The case in summary: A psychologist without authorization offered video consultations with patients from Norway in 2024, which is illegal according to the Norwegian Health Authority. The psychologist has previously been punished twice by the police and lost his authorization in 2020. He has worked as a child psychologist at a clinic in the USA in 2024, without the clinic or American health authorities being aware of his previous relationship in Norway The remote consultations could lead to a new police case against the psychologist, says the Norwegian Health Authority The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. On Saturday, Nidaros and news revealed that a psychologist who Norway has notified 30 countries about had got a new job at a clinic in the USA. He was employed there as a child psychologist in 2024. Neither the clinic nor the American health authorities knew that he was separated as a psychologist in Norway after being punished for sexual abuse of dogs in 2020. Today, Nidaros and news can say that the psychologist for two periods in 2024 offered patient consultations via the internet while staying in Norway. The Norwegian Health Authority determines that such activities are illegal without authorization. Director of the Norwegian Health Authority, Sjur Lehmann. Photo: Morten Andersen / news – Healthcare personnel who have lost their authorization can no longer practice their profession in Norway. A psychologist without authorization cannot therefore provide psychological services in Norway. This applies regardless of whether the patient stays in Norway or outside the country’s borders, says director Sjur Lehmann of the Norwegian Health Authority. Offered online therapy According to the websites of the employer in the USA, the psychologist was available to patients via remote consultations in the period from January to April this year. In addition, he was able to see patients digitally in July and August. In the presentation of the psychologist on the websites, it appeared that he was available for remote consultation. Nidaros and news have documentation that he stayed in Norway for large parts of this time. This summer he had weekly classes at the 3T training center in Trondheim while the clinic in the US marketed his availability. The psychologist’s employer in the US has not responded to how many patient consultations he had via the internet in these six months. Marit Lomundal Sæther is the man in his 50s, a lawyer. Here she is photographed in court in Sandvika in mid-September in another case. Photo: Oliver Ivanowitz / news Via his lawyer Marit Lomundal Sæther, the psychologist in his 50s has not given any comments on questions about the remote consultations or that the Norwegian Health Authority has determined that it is illegal in that case. Reported to the police in 2023 The psychologist was reported by the Norwegian Health Authority in 2023 for having taken a position as a psychologist in Nav without authorization. His lawyer Marit Lomundal Sæther has not answered questions about the NAV job. According to Nav, they were not aware that he did not have authorization and the man had good references. The police investigation led to the psychologist admitting to having taken the job without having the right to practice the profession. He also knew it was wrong, he explained. The Norwegian Health Inspectorate tells Nidaros and news that the information about the remote consultations could lead to a new police case against the psychologist. – This depends on a concrete assessment, but we will have to consider a new report to the police, says Lehmann. If so, this will be the third time since 2020 that the Norwegian police have to investigate the man in his 50s. Director Lehmann emphasizes that he cannot comment on individual cases, but says: – Then I can put it this way that if someone runs psychologists in Norway without authorization, it is a matter for the Norwegian Health Authority, even if the patients are abroad and receive services via remote consultations. – Remote consultations from Norway require authorization. News for the inspection Last week, the clinic in the USA, which has been the psychologist’s employer in 2024, sent a statement to Nidaros and news. The clinic was not aware of the two police cases in which the psychologist was fined. When the Americans confronted the psychologist about this, he resigned from his position on the day. According to director Sjur Lehmann, the Norwegian Health Authority will collect more information and follow up on the case against the US authorities. When asked if the Norwegian Health Authority has seen or dealt with cases where psychologists have offered remote consultations without Norwegian authorization, he confirms that this is the first case: – The Norwegian Health Authority has so far not supervised a case where exactly this has been a problem, says director Sjur Lehmann . Published 27/09/2024, at 12.02
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Psychologist without authorization offered patient consultations from Norway – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
