Diaper Spa owner Colleen Ann Murphy has been fined $5,000 in a final decision by state regulators for unlawfully practicing psychology on clients without a license and advertising herself as qualified to do so.
Murphy, of Atkinson, testified before three boards of the New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure & Certification between April and May as she faced emergency and disciplinary hearings related to her now defunct business.
Murphy now owes a total of $17,500 in administrative fines after the three rulings. The Board of Medicine issued Murphy a $10,000 fine in April while the Board of Mental Health hit her with a $2,500 fine. She stopped operations after receiving a cease-and-desist order in April.
The Board of Psychologists issued Murphy its Oct. 9 ruling more than five months after her May hearing. The decision also maintains a cease-and-desist order to prevent Murphy from operating the Diaper Spa and allowing New Hampshire officials to enforce that order.
The Diaper Spa, which Murphy ran out of her Atkinson home at 23 Pope Road, catered to adults aged 21 and older, serving “all diaper-wearing individuals who seek acceptance, respite, and care” in a nursery-like atmosphere.
Public concern over the nature of the business arose in late January. The Atkinson Zoning Board of Adjustment denied The Diaper Spa a home business permit on Feb. 14 after its owner admitted operating from November until Dec. 24, 2023, without a town or state business permit.
The board determined Murphy held herself out as qualified to practice psychology and also advertised she could despite not being licensed in New Hampshire as a psychologist, mental health practitioner or physician, according to the decision.
The board’s findings referenced the Diaper Spa’s website where she described the business as a “physician-run diaper salon” and a “professional facility dedicated to providing compassionate care for individuals with unique needs.”
At the hearing, Murphy told the board she used professional titles like physician, “doc” and “M.D., Ph.D., D.D.” throughout her Diaper Spa website to differentiate herself and highlight her background.
She said she focused on wellness coaching and short-term relationships with her clients who were seeing other medical and mental health professionals. Murphy stated she only saw three clients while the Diaper Spa operated.
Murphy told board members there was a difference between coaching and practicing psychology.
She testified that she never prescribed medicine or diagnosed anyone, but rather provided a space for the Adult Baby Diaper Lovers (ABDL) community to indulge in their fantasies in a childlike atmosphere. Murphy would act maternal, wiping and cleaning dirty fingers and feed the clients who also gave their consent for her to change their diapers.
The board defined psychological practices to include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), group therapy, behavioral therapy and family or marital therapy. It found she advertised on the Diaper Spa’s website “for a fully immersive experience with all the benefits of exclusive experiential services such as Hypnoregression, DBT/CBT, Yoga, and Massage.”
Murphy testified she never offered any services related to those therapies or engaged in a service which required a professional license.
The board also cited her other website, cmurphymd.com, where she advertised for psychotherapy for individuals and couples, surrogate relationship therapy along with a “range of specialized treatments.”
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