The state of Colorado has ordered licensed professional counselor Edwin Shockney to stop offering psychotherapy.
Shockney is under investigation by the state for allegedly using fraudulent degrees to qualify as a licensed professional counselor.
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On Friday, the regulatory board that oversees counselors in Colorado announced that Shockney signed a “stipulation for interim secession of practice” agreement early this month that requires him to refrain from practicing until the state inquiry is complete.
A Gazette investigation in June showed Shockney for decades lied about his education, saying he had a master’s degree in counseling and a doctorate in psychology, when, in fact he had little more than a high school diploma. Even so, Shockney practiced in influential venues, treating seriously disturbed patients, advising local police departments and acting as an expert witness in nearly 150 divorce hearings and criminal cases.
A week after the article was published, Shockney abruptly closed his Colorado Springs practice, saying he was retiring for health reasons. His house is on the market and a California private investigator specializing in background checks for companies told the Gazette in June Shockney has applied for work overseas.
The Gazette investigation prompted the state to launch its own inquiry, which is ongoing.
In July, the state oversight board ordered Shockney to get a “neurophsychological/mental status evaluation” before Sept. 5, to see if he was fit to practice, according to state documents.
Shockney refused. Instead, he negotiated the written agreement with the board in which he promised not to practice psychotherapy if the board would not require him to see a therapist.
The agreement took effect Sept. 12.
“The board, I think, saw that as a safe move,” said Chris Lines, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, which oversees all mental health professionals.
Former patients have said they feel deeply betrayed by Shockney.
“He needs to be behind bars for what he did,” said one woman who did not want her name used to protect her patient privacy. She was battling depression and memory loss after a head injury on the job. “I encountered him at my most vulnerable and he made me worse. I felt like I was going crazy when all along it was him. I was suicidal.
I can still barely talk about it.”
Confidentiality laws bar board members from discussing ongoing disciplinary cases, so it is unclear what the state inquiry has uncovered so far.
“The board could come back later and take other action,” said Lines.
“If there are legal or criminal pieces we see we would send that to the attorney general for prose
