Alta. psychologist Dr. Jody Carrington sanctioned for 'blurred professional lines' with client

Dr. Jody Carrington speaks with CTV News Edmonton Morning Live in this file photograph.

Well-known Alberta psychologist Dr. Jody Carrington has been reprimanded by her professional college after pleading guilty to several allegations of misconduct.

The Alberta College of Alberta Psychologists handed out the sanctions from a tribunal hearing in September 2021, publicly announcing them in a letter on its website in late May.

According to the statement, Carrington pleaded guilty to all five allegations made between October 2015 and June 2019.

A client complained Carrington "blurred professional boundaries," including using unprofessional language, addressing the client with "terms of endearment," accepting gifts, and "provided personal photographs."

Carrington was also accused of beginning to disengage the client in 2017 before terminating the therapeutic relationship without leaving the client access to alternative services.

Throughout, she was found guilty of failing to maintain adequate records and of failing to preserve the confidentiality of sessions she conducted in public places.

After she pleaded guilty, Carrington was reprimanded and ordered to undergo an ethics review, practice under supervision for six months, and complete a professional boundaries course.

She also has to pay half of the costs of the college's investigation and tribunal hearing: more than $14,200.

Carrington has written two books, sells educational courses and merchandise through her website, and hosts public speaking events.

In a video, Carrington told her 80,000 Instagram followers, "The college had lots of conversations with me over professionalism, the language that I use and how we set those boundaries. Also terms of endearment, how do we conduct ourselves in a professional relationship. I welcomed all of those conversations as you need to [to] be in this professional role."

She continued to say, "There was lessons [sic] in this situation that I learned, and I needed to learn, and I'm so grateful for it. And there's also an authenticity that I will always continue to show up with."