The owner of the Diaper Spa has been fined $2,500 in the second of three anticipated rulings by state regulators for unlawfully practicing mental health therapies without a license.
The decision comes nearly six months after Colleen Ann Murphy, of Atkinson, testified before the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practices in April as she faced disciplinary hearings related to her now defunct business.
The Oct. 9 ruling also maintains that Murphy refrain from operating the Diaper Spa and that New Hampshire officials may continue enforcing the cease-and-desist 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 of Mental Health Practices found Murphy misrepresented her services throughout her Diaper Spa website and two other websites she made. The board said she advertised herself as qualified to provide certain therapies, but was not licensed or certified as a mental health practitioner, psychologist or physician, according to the board’s decision order.
According to its findings, Murphy advertised the Diaper Spa on her original website as a “physician-run diaper salon,” where her background and experience allowed her to offer “an immersive experience with all the benefits of exclusive experiential services such as Hypnoregression, DBT/CBT, Yoga, and Massage.”
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are treatments related to individual development or behavior change, the board stated. Murphy advertised services for adult baby/diaper lovers (ABDL) or paraphilic infantilism which it said “could be” a maladaptive behavior.
The board determined the services advertised on her websites were “associated with mental health practices,” and contained “misrepresentations” on her background and experience.
During the April hearing, Murphy said the Diaper Spa services were supportive of mental wellness and any care to clients was holistic or therapeutic. She stated she never administered any medical services at the spa, but the business was focused more on short-term “coaching” with her clients who were already under the care of other medical and mental health professionals.
Murphy said she provided an outlet for the ABDL community to engage in childlike experiences and indulge in fantasy, but not cure ABDL. Her role was a maternal caregiver, she had told the board at the hearing.
The board ruled in its decision that Murphy did not hold any medical licenses issued by New Hampshire. It found that while she holds New York and Maine medical licenses, her Maine one lists specialties in the areas of psychiatry and psychoanalysis, but no certification in those disciplines.
The Board of Medicine previously issued Murphy a $10,000 fine in April for her unlawful and unlicensed medical practices after her first disciplinary hearing. She stopped operations after receiving a cease-and-desist order.
Murphy now awaits a decision from the Board of Psychologists. She testified before the board in May.
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