J .H. to another
therapist or program, Respondent continued to treat J.H. when she lacked the knowledge and skill
to competently do so. In fact, from approximately 2007 through 2014, Respondent treated J.H.
two to three times per day, five to seven days per week. Throughout their relationship,
Respondent also called and sent emails, voicemails, and text messages to J.H. on an increasing
basis, sometimes more than once per day, and many ofwhich were totally unrelated to J .H.'s
treatment. Respondent's treatment plan and frequent contact with J.H. created an intense
dependency with respect to J.H. and blurred the boundaries between Respondent and J.H.
8. At various times throughout the course oftreatment, Respondent purportedly
diagnosed J.H. with multiple conditions, including, but not limited to, generalized anxiety disorder,
paranoid delusional disorder with querulous paranoia, litigious paranoia, persecutory delusional
disorder, erotomanic delusions, stalking syndrome, autistic spectrum disorder, Asperger's
syndrome, paranoid personality disorder with narcissistic and borderline features, and borderline
syndrome. However, Respondent lacked the knowledge and skill that was required to diagnose
J .H. in a proper and timely manner. Respondent also failed to accurately assess the
appropriateness ofher treatment plan and the level oftreatment that was actually needed....
plan to J .H. The plan also failed to include any referrals to other providers or treatment programs.
Since Respondent already fostered a long and harmful relationship oftotal dependency with J.H.,
her actions were or would have likely been experienced as a traumatic abandonment by J.H.
Indeed, shortly after receiving the termination plan, J.H. made suicidal threats to Respondent and
Respondent failed to assess J.H. for her level ofthreat and offer appropriate support and referrals....
After learning in September 2014 ofJ.H.'s changing
finances and inability to pay for ongoing therapy, Respondent abruptly introduced a termination
plan to J .H. The plan also failed to include any referrals to other providers or treatment programs.
Since Respondent already fostered a long and hannful relationship oftotal dependency with J.H.,
her actions were or would have likely been experienced as a traumatic abandonment by J.H.
Indeed, shortly after receiving the termination plan, J.H. made suicidal threats to Respondent and
Respondent failed to assess J.H. for her level ofthreat and offer appropriate support and referrals.
10. Respondent failed to maintain client confidences. For example, Respondent disclosed
information about other clients to J.H., and mentioned some by name; Respondent disclosed
information about J.H. to third parties, and mentioned J.H. by name; Respondent videotaped and
audio taped sessions with J .H. and shared copies ofthose recordings with third parties; and
Respondent drafted a detailed treatment summary about J.H., which contained personal details
about J.H., her family, and their finances, and shared the summary with third parties. Respondent
was not authorized to release her clients' information in any ofthese instances.
11. Respondent failed to maintain and retain client records. Although Respondent only
stopped treating J.H. in or around September 2014, Respondent destroyed J.H.'s entire treatment
file, which consisted ofthousands ofpages ofnotes, before the end ofDecember 2014. ....
